Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler has been elected president of the National Association of Government Labor Officials. His election came at the recent NAGLO annual conference in Portland, Maine.

NAGLO is a bi-partisan association of the commissioners, directors and secretaries of labor for each state and territory of the United States. The organization, formed in 1914, provides services and information to its members on a number of issues, including employment security, unemployment insurance and workforce development. It also represents the states working with the U.S. Department of Labor on various labor policy issues that would impact state labor regulations or laws.

“I am pleased that Commissioner Mark Butler is coming in as NAGLO’s new president,” said outgoing president Ken Peterson, Minnesota’s Labor Commissioner. “Mark has impressed his fellow labor officials around the nation with the innovative initiatives that he and the Georgia Department of Labor are using to improve Georgia’s economy by assisting both employees and businesses.”

Butler took office in January 2011. Since that time, he has implemented several new services and programs to better serve the public.

Employ Georgia is the GDOL’s new online job search/job posting service which routinely has more 100,000 job openings listed. It can be accessed at www.employgeorgia.com.

The creation of the GDOL’s Businesses Services Unit has significantly improved the department’s services to employers. The unit includes the Regional Coordinator Program, which has coordinators in 12 regions throughout Georgia, who work directly with employers and economic developers to help expand business and industry. In 2014, the BSU began the Customized Recruitment Program to help new companies streamline recruiting efforts.

GeorgiaBEST  is the GDOL’s initiative that teaches students the “soft skills” necessary to be competitive in today’s workforce. It is taught through more than 200 middle and high schools and technical colleges throughout the state.

Butler has also implemented several improvements to online services for employers, job seekers, unemployment insurance claimants and economic developers.

Butler is a native of Carrollton. Prior to being elected labor commissioner, he served eight years in the Georgia General Assembly. Butler worked more than 20 years in his family-owned business in Carrollton.