Union leaders are applauding the White House for a series of wide-ranging nominations that will bring union perspectives and advocacy for working people to important government jobs.

Among those appointments are:

The immediate past president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), with more than 40 years of experience in the industry, Babbitt is a recognized leader in aviation safety, policy and labor relations. He began his career at Eastern Airlines and flew for more than 25 years. In 1993, President

Clinton appointed Babbitt to the National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry. In 2008, he served on a Transportation Department independent review team of aviation and safety experts to evaluate recommendations for improving FAA’s safety programs.

A former political and legislative staffer with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), T. Michael Kerr was nominated to become the Labor Department’s top administrator, serving under Secretary Hilda Solis. Kerr’s most recent union post is as assistant to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Change-to-Win coalition, where is is in charge of finance and administration. He served in the Carter White House in the Office of Consumer Affairs and in the Legislative Office of the Department of Health and Human Services. During the Clinton Administration, Kerr worked under Labor Secretaries Robert Reich and Alexis Herman. He was Deputy Assistant Secretar y for Workers Compensation Programs and as Administrator for the Wage & Hour Division.

Currently serving as New York State’s Labor Commissioner, M. Patricia Smith has been nominated to become Solicitor of the Labor Department. Labor’s Solicitor represents the Department in key legal cases involving labor laws, including before the Supreme Court. As New York Labor Commissioner, Smith presides over a $4 billion budget, with 3,700 employees and 80 offices statewide. She is Gov. David Paterson’s top advisor on workforce and labor policy matters. Smith worked for 20 years in the New York Attorney General’s Office in the Labor Bureau where she handled litigation and policy advancing progressive labor law in the state.

A recognized expert on pension policy and law, Phyllis C. Borzi is an attorney with the Washington firm of O’Donoghue and O’Donoghue. Borzi is a former staff member of the House Committee on Labor where she handled issues related to pension policy, law and employee benefits. She is also a Research Professor on the staff of George Washington University School of Health Services in Washington where she is involved in research and policy analysis involving employee benefit plans, the uninsured, managed health care and legal barriers to the development of health information technology.

An internationally recognized leader in disability rights, Kathy Martinez has specialized in disability issues related to employment, asset building, independent living, international development, diversity and gender issues. Blind since birth, Martinez was appointed executive director of the Oakland, CA-based World Institute on Disability (WID) in 2005. She directs WID’s National Technical Assistance Center to increase employment opportunities for Latinos with disabilities in the U.S. She was team leader on a WID project that created the acclaimed international webzine, Disability World, in English and Spanish.

Currently the Chief Operating Officer of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) and former chief of staff for Sen. John Kerry, Helen R. Kanovsky has extensive experience in housing and finance. She has been with HIT for 13 years. She was a partner and associate in the Washington law firm of Dickstein, Shapiro and Morin. She also served as Special Assistant to Secretary Patricia Roberts Harris at HUD, HEW and HHS. Kanovsky has been Chair of the National Housing Conference and served on the boards of the Center for Housing Policy and Special Olympics of the District of Columbia, and as a trustee of the National Labor College.