Former AFA-CWA President Tabbed for NMB Post

by Mike Hall, Mar 16, 2009

Linda Puchala, former president of the Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), was nominated Friday by President Obama for a seat on the National Mediation Board (NMB). She currently serves as a senior mediator with the NMB and was AFA-CWA president from 1979 to 1986.

Current AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend says Puchala’s

consensus-building skills and commitment to the collective bargaining process will be a valuable addition to the agency, which is so critical to labor relations in the aviation and railway industries. There are difficult issues in front of us in both industries so we urge the Senate to move promptly to confirm Ms. Puchala so that we can look to a board functioning in every respect for guidance and assistance.

The three-member NMB is the federal agency charged with overseeing collective bargaining and representation under the Railway Labor Act, which was enacted to protect workers’ rights to organize unions and engage in free and fair collective bargaining in the aviation and rail industries.

But for the past eight years, the Bush-dominated NMB has repeatedly failed to fulfill its mission to promote collective bargaining and to provide and protect the rights of workers who seek to join a union. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) says:

Puchala’s experience within the agency will ensure a smooth transition to a new board. Her commitment to workers’ rights and to the collective bargaining process will help to restore the integrity of this vital federal agency…look forward to working with Ms. Puchala to ensure that the NMB adheres to its mission of protecting employees’ right to organize without interference or influence from the employers and their multi-million dollar anti-worker campaigns.

Puchala will replace a current board member who was a hold-over appointment from the Bush administration since July 2006.

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article |Comments (0)