George E. Noel
George E. Noel, Director of the Department of Labor
George E. Noel was appointed by Governor Patrick to serve as Director of the Massachusetts Department of Labor in January 2007. As Director, he oversees the Department of Industrial Accidents, the Division of Occupational Safety, the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration, the Labor Relations Committee and the Joint Labor-Management Committee. Noel brings decades of experience in labor-management relations and advocacy for workers and working families to the position.
With a career at Raytheon spanning more than 34 years, Noel first worked as a bomber-brazer, bonding metal. There, he did everything from loading trucks to precision inspecting machine parts, eventually testing and troubleshooting some of the world's most sophisticated communications and radar systems.
Noel joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1505 soon after he started at Raytheon. He later followed in his father's footsteps when he was selected to be a shop steward, representing test technicians at the Waltham Equipment Division Plant, before being appointed Chief Steward.
Noel was eventually elected Business Manager/Financial Secretary of Local 1505, representing 2000 maintenance and production workers at all Raytheon facilities across the Commonwealth. In the position, he was the Local's chief contract negotiator and administered the collective bargaining agreement.
Noel also took a leadership role in the labor movement across the Commonwealth, culminating in his 2002 election as vice president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Prior to that, he served as a delegate to the Greater Boston and Greater Lowell Central Labor Councils. More recently, he helped form the Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council, and was elected its first President.
Throughout his career, Noel has been actively involved in efforts to retain and create jobs. He was labor representative on the Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative, a public-private partnership to save 33,000 defense-related Massachusetts jobs during military restructuring. Noel also sat on the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board, and advised the Patrick/Murray Transition's Workforce Development Working Group.
A US Army veteran raised in Dedham, Noel lives in Billerica with his wife Anne. They have two sons, George J. and Michael Noel.