A Good Noel—Union Leader Heads Mass. Labor Department

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/02/03/a-good-noel%e2%80%94union-leader-heads-mass-labor-department/

A Good Noel—Union Leader Heads Mass. Labor Department

by Mike Hall, Feb 3, 2007

George Noel, the new director of the Massachusetts Department of Labor, brings a worker’s perspective to an office where that view of the world has been lacking for the past 16 years, says Massachusett AFL-CIO President Robert J. Haynes.

Noel, business manager of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1505 and a state AFL-CIO vice president, was appointed to the post by new Gov. Deval Patrick (D) last week. Says Haynes:

As Department of Labor director, George will bring an even keel approach and a commitment to the fairness towards employees and employers alike that was missing from our executive branch for 16 years. As a labor leader he understands the needs, concerns and fights of working families. He has been an advocate for workers his entire career, and has done so in a way that even the employers he deals with respect and praise him for his intelligence, character, toughness, and fairness.

Along with representing Local 1505’s 2,000 members at the defense contractor Raytheon, Noel also has served as member of the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board and on Patrick’s Labor and Workforce Development transition team.

He says the goals of worker justice and economic development and business growth are not:

mutually exclusive…I’m honored that our governor has given me the opportunity to help him restore economic justice to the commonwealth’s workers and their families.

Click here to read what Massachusetts union and business leaders say about the state’s job needs and learn more about unions and workforce investment boards in your area from the Working For America Institute.