Unions make pitch for NMB appointments

Nineteen labor unions representing rail and aviation workers are urging President Joe Biden to appoint Deirdre Hamilton to serve as a member of the National Mediation Board (NMB), and for sitting member Linda Puchala's reappointment to the board.

In a Jan. 26 letter, the unions, which represent hundreds of thousands of workers, asked Biden to make the appointments immediately.

Created by Congress through the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the NMB "plays an essential role" in facilitating labor-management relations in the rail and aviation industries, the letter notes. 

"These workers are best served when the NMB is reliably staffed with public servants who understand the importance of collective bargaining and who, when disputes arise, will seek fair and timely solutions," the letter states. "Both Ms. Hamilton and Ms. Puchala have impeccable qualifications for positions on the board and have proven throughout their careers to be steadfast allies of workers."

For the past six years, Hamilton has served as the staff attorney to the airline division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. During her 20-year career, she has represented workers before federal courts and with the NMB on a wide range of legal issues.

Puchala has served as an NMB board member since her confirmation by the U.S. Senate in 2009. Prior to her service as a board member, she was a mediator, senior mediator and the associate director of alternative dispute resolution services over a 10-year career at the NMB.

The full letter can be read here.