SEARCH
Trio of Unionists Confirmed for Obama Administration Posts |
|
Three former union members and leaders—with the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) and Seafarers (SIU)—won U.S. Senate conformation last week for top posts in the Obama administration. All three were approved by voice vote.
Capt. Randy Babbitt, a 25-year veteran of commercial airline and a former two-term ALPA president, will steer the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
ALPA President Capt. John Prater says:
Babbitt’s experience as an airline pilot, union president, aviation consultant and member of numerous government and industry advisory committees will serve him well as he leads our industry.
Under the Bush administration, the FAA broke off bargaining with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) over a new contract in 2006 and imposed a set of harsh new working conditions and pay cuts. The Obama administration has begun a mediation process to reach an agreement. Babbitt, says NATCA President Patrick Forrey,
has the opportunity to do great things with our National Airspace System and restore the credibility of an agency in need of a priority readjustment and severe morale boosting….But first, this workforce must be assured that its help is wanted and not ignored like the last several years. It is time for a restoration of fairness to FAA labor relations and the opening of the door of collaboration and mutual respect.
Linda Puchala, former AFA-CWA president, was confirmed 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.
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.
AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend says Puchala’s “experience and vast commitment to workers’ rights and to the collective bargaining process” will help
restore the integrity of this vital federal agency. For years, the NMB has operated under arcane and unreasonable rules that make it difficult for workers to organize and bargain contracts.
Seth Harris, a former SIU field representative, was confirmed as deputy secretary at the Labor Department. He is currently the director of labor and employment law programs at New York Law School and, during the Clinton administration, served as acting assistant secretary of labor for policy.
The Daily Labor Report (subscription required) wrote that Harris, at his May 7 confirmation hearing, pledged to renew the Labor Department’s commitment to strategic planning and accountability. He also said the Labor Department ”must welcome working people” into its decision making processes and he hopes to build “constructive, problem-solving relationships” with the unions that represent the department’s employees.
No Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
