FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

FISCAL YEAR 2022 

Congressional Budget Submission

Submitted to Congress

May 2021

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FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

FISCAL YEAR 2022

Congressional Budget Submission

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary.....................................................................................................1

A. Budget Request Overview ....................................................................................2

B. Rising to the Challenge of the 21st Century Workplace......................................3

II. Program Structure and Service Descriptions.............................................................4

A. Alternative Dispute Resolution Services to Government...................................5

B. Collective Bargaining Mediation .........................................................................7

C. Grievance Mediation.............................................................................................8

D. Relationship-Development and Training.............................................................9

E. International Training and Exchange.................................................................10

F. Arbitration Services.............................................................................................12

G. FMCS Institute for Conflict Management.........................................................13

H. Accountable Government ...................................................................................13

I. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................15

III. Appropriation Language ...........................................................................................16

IV. FMCS Organizational Chart .....................................................................................17

V. Statutory and Other Legal Authority........................................................................18

VI. Budget Tables and Detailed Financial Requirements.............................................22

VIII. Workload Projections –2021 and 2022 ....................................................................29

IX. Annual Performance Plan..........................................................................................32

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Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request

I. Executive Summary

More than seventy years ago, Congress created the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

Service (FMCS) through the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley) as 

an independent agency of the Federal Government and charged it with preventing and 

minimizing labor-management disputes affecting interstate commerce by providing 

mediation, conciliation, and voluntary arbitration services. In 1978, and again in 1990, 

Congress expanded FMCS’s mission to include: resolving Federal sector labor disputes; 

encouraging labor-management cooperative activities; resolving disputes arising out of 

grants, contracts, licenses, or other agency administrative actions; and assisting in the 

negotiated rulemaking process.

Congress had the wisdom and foresight to recognize that although workplace conflict is 

inevitable, disruptive work stoppages, dysfunctional labor-management relationships, and 

protracted disputes need not be. Through FMCS, the Federal Government plays a critical 

role in strengthening America’s private sector and Federal workplaces by providing 

limited, voluntary, and strategic assistance that minimizes or averts the adverse economic 

impacts of conflict. More importantly, an environment of thriving labor-management 

relationships, collaboration, and pragmatic problem solving between parties in dispute not 

only prevents costly disputes, but also significantly contributes to increased 

competitiveness, efficiency, job growth, and enhanced economic well-being.

As a non-regulatory and independent agency, the services that FMCS provides to 

American business and Federal agencies are largely voluntary. Consequently, FMCS 

mediators must provide useful and relevant services in order to successfully accomplish its 

mission. Every day, the Agency’s small corps of skilled mediators provide private sector 

and Federal customers with essential conflict resolution strategies designed to enhance 

organizational effectiveness, improve competitiveness, increase jobs and job security, and 

promote organizational efficiency.

The need for FMCS conflict resolution strategies is just as great in this third decade of 

the 21st Century as it was 75 years ago. As in earlier periods of economic transition, new 

technologies and business models are fundamentally changing nearly every sector of the 

U.S. economy. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 dramatically accelerated 

growth in informal workplaces and the knowledge economy. The scope and speed of these

changes presents enormous challenges and opportunities for American workers and 

employers across all economic sectors. FMCS commits to assist with making these 

changes as smooth as possible.
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A. Budget Request Overview

FMCS requests $50 million for 2022. The $1.4 million increase (2.9 percent) above the 

2021 appropriation will allow FMCS to continue to achieve its mission and, by

restructuring critical business processes, allow electronic filing of all dispute notices. In 

particular, these additional funds will provide for:

Technological Investments in Online Mediation Services ($200,000). FMCS first 

explored the possibility of conducting mediation online in the late 1990s. The online

mediation system at the time used expensive teleconference equipment and dedicated 

data lines and thus could only reach customers in a few major urban areas. As 

technology progressed, FMCS was able to move to a web-based platform and reach 

into almost every region of the country. By 2020, FMCS offered a hosted solution with 

secure video, document sharing, and breakout rooms. However, FMCS customers did 

not generally take advantage of this capability.

This situation changed overnight with the advent of COVID-19. Travel restrictions, 

unprecedented disruptions to business operations, and dramatic changes in working 

conditions at many employers led to a renewed interest in online mediation. In the last 

200 days of 2020, following the COVID-19 restrictions, FMCS provided nearly 11,000 

meetings, met with more than 300,000 participants, and in all provided more than 

12,400,000 online meeting minutes. FMCS proposes to enhance its online mediation 

capabilities in 2022 to handle 50 percent of all mediations online.
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B. Rising to the Challenge of the 21st Century Workplace

As FMCS enters its 75th year strengthening the conflict management and resolution 

capacities of numerous Federal agencies and resolving some of the country’s most 

intractable and economically threatening labor disputes, its role today is no less important 

than in the past. FMCS mediators have mediated labor negotiations in the entertainment, 

ship building, professional sports, manufacturing, and education industries.

Through its experiences with the specialized issues of numerous industries, working in 

a variety of settings, and adapting to the challenges that social media communications bring 

to training and bargaining, FMCS has learned to assist labor and management in new ways 

using new methods. At the same time, FMCS has remained true to the intent of Congress, 

both when it created the Agency and when it subsequently expanded FMCS’s role to 

include dispute resolution in the Federal sector.

Building upon its core traditional negotiation and relationship development training 

program, FMCS has added cutting-edge conflict theory to its skill set. Recent examples of 

trainings in this area includes: The Neuroscience of Conflict, Communicating Across 

Perceptions, Alternative Bargaining Models, the Art of Negotiation, Repairing Broken 

Relationships, and Conflict Coaching. In recent years, FMCS mediators have pioneered 

an innovative economic bargaining model–Affinity Economic Bargaining–which 

accomplishes a once-thought impossible goal of bargaining over distributive proposals in 

an integrative fashion. This model has enabled parties, in even the most strained financial 

circumstances, to reach mutually satisfying outcomes in record time. In some instances,

less than a day.

FMCS is proud of its past accomplishments and looks forward, in 2022, to intensifying 

its efforts to educate and inform business and labor of the value and benefits of the 

Agency's training, facilitation, and dispute resolution services.
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II. Program Structure and Service Descriptions

Congress established the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in 1947 

through the Labor Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley) amendments to the National 

Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as an independent agency whose mission is “to assist parties 

to labor disputes in industries affecting commerce to settle such disputes through 

conciliation and mediation.” Subsequent acts of Congress and presidential orders have 

expanded the FMCS role to provide mediation services to the federal sector and alternative 

dispute resolution (ADR) programs to Federal Government agencies, as well as promote 

and establish labor-management partnerships.

In support of its mission, FMCS commits to:

• Promoting the development of sound and stable labor-management 

relationships;

• Preventing or minimizing work stoppages by assisting labor and management 

to settle their disputes through mediation;

• Advocating collective bargaining, mediation, and voluntary arbitration as the 

preferred process for settling disputes between employer and representatives of 

employees;

• Developing the art, science, and practice of conflict resolution; and,

• Fostering the establishment and maintenance of constructive joint processes to 

improve labor-management relationships, employment security, and 

organizational effectiveness.

For 75 years, FMCS has provided services that embrace this mission and demonstrate 

its commitment to preventing or minimizing interruptions of the free flow of commerce 

growing out of labor disputes. As labor-management relationships have evolved over time, 

so, too, has the nature of FMCS work within collective bargaining relationships. FMCS 

today provides a range of services to labor and management, such as relationshipdevelopment training and training in interest-based bargaining, to help the parties deal 

effectively with disputes that may arise between them without resorting to work stoppages. 

The following section describes FMCS’s comprehensive package of core programs and 

services.
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A. Alternative Dispute Resolution Services to Government

The Federal Government has long recognized that ADR provides a much less expensive 

and time-consuming alternative to litigation in the Federal courts. FMCS provides ADR

services to Federal agencies on a cost-reimbursable basis to reduce litigation costs and 

promote better government decision-making. Services offered by FMCS include:

• Workplace and Employment Disputes. FMCS mediates workplace and 

employment disputes for Federal agencies. The majority of these disputes 

concern claims of employment discrimination (EEO), other types of personnel 

issues and workplace conflicts. FMCS accepts individual and multi-party 

conflicts for mediation.

• Disputes Involving Administrative Programs. FMCS also mediates disputes 

between Federal agencies and their “regulated public,” such as whistleblower 

complaints or disputes involving contracts, grants, licenses, enforcement, and 

administrative programs.

• Training Persons in the Skills and Procedures Employed in Alternative 

Means of Dispute Resolution. FMCS provides training in conflict resolution 

to aid in the effective use of alternative dispute resolution throughout the 

Federal Government. To that end, FMCS offers both live and web-based 

training on a variety of topics relating to conflict dynamics.

• Facilitation During Decision-Making. Particularly in times of limited 

budgets, FMCS facilitation services help agencies achieve cost-savings when 

decision-making is delegated to a committee, task force, or other type of group. 

FMCS facilitation services, including consultation, convening, training, and the 

actual facilitation, help groups accomplish their tasks within specified time 

frames. Notably, these services can be provided both onsite and online, another 

valuable time and cost saving feature of FMCS facilitation services.

• Agency Cooperation & Collaboration. FMCS facilitates intra-agency or 

multiple agency groups tasked with developing a strategic plan or identified 

objective involving complex matters. Interest-based problem-solving and 

collaboration skills are essential to achieving successful outcomes.

• Public Policy Dialogues. Similarly, FMCS facilitates public policy 

discussions involving Federal agencies and public-private stakeholders such as 

those conducted under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). These 

multi-party stakeholder discussions benefit from the assistance of a skilled and 

neutral facilitator experienced in synthesizing discussion points and interests, 

as well as establishing and overseeing meeting structures and processes. 

Training and coaching are also available for participants.
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• Negotiated Rulemaking. Negotiated rulemaking is a process in which a 

government agency invites persons and groups potentially impacted by a 

proposed rule to participate in its drafting. Interested parties who might 

otherwise oppose or challenge the rule are given the chance to participate in its 

formulation, thus reducing post-issuance challenges.

In addition to its traditional ADR services, FMCS offers extensive conflict 

management and prevention services when an agency requires more 

comprehensive solutions. Whereas traditional ADR processes, such as mediation 

and facilitation, focus on specific transactional issues, FMCS helps agencies run 

more effectively and efficiently through full-spectrum, systemic approaches. 

Systemic approaches include:

Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program (TTSGP)

The Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) 

of 1975 requires federal agencies, where practicable, to allow “selfgovernance” Tribes to receive Federal program funds directly, rather 

than have the Federal agency provide the service. This enables eligible 

Tribes to administer and implement their own programs using the same 

Federal funds as would have been expended if the agency ran the 

programs. 

Upon completion of the negotiated rulemaking process, Tribes eligible 

for the TTSGP program will receive funds directly from the U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT) for all manner of transportation 

infrastructure improvements and to implement and run their own 

transport programs.

DOT and Tribal negotiators began the TTSGP negotiations without 

mediation assistance and initially made good progress. By June 2018, 

however, talks collapsed and the success of TTSGP was in doubt. 

Tribal negotiators suggested contacting FMCS and the TTSGP 

negotiations restarted September 2018, led by a team of FMCS 

mediators.

By October 2019, the parties had successfully completed the draft rule 

and on March 5, 2020, at the plenary sessions hosted by the Morongo 

Band of Mission Indians in Cabazon, CA, all DOT and Tribal TTSGP 

negotiators reached agreement on the final rule text. DOT published 

the TTSGP final rule on June 1, 2020.

Upon the conclusion of the agreement, all parties and participants 

thanked FMCS and publicly stated that the rule “might never have been 

published” absent the FMCS and the mediation process they 

implemented. A letter issued by the Tribes to the Secretary of 

Transportation requested future FMCS involvement to facilitate all 

manner of meetings and discussions as the parties implement the 

program and in case disputes arise.
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• Climate Assessment. FMCS convenes and facilitates focus groups and 

individual meetings to assess and define the scope of workplace conflict. This 

enables FMCS conflict management professionals to better understand the 

structural, relationship, values, interests and interpersonal conflicts that may be 

impacting the workplace, and make more effective recommendations and 

approaches.

• Leadership alignment and development. FMCS provides leadership 

development training and 360 assessments to ensure that leaders are working 

optimally both individually and as a team. Individually, when leaders do not 

understand their individual impact on the workforce, tremendous interpersonal 

conflicts can arise within an organization. When leaders operate out of 

alignment with each other they send conflicting across the organization, which 

can lead to numerous conflicts system wide.

• Conflict Resolution Coaching. FMCS provides leadership, conflict, 

individual, peer, and cohort coaching to reduce negative impacts of workplace 

conflict, and enhance positive and resilient work culture/environments.

• Whole systems engagement and large group facilitated sessions. Engaging 

workplaces as a system, and involving whole teams and groups increases the 

chance that the intervention will have a positive long term, systemic resolution 

rather than the band aid approach, which focus on individual conflicts and 

transactional based outcomes.

• Culture change and change management initiatives. Many agencies suffer 

from low engagement scores and employees feel distanced and disconnected 

with each other, customers, and leadership. FMCS’s efforts in this arena focus 

on creating healthy, resilient and inclusionary work cultures that lead to better 

productivity and engagement with the workforce.

• Dispute Systems Design. FMCS offers a broad array of services around 

designing comprehensive systems for dispute resolution that are specifically 

and tailored to the needs of the organization, parties, and nature of the conflict.

B. Collective Bargaining Mediation

Through collective bargaining mediation, FMCS helps avert or minimize the cost of 

work stoppages to the U.S. economy. As part of its core work, FMCS mediates collective 

bargaining negotiations for initial contract negotiations—which take place between an 

employer and a newly certified or recognized union representing its employees—and for 

negotiations for successor collective bargaining agreements. FMCS provides mediation 

services to the private and the public sectors, including Federal agencies, and state and 

local governments.
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During mediation, the mediator’s task is to help the parties identify alternative solutions 

and compromises, encourage settlement where appropriate, control the critical timing of 

offers, and persuade the parties to honestly discuss their differences.

In 2022, FMCS expects to receive approximately 18,000 notices of expiring collective 

bargaining agreements. Some 210 of the known expiring contracts involve bargaining 

units of 1,000 members or more and represent a total of more than 1 million members. 

Many of these expiring agreements are in key private sector industries, such as the 

construction and mechanical trades, arts and entertainment, groceries, telecommunications, 

and health care.

In 2020, FMCS mediators were actively involved in more than 2,750 collective 

bargaining contract negotiations in every major industry throughout the United States.

C. Grievance Mediation

Grievance mediation involves the use of a neutral party to mediate disputes that may 

arise over the terms and conditions of a collective bargaining agreement. FMCS mediators 

provide this service to the private and public sectors with the goal of preventing unresolved 

contract interpretation issues from becoming contentious issues in future contract 

negotiations. Lengthening contract terms increase the importance of resolving contentious 

issues arising during the term of a contract. In 2020, FMCS mediated nearly 2,000

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and 

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers 

Local Lodge S6

Bath Iron Works (BIW) is one of the largest private sector employers in 

the State of Maine and is the lead designer and builder of the Arleigh 

Burke class of AEGIS destroyers. These destroyers are critical to the 

future of the nation’s defense and the contract to build them is the most 

successful Navy new ship construction program of recent decades.

In 2020, this storied shipyard faced a crippling strike when contract 

negotiations over a new labor contract broke down between BIW and 

the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers 

Local Lodge S6 (LS6). After being on strike for nearly three weeks, 

progress appeared stalled on negotiations for a new contract for the 

4,300 shipbuilders.

After working with two FMCS mediators, including the FMCS Director, 

the parties were able to reach a tentative agreement and return to 

work. As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the parties 

established a Joint Schedule Recovery Committee, a group which 

FMCS works with to smooth the transition to the new agreement.
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grievance mediation cases and helped the parties reach agreement in 1,280 of these (66

percent).

D. Relationship-Development and Training

Preventing conflict that may arise during the term of a collective bargaining agreement 

is another important goal of FMCS. Experience demonstrates the enormous value of 

training parties in the tools and techniques of collaboration and joint problem-solving well 

in advance of any contract expiration. The Agency’s relationship-building training 

programs are designed to improve labor-management relationships by helping labor and 

management to develop collaborative problem-solving approaches. Use of these programs 

better enables the parties to jointly respond to rapidly changing business and economic 

conditions during the term of the contract and also make future mediation efforts more 

effective.

In the private and Federal sectors, FMCS will continue to offer a wide range of programs 

designed to prevent workplace disputes and improve labor-management relationships. 

These programs help the parties develop collaborative, problem-solving approaches for 

managing conflict. Developed through decades of hands-on dispute resolution experience, 

the FMCS labor relations model encourages an ongoing, joint problem-solving approach 

characterized by open communication, respect, trust, and transparency.

Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities and 

SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana

FMCS helped the multi-employer Illinois Association of Health Care 

Facilities and SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana reach a two-year 

tentative agreement covering 10,000 nursing home workers one day 

before a strike of 6,000 nursing home employees would have left 

thousands of nursing home residents without care in the midst of the 

COVID-19 pandemic.

Immediately prior to FMCS becoming active in the negotiations—only 

two weeks prior to SEIU’s initial strike date of May 1—the parties were 

not meeting, their positions were distant, and they were engaged in a 

fierce public media battle. The parties believed that a May 1 strike of 

thousands of nursing home employees was inevitable.

The parties started making progress soon after commencing online

mediation sessions with an FMCS mediator, and SEIU postponed its 

strike date by one week. One day before the new strike date, after a 

marathon online session, the parties reached a full tentative agreement 

on all issues, including but not limited to specific COVID-19 pandemic 

issues such as protective equipment, premium pay during the 

pandemic, and extended sick leave for employees diagnosed with 

COVID-19, as well as wage increases for employees.
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In 2020, FMCS mediators conducted nearly 1,675 training programs with collective 

bargaining partners.

Core training programs consist of:

• Labor-Management Work-Site Committee Training. Helps labormanagement committees extend to the work-site level, forming work-site 

committees, group interactions, and learning techniques to manage change.

• Interest Based Problem Solving Training. Gives the parties a structured 

methodology to agree on a common definition of a problem, share their 

respective underlying interests with respect to the problem and then jointly 

brainstorm solutions that can be justified and supported publicly using agreed 

upon criteria.

• Relationship by Objectives. Improves the parties’ relationship with one 

another, particularly where the relationship has worsened after a contentious 

representation election, initial contract negotiation, or strike.

• Committee Effectiveness Training. Assists the parties in developing joint 

labor-management committees designed to bring the parties into regular 

communication.

• Partners in Change. Explores the organization’s current culture, identifies 

perceptions within the organization, creates a vision for the future, and designs 

systems that effectuate change.

• Contract Administration/Steward-Supervisor Training. Trains front-line 

supervisors and shop stewards on their roles and responsibilities in contract 

administration, grievance processing, the arbitration procedure, and 

interpersonal communications for building cooperative relationships.

• Collective Bargaining and Mediation Training. Trains the parties on 

effective negotiation and communication skills.

E. International Training and Exchange

Beyond the nation’s borders, FMCS plays an important role in promoting conflict 

resolution around the world. FMCS delivers its international training programs using costreimbursable funds, largely through agreements with other government agencies, such as 

the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Labor’s 

Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), and foreign governments and international 

organizations.

The FMCS international work is a small but integral, part of its services. FMCS helps 

establish the labor dispute resolution institutions that are essential to the smooth 

functioning of free market economies. These programs are also a knowledge-sharing 

experience: FMCS mediators gain familiarity with complex issues affecting the global 
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economy and, as a result, are more effective in resolving domestic labor-management 

disputes with international implications.

In 2020, FMCS completed training and consultation programs in Jordan, Mexico, 

Portugal, Colombia, Ukraine, Guatemala, and Taiwan.

• Jordan. With funding from ILAB, and in consultation with the ILO, FMCS 

mediators delivered a high-quality training and capacity-building program for 

labor inspectors in the Jordanian Ministry of Labor. FMCS formed a team of 

mediation trainers through professional “train-the-trainer” workshops and 

drafted a comprehensive mediation training manual for the ministry.

• Mexico. In 2020, FMCS started a three-year project working alongside experts 

from ILAB to launch new mediation centers in 29 Mexican states, as well as a 

national center, which will replace the former Federal and Local Conciliation 

and Arbitration Boards in Mexico. This project supports recent Mexican labor 

reforms, which were designed to provide much greater, earlier, and more 

effective ADR-focused interventions in labor disputes and are expected to

increase the efficiency of the labor dispute resolution system in Mexico. FMCS 

will be responsible for training and mentoring a total of 300 mediators. These 

high-quality training workshops will be delivered online and entirely in Spanish 

by a team of experienced FMCS trainers.

• Portugal. Under the auspices of the ILO’s International Training Center, an 

FMCS mediator delivered a training program entirely in Portuguese to 

mediators from the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security. These 

workshops covered innovative techniques for dispute resolution and collective 

bargaining.

• Columbia. In 2020, FMCS continued its longstanding collaborative 

relationship with Colombia by working with stakeholders from civil society, 

academia, and the government to build capacity for improved labor dispute 

resolution in the Colombian industrial relations sector. FMCS led a series of 

webinars directed toward prospective mediators in the Banking, Mining, 

Agriculture, and Electricity Generation sectors in the second half of 2020.

• Ukraine. At the request of the USAID New Justice Program in Kiev, FMCS 

developed and delivered two online webinars, each two hours in length, for the 

National Association of Mediators in Ukraine (NAMU). In these online

sessions, FMCS Commissioners presented about the U.S. system of labor 

dispute resolution, various models of mediation, and integrative conflict 

management systems.

• Guatemala. With funding from ILAB, FMCS mediators went on three 

missions to Guatemala. There, mediators collaborated with the Ministry of 

Labor and Social Security to engage stakeholders in business, labor, 

government, academia, and the judiciary with the purpose of strengthening the 
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capacity of labor dispute resolution through the improved mediation of 

individual and collective disputes. This project also worked with Guatemalan 

business and labor leaders to build their understanding of key principles in labor 

dispute resolution, as well as collaborative skills for bargaining, and provided 

them with “train-the-trainer” tools to create a multiplier effect of this skillbuilding within their sectors.

• ILO International Training Center (ILO-ITC). In the spring of 2020, FMCS 

mediators delivered a series of webinars in conjunction with the ILO-ITC’s 

Program on Tools and Strategies for the Prevention of Labour Disputes in the 

Workplace. The three webinars were entitled: (i) Building Trust in the 

Workplace, (ii) Preventive Dialogue, and (iii) Integrated Conflict Management 

Systems. FMCS is slated to deliver additional trainings in conjunction with the 

ILO-ITC’s programs on Building Effective Labour Dispute Prevention and 

Resolution Systems, Conciliation/Mediation of Labour Disputes, and the EAcademy on Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations.

F. Arbitration Services

National labor policy favors arbitration over litigation for settling contractual disputes. 

The FMCS Office of Arbitration Services maintains a roster of approximately 1,000 

independent arbitrators who are qualified to hear and decide disputes over the interpretation 

or application of collective bargaining agreements. Upon request from the parties, FMCS 

furnishes a list of names from which they may choose an arbitrator to hear their case and 

render a decision. FMCS administers its established policies and procedures on arbitration, 

which also incorporate the Code of Professional Responsibility for Arbitrators of LaborManagement Disputes, to which FMCS is a signatory.
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During 2020, the Office of Arbitration Services processed more than 10,300 requests 

and oversaw the appointment of 4,070 arbitrators nationwide.

G. FMCS Institute for Conflict Management

The FMCS Institute for Conflict Management (Institute) delivers accessible, innovative, 

and experience-based conflict resolution training for individuals and small groups of 

employees and managers. The training is specifically designed to meet the challenges of 

labor-management relations and organizational change. The Institute’s training programs 

provide participants the opportunity to interact with and learn from experienced 

practitioners who use these skills every day. Federal mediators and private-sector 

arbitrators comprise the Institute faculty. The Institute runs as a reimbursable program and 

is funded by fees received from training participants.

H. Accountable Government

In 2022, FMCS continued to meet the highest standards of government efficiency, 

integrity, employee engagement, and customer service by sustaining a culture of 

continuous improvement among the Agency’s highly motivated workforce. Like many 

Federal agencies, FMCS has experienced occasional challenges related to employee 

recruitment, training, consistent performance, and retention. However, FMCS employees 

and their level of commitment continue to keep the agency at the forefront among similarly 

sized units of the Federal Government. Year after year, FMCS has typically scored among 

Arbitration in the Time of COVID

Workplace dispute arbitration is typically conducted face-to-face, yet 

with numerous workplaces closed or operating under restricted 

conditions, many employees teleworking, and travel impractical, 

COVID-19 restrictions also threatened to shutter FMCS’s arbitration 

roster service.

The FMCS Office of Arbitration reacted quickly to the COVID-19 

pandemic shutdown in 2020. Within weeks of the initial closures the 

office: hosted a training on the use of video platforms to conduct 

online hearings and pre-hearing conferences; developed a guide to

online arbitration; and worked to resolve hundreds of inquiries 

concerning pandemic-related issues such as delays, arbitrator 

policies for health protection, and ethical requirements with respect 

to online hearings.

As a result of these initiatives, the FMCS arbitration roster now has 

almost 500 arbitrators listed as “video-arbitration capable” and the 

Office of Arbitration was able to quickly resume this valuable service. 

In addition, with travel costs eliminated in many situations, arbitration 

costs are lower, thus making arbitration an even more attractive and 

beneficial to employers, unions, and employees as they all adjust to 

the online workplace.
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the top agencies in the results of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), 

administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

More specifically, the FEVS results recognized FMCS as one of the best places to work 

in in 2014 (2nd place among small agencies), 2015 (1st place among small agencies), 2016 

(3rd place among small agencies), 2017-2018 (1st place among small agencies). The 

Partnership for Public Service delayed the EVS in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For 2022, and beyond, FMCS is committed to meeting and exceeding its performance goals 

and surpassing its past successes as documented by the FEVS results.

Retaining Records and Safeguarding Information

In 2022, FMCS will continue to implement the new policies and procedures 

recommended by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 

conjunction with the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) initiative and document 

management program. Improved records management, in concert with strengthened 

financial policies and procedures will allow FMCS to continue to demonstrate effective 

and efficient use of public resources.

Reforming Hiring Practices and Managing Performance

Small agencies often face a challenge in attracting talented job applicants. Poor name 

recognition and perceived or real lack of career advancement opportunities are chief among 

these challenges. In 2022, and in the ensuing years, FMCS seeks to maintain and improve 

upon its position as one of the most desirable places to work in government and thus 

maximize its opportunities to recruit new employees.

Achieving this goal requires that FMCS recruit from a broader base of potential 

applicants from the neutral and management community. To strengthen its ability to 

innovate and deliver high-quality services, FMCS is recruiting mediators with a greater 

diversity of experience and career trajectories beyond collective bargaining experience. In 

the current environment, the most effective mediator may not be the one with traditional 

labor experience, but who is able to develop and adapt to a wide range of FMCS services

and interactive technologies.

Promoting Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a process designed to ensure that employees are committed to 

the organization’s goals and values, vested in the organization’s success, and are 

simultaneously able to enhance their own sense of well-being. To meet its employee 

engagement goals for 2022, FMCS will continue to encourage diverse viewpoints and 

innovation, solicit employee feedback, and practice open communications and 

transparency.

FMCS will continue to use a number of strategies to achieve its objectives including: 

regular communications from the Agency leadership; daily news roundups; quarterly 

online town hall meetings; regular newsletters featuring up-to-date information about 

significant cases and training programs; regular meetings with all levels of staff that focus 
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on goals, action plans, and deliverables; providing field directors with opportunities for 

regular information exchange and collaboration; and a continuation of open forums to 

constructively engage the FMCS workforce on a regular basis.

I. Conclusion

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic placed great stress on the U.S. economy. FMCS will 

continue to lead the effort to lessen the long-term economic impact of the pandemic by 

providing high quality mediation services to improve labor and management relationships. 

FMCS anticipates the challenge of increased workplace conflicts as workers and businesses 

grapple with issues of telework, technology, automation, competition, skills, and costcutting. Workplace disputes are arising in both traditional labor-management collective 

bargaining settings, as well as in high profile social media and community-based 

campaigns for improved wages and working conditions.

Over more than seven decades, FMCS has compiled a proud record of success in helping 

parties resolve disputes, learn joint problem-solving skills, and create successful, 

collaborative problem-solving relationships. As the nature, complexity, and range of the 

issues confronting managers and employees in business and government have evolved, so 

too has FMCS, constantly seeking new and innovative methods to prevent disruptions to 

the U.S. economy, to reduce costs to U.S. taxpayers, and, most importantly, to help 

managers and workers together overcome the challenges of the changing economy in 

business and government workplaces.

Given the anticipated size and number of collective bargaining agreements expiring 

in 2022, the need to update its technical capacity to meet the anticipated demand for FMCS 

services, and the ongoing need for labor and management to work collaboratively to 

achieve competitiveness, economic development, and job security, we urge you to 

favorably consider this request for $50,000,000.
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III. Appropriation Language

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

For expenses necessary for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (‘Service’) 

to carry out the functions vested in it by the Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947, 

including hire of passenger motor vehicles; for expenses necessary for the LaborManagement Cooperation Act of 1978; and for expenses necessary for the Service to carry 

out the functions vested in it by the Civil Service Reform Act, $50,000,000: Provided, That 

notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, fees charged, up to full-cost recovery, for special training 

activities and other conflict resolution services and technical assistance, including those 

provided to foreign governments and international organizations, and for arbitration 

services shall be credited to and merged with this account, and shall remain available until 

expended: Provided further, That fees for arbitration services shall be available only for 

education, training, and professional development of the agency workforce: Provided 

further, That the Director of the Service is authorized to accept and use on behalf of the 

United States gifts of services and real, personal, or other property in the aid of any 

projects or functions within the Director’s jurisdiction.
17

IV. FMCS Organizational Chart

Director

(Vacant)

Senior Advisor / 

International Affairs EEO

Congressional & Public 

Affairs

General

Counsel

Chief Operating Officer

Budget

Human

Resources 

Arbitration & Notice 

Processing

Procurement and 

Operational Support

Finance 

Information

Technology

National Rep.

Conflict Management & 

Prevention

Eastern Region 

Center for Conflict 

Resolution Education

Support Services

Strategy & 

Development

Division of Agency 

Initiatives

Deputy Director

Western Region 

National Capital Region

(Washington, DC)

North West District

(Seattle, WA)

North Central District

(Minneapolis, MN)

South West District

(Los Angeles, CA)

South Central District

(St. Louis, MO)

Mid Atlantic District

(Philadelphia, PA)

South East District

(Nashville, TN)

Great Lakes District 

(Cleveland, OH)

North East District

(Woodbridge, NJ)

Ombuds

As of May 28, 2021
18

V. Statutory and Other Legal Authority

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

Title II of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley) established the 

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) as an independent agency of the 

Federal Government whose primary mission is to prevent and minimize labor-management 

disputes affecting interstate commerce by providing mediation, conciliation, and voluntary 

arbitration services. All mediation and conciliation functions of the Secretary of Labor and 

the United States Conciliation Service were transferred to FMCS at that time. This mission 

includes both the private and public sectors, except for the railroad and airline industries, 

which are covered by the Railway Labor Act administered by the National Mediation 

Board.

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 authorized FMCS to assist with dispute 

resolution in Federal sector labor disputes. The Labor-Management Cooperation Act 

amended the Taft-Hartley Act in 1978 and directed FMCS to encourage labor-management 

cooperative activities. It also authorized the issuance of grants to support joint labormanagement activities conducted by plant, area, public sector, and industry-wide 

committees.

In 1990, the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act and the Negotiated Rulemaking 

Act authorized FMCS to assist other Federal agencies in resolving disputes arising out of 

grants, contracts, licenses, or other agency administrative actions, and to assist in the 

process of negotiated rulemaking. The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 

amended and permanently reenacted these 1990 Acts.

Over the years, Congress and the Executive Branch have authorized FMCS to perform 

a variety of dispute resolution functions as well as to assist in the improvement of labormanagement relationships. Specific statutory and other authorizations of FMCS programs 

are described below.

I. The Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (Public Law 80-101, as 

amended, 29 U.S.C. 158(d), 173 et seq.) directs FMCS to prevent or minimize 

interruptions to the free flow of commerce growing out of labor disputes by 

helping the parties settle such disputes through mediation. Parties are required 

to notify the FMCS 30 days prior to a contract termination or modification date 

so that mediation services may be proffered.

The Act establishes a special procedure for threatened or actual strikes which, 

in the opinion of the President, imperil the national health or safety. In such
19

situations, the President may appoint a board of inquiry to ascertain the facts 

with respect to the dispute. After receipt of a report, the President may seek to 

enjoin the strike, and a court may do so if it finds that the threatened or actual 

strike or lockout affects a substantial part or all of an industry and would imperil 

the national health or safety. 29 U.S.C. 176-178.

II. The Health Care Amendments of 1974 (Public Law 93-360, 29 U.S.C. 

158(d) (4), (4)(A)-(4)(C)) (amending the National Labor Relations Act) include 

special provisions intended to prevent or minimize work stoppages in the health 

care industry. In the case of this industry, FMCS must be notified 60 days 

before the contract termination date. A 30-day notice is required in initial 

bargaining situations. If, in the opinion of the Director, a strike is threatened 

which would interrupt the delivery of health care in a locality, the Director may 

appoint a board of inquiry. 29 U.S.C. 183. The board has 15 days within which 

to investigate and file its report and recommendations; parties must maintain 

the status quo for 15 days thereafter while further negotiations and mediation 

take place. The parties are required to cooperate in any mediation efforts by 

FMCS.

III. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-454, 5 U.S.C. 7119(a))

directs the FMCS to provide mediation assistance in disputes arising from 

negotiations between Federal agencies and the representatives of their 

employees.

IV. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-435, 

as amended, 39 U.S.C. 1207) requires FMCS to provide mediation services and 

assist in establishing arbitration boards in collective bargaining disputes 

between the Postal Service and the exclusive representatives of its employees.

V. An Act to Establish Dispute Resolution Procedures to Settle Disputes Between 

Supervisors and the United States Postal Service, 1980 (Public Law 96-326, as 

amended, 39 U.S.C. 1004) directs FMCS, upon the request of either the Postal 

Service or an organization representing its supervisors, to convene fact finding 

panels to recommend supervisory pay and fringe benefit policies and to create 

panels to review the effectiveness of these procedures and other employment 

policies.

VI. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1978, (Public Law 

95-396, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 136a(c)(l)(F)(iii)) requires FMCS to provide for 

the appointment of arbitrators to decide disputes concerning compensation for 

the use or development of pesticide registration data.

VII. The Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978 (Public Law 101-552, as 

amended by Public Law 95-524, 29 U.S.C. 175a, 186(c)(9)) added Sections

205A and 302(c)(9) to the Labor-Management Relations Act and authorizes and 

directs FMCS to encourage and support joint labor-management activities 

conducted by plant, area, and industry-wide committees designed to improve 
20

labor-management relationships, employment security, and organizational 

effectiveness. The Act authorizes the Service to provide grant funds to assist 

in the establishment and operation of these labor-management committees.

VIII. The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-320) 

(ADRA) authorizes and encourages agencies to use various alternative means 

of dispute resolution in the Federal administrative process in order to avoid the 

time and expense of litigation. The ADRA amended, permanently enacted, and 

incorporated into the Administrative Procedure Act, the Administrative Dispute 

Resolution Act provisions (5 U.S.C. 571 et seq.) and the Negotiated 

Rulemaking Act provisions (5 U.S.C. 561 et seq.) of 1990 legislation. These

provisions and their predecessors suggest that the ADR and regulatorynegotiation “experiments” have become well-accepted processes of Federal 

agencies. The ADRA encourages the development of guidelines to expedite 

the selection of neutrals and to facilitate the use of alternative dispute resolution 

in the Federal Government.

This legislation also amends the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 

(Taft-Hartley) by permanently adding Section 173(f) of Title 29 of the United 

States Code (29 U.S.C. 173(f)) so that FMCS may provide all forms of ADR 

assistance to Federal agencies. Under this legislation, FMCS continues to assist 

agencies in negotiated rulemaking processes as well as other ADR procedures 

by providing training, facilitation, mediation, and other neutral skills.

IX. The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations at 45 CFR 90.43(c)(3), issued by the 

Department of Health and Human Services, implementing its authority under 

the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq., authorizes FMCS 

to provide mediation assistance for the resolution of age-discrimination charges 

filed against any agency receiving Federal financial assistance to any program 

or activity.

X. The Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-264, as 

amended by Public Laws 106-181, 112-95 and 114-242; 49 U.S.C. 40122(a))

directs the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the 

exclusive bargaining representative of its employees to use FMCS, or a 

mutually agreed upon alternative, to mediate disputes concerning changes to 

the FAA’s personnel management system or the parties’ collective bargaining 

agreement. If mediation is unsuccessful, FMCS is required to prepare a list of 

15 qualified arbitrators, from which two will be selected by the parties and a 

third by these two, to form an arbitration board. This board will render a final 

and binding determination.
21

XI. The Veterans Health Care Capital Asset and Business Improvement Act of 2003 

(Public Law 108-170, as amended by Public Law 111-163, 38 U.S.C. 7403 

(h)(4)(C)) gives the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the exclusive 

representative of the affected employees the option of requesting the services 

of FMCS to assist the parties in reaching an agreement regarding disputes with 

respect to any system of promotion and advancement proposed by the 

Secretary.

XII. The Transportation Security Administration Determination, “Transportation 

Security Officers and Collective Bargaining,” February 4, 2011, requires the 

facilitation of collective bargaining negotiations by FMCS or other agreed-upon 

entity, and requires TSA and the unions subject to bargaining to attend training 

in interest-based negotiations conducted by FMCS.
22

VI. Budget Tables and Detailed Financial Requirements

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

BUDGET AND STAFFING BY ACTIVITY

FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022

Total Program

Increase or (Decrease)

Actual Estimated Request 2021 to 2022

Full-Time 

Equivalent 

Employment

Budget 

Authority

($1,000s)

Full-Time 

Equivalent 

Employment

Budget 

Estimate

($1,000s)

Full-Time 

Equivalent 

Employment

Budget 

Request

($1,000s)

Full-Time 

Equivalent 

Employment

Budget 

Authority

($1,000s)

1. Collective Bargaining and 

Grievance Mediations 

(Dispute), Relationship 

Development Training 

(Preventive), and Outreach 

(Public Information) 

Workloads 158 35,541 149 36,595 153 37,725 4 1,130

2. Arbitration Services.......... 7 858 7 883 7 910 0 27

3. National Office and 

Operational Support.......... 49 10,801 49 11,122 49 11,365 0 243

4. Labor-Management Grants 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sub-Total Appropriated 214 $47,200 205 $48,600 209 $50,000 4 $1,400
23

BUDGET AND STAFFING BY ACTIVITY

FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022

Total Program

Increase or (Decrease)

Actual Estimated Request 2021 to 2022

Full-Time 

Equivalent 

Employment

Budget 

Authority

($1,000s)

Full-Time 

Equivalent 

Employment

Budget 

Estimate

($1,000s)

Full-Time 

Equivalent 

Employment

Budget 

Request

($1,000s)

Full-Time 

Equivalent 

Employment

Budget 

Authority

($1,000s)

5. Reimbursable programs: 

ADR Services, 

Employment Mediation, 

International Training, 

Institute Courses, and 

Conference Fund............... 8 1,534 8 2,000 8 2,810 0 810

6. FMCS Internal Training 

and Education ................... 0 231 0 525 0 831 0 306

Sub-Total Reimbursable 8 $1,765 8 $2,525 8 $3,641 0 $1,116

TOTAL RESOURCES 222 $48,965 213 $51,125 217 $53,641 4 $2,516
24

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

BUDGET ESTIMATES FISCAL YEAR 2022

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

(in thousands of dollars)

FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 2021 to 2022

Actual Actual Estimate Request Change (+/-)

Personnel Compensation $25,904 $27,195 $27,781 $28,293 $512

- Full-Time Permanent 25,420 26,690 27,036 27,520 484

- Other Than Full-Time Permanent 74 92 50 78 28

- Other Personnel Compensation - - - - -

- Other Premium and Differential Pay 10 7 10 10 -

- Overtime 10 8 10 10 -

- Other Personnel Compensation-Awards 390 398 675 675 -

- Special Personal Services Payments - - - - -

Personnel Benefits $8,305 $9,230 $9,874 $9,980 $106

- Benefits/Retirement 8,090 8,998 9,648 9,828 180

- Incentives 56 68 60 60 -

- Allowances 16 15 12 12 -

- Special Payments of Other Funds 143 149 154 80 (74)

- Relocation/Permanent Change of Station (PCS) - - - - -

Benefits for Former Personnel $- $2 $20 $20 $-

Travel and Transportation of Persons $1,895 $863 $1,161 $1,243 $82

- Domestic TDY 1,895 833 1,127 1,243 116

- Foreign Travel - 5 - - -

- Training Travel - 8 - - -

- Relocation/Permanent Change of Station (PCS) - - - - -

- Conference Travel - 17 34 0 (34)
25

BUDGET ESTIMATES FISCAL YEAR 2022

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

(in thousands of dollars)

FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 2021 to 2022

Actual Actual Estimate Request Change (+/-)

Transportation of Things $2 $32 $34 $34 $-

- Transportation of Things - 32 34 34 -

- Relocation 2 - - - -

Rent, Communications, and Utilities $5,996 $4,882 $4,882 $4,948 $66

- Rental Payments to GSA 5,154 4,036 4,180 4,244 64

- Rental Payments to Others - 59 56 58 2

- Communications, Utilities, and Misc. Charges - - - - -

- Utilities - 13 12 360 348

- ADP Rental - 1 - - -

- Telecommunications 796 772 590 242 (348)

- Other Rentals - - - - -

- Postage 46 1 44 44 -

Printing and Reproduction $40 $12 $40 $40 $-

- Government Printing - - 20 20 -

- Commercial Printing and Duplication 40 12 20 20 -

- Advertising/Radio/TV

Other Contractual Services $3,857 $4,262 4,146 $4,284 $138

- Advisory and Assistance Services 1,986 3,176 1,186 862 (324)

- Other Services from Non-Federal Sources 30 35 8 6 (2)

- Other Goods and Services from Federal Sources 337 304 1,500 1,810 310

- Operation and Maintenance of Facilities 122 1 6 100 94

- Research and Development Contracts - - - - -

- Medical Care 26 - 26 26 -

- Operation and Maintenance of Equipment - - - - -
26

BUDGET ESTIMATES FISCAL YEAR 2022

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

(in thousands of dollars)

FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 2021 to 2022

Actual Actual Estimate Request Change (+/-)

Other Contractual Services (continued)

- Operation and Maint. of Equipment (Non-Travel) 1,350 746 1,420 1,480 60

- Relocation/PCS 6 - - - -

- Subsistence and Support of Persons - - - - -

Supplies and Material $255 $158 $191 $303 $112

- Office Supplies and Publications 152 82 118 198 80

- ADP Supplies and Materials 98 70 70 100 30

- Fuel - - - - -

- Materials/Parts - 1 - - -

- Other Supplies 5 5 3 5 2

Equipment $396 $564 $471 $855 $550

- Manufacturing/Production Equipment - 127 - - -

- ADP Software - 28 146 500 500

- ADP Equipment/Hardware 250 371 100 355 50

- Telecommunications Equipment - 24 - - -

- Other Equipment and Property 146 14 75 - (75)

Leasehold Improvements 150 - (150)

Grants, Subsidies, and Contributions - - - - -

Interest and Dividends - - - - -

Refunds - - - - -

Unvouchered - - - - -

Financial Transfers - - - - -

Total - Appropriations $46,650 $47,200 $48,600 $50,000 $1,400
27

BUDGET ESTIMATES FISCAL YEAR 2022

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

(in thousands of dollars)

FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 2021 to 2022

Actual Actual Estimate Request Change (+/-)

Direct Funds

Personnel Compensation 107 - - - -

Personnel Benefits 36 - - - -

Travel and Transportation of Persons 607 127 487 793 306

Transportation of Things - - - - -

Rent, Communications, and Utilities - - - - -

Printing and Reproduction - - - - -

Other Contractual Services 115 61 30 30 -

Supplies and Material 150 43 8 8 -

Equipment - - - - -

Total - Direct Funds $1,015 $231 $525 $831 $306

Reimbursable Funds

Personnel Compensation 984 993 1,190 1,100 (90)

Personnel Benefits 290 291 374 370 (4)

Travel and Transportation of Persons 245 104 230 310 80

Transportation of Things - - - - -

Rent, Communications, and Utilities - 6 - - -

Printing and Reproduction - 1 2 2 -

Other Contractual Services 294 112 194 1,018 824

Supplies and Material 8 27 10 10 -

Equipment -

Total - Reimbursable Funds $1,821 $1,534 $2,000 2,810 810

TOTAL - ALL SOURCES 49,486 48,964 51,125 53,641 2,516
28

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

Detail of Total Employment – End of Year

2020 2021 2022

Actual Estimated Requested

Executive Level III.......................................... 1 0 1

ES.................................................................... 4 3 4

Subtotal............................................ 5 3 5

GS-15 .............................................................. 27 27 28

GS-14 .............................................................. 139 139 135

GS-13 .............................................................. 14 8 20

GS-12 .............................................................. 7 7 7

GS-11 .............................................................. 7 5 8

GS-10 .............................................................. 0 0 0

GS-9 ................................................................ 11 14 13

GS-8 ................................................................ 6 3 5

GS-7 ................................................................ 2 2 2

GS-6 ................................................................ 1 1 1

GS-5 ................................................................ 1 1 0

GS-4 ................................................................ 0 0 0

GS-3 ................................................................ 0 0 0

GS-2 ................................................................ 0 0 0

Subtotal............................................ 215 207 210

Total employment, end of year..................... 220 * 210 * 215 *

Full-time equivalent (FTE) usage ................ 222 213 217

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Average ES Salary .......................................... $175,390 $178,838 $181,264

Average GS Level ........................................... 14 03 14 03 14 02

Average GS Salary.......................................... $122,902 $126,589 $129,121

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* 8 FTE funded by reimbursable revenue
29

VIII. Workload Projections –2021 and 2022

The following pages include FMCS workload over prior fiscal years, caseload 

estimates, accomplishments for 2020, and estimated workloads in 2021 and 2022.
30

WORKLOAD OUTPUTS AND PROJECTIONS

FISCAL YEARS 2016 - 2022

PROGRAM SERVICES

FY 2016

Actual

FY 2017

Actual

FY 2018

Actual

FY 2019

Actual

FY 2020

Estimated

FY 2020

Actual

FY 2021

Estimated

FY 2022

Estimated

1. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 

MEDIATION...........................................

Assigned Casesi 11,734 11,280 10,537 10,709 10,800 9,655 10,000 10,000

Mediated Casesii 3,540 3,230 3,166 2,923 3,445 2,757 3,136 3,136

Closed Cases 11,605 11,261 10,636 10,705 10,822 10,030 10,018 10,018

Closed Mediated Cases 2,941 2,616 2,602 2,429 2,832 2,440 2,582 2,582

Settled and Closed Mediated Cases 2,516 2,278 2,242 2,103 2,419 2,085 2,208 2,208

Percentage of mediated cases settled w/FMCSiii 85.5% 87.1% 86.2% 86.6% 85.4% 85.5% 85.5% 85.5%

Activity rate in significant casesiv 38.7% 36.4% 39.2% 23.9% 45.0% 33.3% 45.0% 45.0%

2. GRIEVANCE MEDIATION.......................

Assigned Cases 1,713 1,719 1,707 2,511 2,200 1,985 2,100 2,100

Mediated Cases 1,670 1,650 1,641 2,441 2,128 1,927 2.032 2.032

Settled GM Cases 1,264 1,224 1,152 1,763 1,589 1,280 1,511 1,511

Percentage of cases settled w/ FMCSv 75.7% 74.2% 70.2% 72.2% 74.7% 66.4% 74.4% 74.4%

3. RELATIONSHIP-DEVELOPMENT AND 

TRAINING..............................................

Number of training programs provided 1,941 1,956 1,815 1,956 2,500 1,675 2,000 2,000

4. ADR Services.................................................

Mediated Cases 1,076 1,200 1,081 1,212 1,500 1,370 1,500 1,500

Settled ADR Cases 479 594 523 554 695 683 694 694

Percent of ADR cases settled w/ FMCSvi 44.5% 49.5% 48.4% 45.7% 46.3% 49.9% 46.3% 46.3%

5. OUTREACH .................................................

Outreach casesvii 3,049 2,837 3,045 2,600 3,200 1,921 2,300 2,300
31

PROGRAM SERVICES

FY 2016

Actual

FY 2017

Actual

FY 2018

Actual

FY 2019

Actual

FY 2020

Estimated

FY 2020

Actual

FY 2021

Estimated

FY 2022

Estimated

6. ARBITRATION SERVICES.......................

Number of panels issued 12,250 11,836 11,617 10,944 11,200 10,340 11,000 11,000

Number of arbitrators appointed 5,296 5,247 4,524 4,342 4,785 4,070 4,771 4,771

7. GRANTS........................................................

Number of grants funded 3 11 4 1 0 0 0 4

8. FMCS INSTITUTE ......................................

Number of courses provided 9 9 10 10 16 23 25 25

Number of participants 142 189 190 192 384 598 600 600
32

IX. Annual Performance Plan

Performance expectations for each service area are guided by the FMCS current fiveyear strategic plan. For each strategic goal, the FMCS has identified a number of 

objectives, key implementation strategies, and actions needed for achieving each goal. The 

following section details each goal and the programs impacted by them.
33

Strategic Goal #1: Mediation

Minimize the number and duration of work stoppages that may occur during collective 

bargaining negotiations.

Objective:

• Use of FMCS collective bargaining mediation by labor and management leaders.

Action:

• Early intervention activities, particularly in initial contracts, the health care 

industry, and large and high-impact bargaining units.

Strategies:

• Encourage labor and management leaders to employ mediation in their contract 

negotiations.

• Pursue FMCS joint problem-solving initiatives during the term of the agreement.

Expected Outputs:

• Increased mediator case activity rates.

• Increased proportion of cases with meetings held prior to contract expiration date.

Discussion:

Collective bargaining mediation represents the core of the FMCS mission and its most 

publicly visible work. An independent study conducted for the FMCS found that mediation 

prior to a contract’s expiration date significantly reduces the duration of any work stoppage 

that occurs. Previously, three separate studies of matched bargaining pairs found that 

FMCS mediation was also an important factor in preventing work stoppages from 

occurring in the first place.

As a result of these studies, the FMCS believes that early and ongoing contact with the 

parties to a labor contract negotiation is imperative in reducing the number and duration of 

work stoppages. This is particularly true in collective bargaining cases that involve: an 

initial contract; national security; the health care industry; large bargaining units; or those 

cases that have the potential for permanent shutdowns or disruptions to the community, 

work force, or interstate commerce.

The FMCS evaluates its success in these areas by looking at how many negotiations 

use mediation services, whether or not a work stoppage occurred, the duration of any 

stoppage, and the timing of mediators’ involvement. On an aggregate basis, the FMCS 

also estimates the financial cost of work stoppages that actually occur and the value of 

work stoppages that its mediators are able to prevent or shorten.
34

Strategic Goal #2: Building Problem-Solving Relationships

Improve labor-management relationships.

Objective:

• Use collaborative dispute resolution processes to manage workplace conflict.

Actions:

• Provide techniques and information that help parties improve their collective 

bargaining relationship, with particular emphasis on implementing changes to 

health care benefits.

• Deliver internally sustainable dispute resolution systems.

• Educate labor and management leaders at home and abroad in the art of building 

and maintaining labor-management partnerships.

Strategy:

• Promote the use of FMCS programs and outreach emphasizing joint initiatives on 

significant issues likely to impact collective bargaining.

Expected Output:

• Increased customer satisfaction with FMCS educational products and services.

Discussion:

Relationship development and training and a number of related activities are designed 

to help the parties to a collective bargaining agreement better understand the issues and 

external forces affecting their collective bargaining relationship and to develop internal 

task forces or groups to help them improve their relationship. In an increasingly global 

economy, outreach to sister agencies in other countries is a small, but important aspect of 

the FMCS’s work in this area.

The continued success of American employers and employees in a globally competitive 

arena requires a high level of cooperation between labor and management. This is 

particularly true with respect to new circumstances confronting both parties in the 

collective bargaining relationship. Competitive issues can be both complex and subtle and 

require creative solutions that address unique challenges.

The FMCS is committed to delivering to its customers the best possible information, 

analysis, practices, and solutions. Through its individual program evaluations, the FMCS 

is constantly seeking to improve its core curriculum.
35

Strategic Goal #3: Resolving Mid-Term Disputes

Resolve contract-based disputes (grievances) that arise during the term of collective 

bargaining agreements.

Objectives:

• Assist parties to voluntarily resolve contract-based disputes.

• Provide high-value arbitrator referral service for situations when parties cannot 

voluntarily resolve a contract-based dispute.

Actions:

• Increased utilization of FMCS services to resolve contract-based disputes.

• Maintain roster of experienced arbitrators.

• Encourage on-line arbitration referral service case filings.

Strategies:

• Advocate mediation and arbitration as the preferred methods for settling disputes 

between parties in a collective bargaining relationship.

• Facilitate joint, collaborative, problem-solving events on an ongoing basis.

Expected Outputs:

• Increase the proportion of settled grievance mediation cases.

• Increase customer satisfaction with quality of arbitration service.

Discussion:

Grievance mediation, joint problem-solving facilitation, and arbitration are three 

approaches for resolving disputes that may arise from differing interpretations of a labor 

contract’s terms and conditions. Grievance mediation and joint problem-solving 

facilitation are voluntary processes that rely upon consensus building. Arbitration is a 

structured process that provides a final and binding determination. All three approaches 

are designed to reduce the need for expensive and time-consuming court litigation, and 

resolve disputes before they negatively affect the collective bargaining relationship.

Increasing the FMCS presence among groups that have not traditionally used its 

services is one way to build healthier collective bargaining relationships. The FMCS 

involvement in these interventions encourages the parties to engage in other collective 

bargaining activities with less disruption and animosity.

Improved settlement rates in contract-based disputes and joint problem-solving cases 

provide a good indication of how well FMCS mediators are able to facilitate agreements. 

Likewise, favorable customer evaluations of the arbitrator referral service help the FMCS 

improve the quality of the service.
36

Strategic Goal #4: Promoting ADR

Resolve regulatory / enforcement policy disputes and statute-based workplace disputes.

Objectives:

• Use employment mediation as an alternative to litigation.

• Use problem-solving processes to resolve regulatory/ policy based disputes.

Action:

• Increase number and variety of dispute mediation services provided to 

government agencies, including, but not limited to, employment mediation, 

regulatory negotiations, public policy disputes, systems design, skills 

development and training, facilitation of inter- and intra-Agency cooperation and 

collaboration, mediator coaching and mentoring.

Strategy:

• Advocate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as the preferred method for 

settling non-collective bargaining disputes.

Expected Outputs:

• Increase the number of mediated settlements in employment mediation cases.

• Increase the number of regulatory/policy disputes resolved through facilitated 

processes.

Discussion:

The FMCS alternative dispute resolution (ADR) work is defined by the Administrative 

Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 and is designed to help resolve disputes that do not result 

from a collective bargaining relationship. Under the Act, the FMCS is generally limited to 

work in the Federal sector, but may include state or local entities if the dispute is related to 

a Federal rule or regulation.

Using traditional dispute resolution vehicles, such as the courts or other statutory 

processes, may take several years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees

and court costs, and require significant resource expenditures from the affected parties. In 

addition, imposed outcomes from utilization of these processes are unpredictable and the 

conditions present when the dispute arose may have changed dramatically. In regulatory 

matters, voluntary resolution of a single issue by multiple parties through a facilitated 

consensus-based process will normally offset any costs incurred.

By increasing the number of individual employment cases assigned, conflict 

management services and regulatory/enforcement services that the FMCS provides, and 

achieving an increased number of resolved matters, FMCS seeks to provide a cost-effective 

alternative to litigation and promote better government decision-making.
37

Strategic Goal #5: Promoting Effective and Efficient Management

Support and cultivate top talent; develop robust and responsive information management 

systems; and create a safe and secure environment for human, digital, and physical assets.

Objectives:

• Ensure responsible financial management to ensure program integrity.

• Manage human capital to create an agile and motivated workforce.

• Optimize IT investments to improve process efficiency and enable innovation.

Action:

• Maintain a robust internal controls board and process to ensure compliance with 

applicable rules, regulations, and directives.

• Increase the use of in-house expertise to reduce contractual service costs.

Strategy:

• Leverage existing internal capacity in IT, logistical support, and other areas.

• Work with FMCS employees to identify outdated or weak internal processes, job 

descriptions, or inadequate systems.

Expected Outputs:

• Reduced contractual payments for commercial shipping and printer usage fees.

• Improved use of technology and adoption of productivity software and systems.

Discussion:

Responsible financial management is FMCS’s foundation for meeting its commitment 

to spend taxpayer dollars wisely. Implementing a strong, modern financial system and 

internal controls, along with targeted investments, will improve accountability, reporting, 

and decision making. These in turn will lead to cost savings and efficiencies that improve

how our agency manages its public funds.

Investing wisely in information technology can help reduce costs and allow FMCS to 

become more agile and responsive in an environment of rapid technological change. From 

externally facing websites to internal applications that manage programs and resources, 

FMCS will create modern, secure information technology solutions that are responsive to 

customer demands, meet Federal security guidelines, and promote information-sharing and 

efficiency within the Agency.

Building a world-class Federal management team and a workforce ready to collaborate 

with colleagues within FMCS, among other Federal departments, and outside the Federal 

Government, will create a more engaged, motivated, and satisfied workforce.
38

Endnotes

i Section 8(d) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §158(d) requires that any 

employer or labor organization provide notice to the FMCS 30 days prior to contract expiration. Not 

all cases providing notices are assigned. Actual 2020 FMCS case intake was less than 18,000. ii

 Mediated cases represent the number of cases in the FY where mediators have become active in the 

negotiations. iii Defined as the number of mediated cases settled divided by the total number of mediated cases.

iv Significant cases are generally defined as situations where the bargaining unit exceeds 1,000. v

 Defined as the number of grievance mediation cases settled and closed within the fiscal year divided by 

the number of closed GM assignments.

vi Defined as the number of ADR cases settled divided by the number of mediated cases closed.

vii FMCS requires all mediators to engage in outreach efforts. These kinds of activities include nonbargaining meetings with labor and management representatives, attendance at conferences, meetings 

with local and state officials to offer FMCS services, and presentations designed to increase public 

knowledge.