President Trump nominated Richard Giacolone as Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Since his nomination, his confirmation has languished in the Senate until recently, when MTD President Hart and IAM President Martinez stepped in to support Mr. Giacolone.
MTD President Hart
“Mr. Giacolone served as the mediator of the Bath Iron Works strike and both President Martinez and I felt he was fair and acted in the best interest of all parties,” said MTD President Hart. “We wanted to support his nomination for Director of FMCS so we set out to move his confirmation forward.”
“After speaking to several Senate advisors, we were told that his confirmation hearing was unlikely due to the fact that his nomination had been held in the Senate for almost two years. Even if it were to be considered we were facing a time crunch with the Senate’s August recess,” explained Hart.
Knowing that the odds were against them and that they faced stringent timelines, Hart and Martinez both wrote letters of support and successfully asked AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to do the same. After speaking with Trumka to explain why he too should support Mr. Giacolone, Hart reached out to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Senate Leader McConnell and Sen. Collins and urged them to also support the Acting Director and add his confirmation to the calendar.
In a surprising move, the Senate took up Mr. Giacolone’s nomination on August 13 confirming his appointment with unanimous consent.
“Richard Giacolone is a fair and equitable choice for the office of Director of the FMCS,” says Hart.
“The Metal Trades Department will work with Republicans or Democrat so long as they support the mission of America’s working families. I was proud to support Director Giacolone, and believe that he will continue to be an asset to the agency. Labor’s support helped ensure he was confirmed, but his work speaks for itself.”