Geale to chair National Mediation Board; PANYNJ names Starace chief engineer

Nicholas Geale became chairman of the National Mediation Board (NMB) yesterday.

President Barack Obama nominated Geale to the board on July 30, 2013, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him on Aug. 1, 2013. Prior to his NMB appointment, his federal government service included the position of director of Oversight and Investigations for Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He also served as attorney/adviser to the solicitor and then counselor to the deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor under then-Secretary Elaine Chao.

Prior to federal service, Geale had six years of experience in labor and employee matters, including as assistant general counsel for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Harry Hollander and Linda Puchala remain as NMB members.

The NMB is an independent agency established by the Railway Labor Act that governs labor-management relations within the U.S. rail and airline industries.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) recently named Jim Starace chief engineer. He will succeed Peter Zipf, who will retire Aug. 3 after serving the authority for 30 years, the past five as chief engineer.

A veteran engineer, Starace joined PANYNJ in 1986. During his time with the agency, he served as resident engineer for several high-profile projects. Starace also has served as engineer of construction for the AirTrain Terminal at Jamaica Station and New Jersey airports, and manager of the Construction Management Division.