FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

FISCAL YEAR 2020

Congressional Budget Submission

Submitted to

Congress

March 2019

i

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

FISCAL YEAR 2020

Congressional Budget Submission

Table of Contents

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

A. Rising to the Challenge of the 21st Century Workplace ................................... 2

B. Mediation and Conflict Management & Prevention Services .......................... 3

C. Accountable Government ................................................................................. 7

D. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 9

II. FMCS Organizational Chart ................................................................................. 10

III. Appropriation Language ....................................................................................... 11

IV. Statutory and Other Legal Authority .................................................................... 12

V. Budget Tables and Detailed Financial Requirements........................................... 16

VI. Mission and Program Structure ............................................................................ 25

A. Collective Bargaining Mediation.................................................................... 26

B. Grievance Mediation....................................................................................... 26

C. Relationship-Development and Training........................................................ 26

D. Conflict Resolution and Prevention Services for Government....................... 27

E. International Training and Exchange.............................................................. 29

F. Arbitration Services........................................................................................ 29

G. FMCS Institute for Conflict Management ...................................................... 29

H. Labor-Management Committee Grants .......................................................... 30

VII. Workload Projections – FY 2019 and FY 2020.................................................... 31

VIII. Annual Performance Plan ..................................................................................... 34

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Fiscal Year 2020 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. Congress had the 

wisdom and foresight to recognize that although workplace conflict is inevitable, 

disruptive work stoppages and dysfunctional labor-management relationships need not 

be. Through FMCS, the Federal Government plays a critical role in strengthening 

America’s workplaces by providing limited, voluntary, and strategic assistance that 

minimizes or averts the adverse economic impacts of conflict. More importantly, 

thriving labor-management relationships, collaboration, and pragmatic problem solving 

between companies and their workers not only prevent disputes, but also significantly 

contribute to increased competitiveness, 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 uphold the Agency’s long and proud record of success in helping its 

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

collaborative problem-solving relationships in order to accomplish its mission. Every 

day, the Agency’s small corps of skilled mediators provides its 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 second decade 

of the 21st Century as it was 71 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 and as a result, increasing the likelihood of workplace conflict. 

Additionally, employers and workers continue to confront instability and rapid change in 

both retirement and health care benefits. Such change presents enormous challenges and 

opportunities for American workers and employers across all economic sectors. FMCS is 

well equipped to assist with making these changes as smooth as possible.

Whether a dispute takes place in traditional labor-management settings or in 

conventional industries and sectors of the economy—such as cargo shipping, oil refining, 
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and automobile and steel manufacturing—or among service industry workers or those 

participating in the today’s high-tech economy, labor disputes arise from complex 

decisions relating to costs, hiring and retaining skilled workers, managing technology, 

and winning globally. FMCS, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has strategically 

positioned ten regional offices and maintains more than 60 field stations across the 

country where it can best help American workers and business thrive and succeed.

The 2020 budget requests $47.2 million, an amount which will allow FMCS to 

continue meeting anticipated demand for its statutory activities.

A. Rising to the Challenge of the 21st Century Workplace

FMCS was born during the economic turmoil following the Second World War. 

Then, the U.S. was in the final stages of a disruptive transition from a predominantly 

agricultural to a mostly industrial economy. Now, the U.S. is at a similar point; however

this time in the throes of a transitioning economy that, in addition to manufacturing, 

includes advanced technology, knowledge, and services.

Labor and management continue to rely upon traditional collective bargaining 

methods and models. However, new bargaining forms have emerged in the past few 

years, such as multi-party dialogues, local legislative initiatives, high profile social media 

campaigns, and community-based strategies. These new forms of multi-party and 

community-based bargaining strategies present challenges that traditional collective 

bargaining does not. Thanks to their training and expertise in dispute resolution 

techniques and multi-party dialogues, FMCS mediators are able to assist parties who are 

trying to navigate these new realities.

Even in today’s high-tech economy and in the wide range of settings in which 

bargaining takes place, the interests of labor and management in 2020 will be 

fundamentally the same: workers will be seeking to improve their terms and conditions of 

employment and businesses will be seeking to ensure their competitiveness and 

profitability. In all cases, FMCS's highly skilled, professional mediators are uniquely 

positioned to help parties find durable solutions in a transitioning economy and 

competitive world.

FMCS understands that just as business and labor must innovate and embrace new 

workplace models during times of change, so too must FMCS. The FMCS “affinity” 

bargaining model is a recent and notable example of this ethos. FMCS mediators use the 

affinity model to help parties negotiate complex issues, such as those relating to 

employee pay and benefits, in a collaborative, transparent fashion. Through this process, 

FMCS can significantly reduce the amount of time the parties take to reach agreement: 

helping them reach agreement in hours instead of the days or even weeks more typical of 

the traditional negotiating model. The power of this model is demonstrated by its high 

success rate, the broad applicability of it to industries as diverse as the defense industry 

and university professors, and its acceptance among state and international mediation 

agencies.
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B. Mediation and Conflict Management & Prevention Services

With its 72-year history of providing mediation, training, and facilitation services, 

FMCS has more aggregate experience in dispute resolution than any other government 

agency. For the U.S. economy, the FMCS’s statutory mandate to prevent or minimize 

economically disruptive labor disputes remains as vital today as it was when Congress 

created the Agency.

In addition to providing labor-management dispute resolution services, the 

Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (ADRA) calls upon FMCS to assist 

Federal, state, and local government entities in resolving disputes arising under their 

jurisdictions.

On a cost-reimbursable basis, FMCS provides a wide variety of professional services 

to more than 130 Federal agencies and bureaus. These services include: mediating 

employment disputes and disputes involving administrative programs; training in the 

skills and procedures of alternative dispute resolution; consulting, evaluating, designing, 

and building capacity in conflict management systems; facilitating public policy and 

intra/inter-agency discussions; and developing tools for interagency and public-private 

cooperation and collaboration.

In 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) transferred to FMCS 

the responsibility for administering the Federal Shared Neutrals program. This program 

provides mediators free of charge to participating Federal agencies in the Washington, 

D.C. metropolitan area. Program mediators are Federal employees from over 40 

participating agencies and sub-agencies who have mediation training and experience and 

who mediate as a collateral duty for Federal agencies other than their own, in exchange 

for like services back to their own agency.

FMCS is proud of its accomplishments and looks forward, in 2020, 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. In 2020, FMCS will increase its 

efforts to:

Use FMCS mediators' extensive conflict resolution experience and skills to 

improve relationships and create the trust, respect and problem-solving skills 

essential for continued economic growth, increased job security, and greater 

efficiency.

Offer its expertise in varied models of bargaining, including traditional,

modified traditional, and expedited interest-based bargaining.

Build upon the specific Congressional mandate embodied in the Administrative 

Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. § 571, et seq.) and assist other 

Federal government agencies in resolving conflict in a variety of ways, i.e.,:

Facilitate dialogue among affected stakeholders prior to the finalization 

of regulations issued by Federal agencies. For decades, this process has 
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reduced litigation challenging such regulations and thereby avoids the 

direct and indirect costs of such litigation to both Federal agencies as 

well as the non-federal stakeholders. Recent beneficiaries include the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of Interior, the U.S. 

Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Expanding systems within FMCS mediation services to improve the 

efficient dispute resolution of other Federal agencies. Recent

agreements include a project to reduce a backlog of 1,000 complaints by 

the general public against the Social Security Administration, and 

reducing a 13,000 case backlog at the EEOC’s Administrative Judge 

stage of litigation. These agreements are in addition to longstanding 

mediation services provided to various agencies within the Department 

of Homeland Security (e.g., ICE, CBP, USCIS), the U.S. Postal Service, 

the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Health &

Human Services Office of Civil Rights, among many others.

Working with the 28 Federal Executive Boards (FEBs) to provide 

mediation trainings to shared neutrals to boost the capacity of Federal 

agencies to provide dispute resolution services without having to 

reimburse one another. FMCS mediators deliver the initial trainings and 

co-meditate and mentor the shared neutrals until they gain enough 

experience to serve as lead mediators and subsequently mentor others. 

FMCS is currently working with the FEBs to provide trainings to shared 

neutrals in Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, 

Newark, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, and is holding discussions with other 

FEBs to develop future training programs.

Training mediators outside of the Shared Neutrals program at a variety 

of Federal agencies. Recent clients include the Department of Health & 

Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Personnel 

Management’s Senior Executive Service Training program, among 

others.

Managing Bargaining Challenges: Anticipating Major Contract Negotiations.

In 2020, FMCS expects to receive approximately 19,000 notices of expiring collective 

bargaining agreements. Some 240 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, groceries, telecommunications, transportation, and 

health care, and also in Federal agencies with critical national security roles.

Nearly 20,000 grocery workers at Safeway, and Giant in Maryland face 

expiring contracts on October 29, 2019.
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Contracts covering more than 24,000 grocery workers in Western Washington 

State expire on November 1, 2019.

In the Federal sector, the contract for 45,000 Transportation Security Agency 

(TSA) security screeners expires on December 31, 2019.

Also at the end of 2019, the contract for approximately 16,000 commercial 

and recorded voice actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild-American 

Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) will expire.

At the end of February, 2020, more than 9,000 workers for AT&T Mobility in 

the South Western U.S. will seek a new contract.

Throughout February, 2020, more than 5,000 Atlantic City, NJ casino workers 

will be seeking a new contract.

In April, 2020, more than 30,000 service workers in the defense and private 

industry will renegotiate their contracts.

More than 31,000 construction workers in Seattle, WA will seek a new 

contract by May 31.

Approximately 41,000 AT&T Mobility workers will see their 4-year contract 

expire on June 1, 2020.

In July, 2020 nationwide contracts covering nearly 20,000 mechanical service 

contractors will expire.

A master agreement covering nearly 14,000 automobile transporters expires 

on August 31, 2020. The same day, a contract for nearly 6,000 Disney Parks 

& Resorts employees will expire.

Promoting Collaborative Solutions: Labor-Management Training

Though the Agency’s priority will always be to prevent or to promptly resolve labor 

disputes that could have an adverse impact on the U.S. economy, 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 labor dispute.

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 employers and unions develop collaborative, 

problem-solving approaches for managing conflict. FMCS developed its labor relations 

model through decades of hands-on dispute resolution experience. This model 

encourages an ongoing, joint problem-solving approach characterized by open 

communication, respect, trust, and transparency.
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Managing Bargaining Challenges: Recent Major Contract Negotiations

To illustrate the value of its work, the following summaries describe FMCS efforts in 

major cases and activities during fiscal 2018:

Bath Iron Works in Bath, ME and the Bath Marine Draftsmen’s 

Association. Timely behind-the-scenes work by an FMCS mediator 

dissipated considerable momentum for a strike by 760 employees at this key 

naval shipbuilding facility in Bath, ME. To obtain the agreement of the 

parties, the FMCS mediator engaged in 36 hours of mediation over three days 

and helped the parties avoid confrontation over flex-time issues.

Advanced Disposal and Operating Engineers Local 324. Friday, October 

13, 2017 represented good luck for an FMCS mediator, whose work in 

bringing the parties to an agreement ended a five-day strike and restored 

service at a Detroit-area landfill. Thanks to the efforts of the mediator, the 

parties were able to reach agreement on their first collective bargaining

contract after more than a year of negotiations.

Centerra and United Professional Pro-Force of Savannah River Local 

125. FMCS mediators won praise for their work from both sides in 

negotiations that ended a seven-week work-stoppage by 350 security guards at 

the Savannah River Nuclear Site in Aiken, SC., The Savannah River site 

processes and stores nuclear materials used in the U.S. nuclear defense 

industry and one of the nation’s most sensitive nuclear facilities. The 

mediators were able to persuade both sides to return to the bargaining table 

after initial negotiations had broken down.

Entergy and Utility Workers Union of America, Local 1-2. FMCS 

mediators persevered in January, 2018 through lengthy negotiations and long 

nights at the bargaining table to assist the operator of Indian Point nuclear 

energy plant and 330 plant workers in reaching an agreement that assured 

uninterrupted nuclear power from the facility for the metropolitan New York 

City area.

Arconic Power & Propulsion and UAW Local 1243. An FMCS mediator 

who had just become a father gave up a day of leave to see negotiations 

successfully concluded between the manufacturer of aerospace and 

automotive components and some 1,320 employees in the bargaining unit. 

With 2,200 total workers, Arconic is the second largest employer in 

Muskegon County, Michigan.

Utilities of East Syracuse and the International Brotherhood of Electrical 

Workers (IBEW). A Syracuse-based FMCS mediator helped keep the lights 

on in upstate New York when the 1,300 workers who trim trees for electrical 

power companies reached an agreement with their employer. The growth of 
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brush and trees interfere with transmission wires and threaten the reliability of 

the New York state electrical grid.

Walt Disney World Resort and the Services Trades Council. Perseverance 

and patience paid off for a team of FMCS mediators who were asked to assist 

the parties in what became a year-long, highly contentious negotiation 

between a coalition of six local unions, representing 38,000 resort employees, 

and Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL. Negotiations for the four-year 

contract began in summer 2017 with the parties reaching agreement in 

August, 2018. Utilizing “shuttle diplomacy” during the difficult talks and 

working over holidays, FMCS mediators helped the parties reach a tentative 

agreement, with a final union ratification vote to approve the contract a week 

later.

C. Accountable Government

In 2020, FMCS will continue 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 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 (1st place among small agencies), and 2018 

(1st place among small agencies). For 2020, and beyond, FMCS is committed to meeting 

and exceeding its performance goals and surpassing its past successes as documented by 

the FEVS results.

Increasing Compliance and Strengthening Internal Controls

In 2020, 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 2020, 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. 
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Achieving this goal requires that FMCS recruit from a broader base of potential 

applicants from the neutral and management community. In 2020 and thereafter, FMCS 

will build an accelerated mediator promotion track and also broaden its developmental 

mediator program to include new hires at the GS-11 and GS-12 levels. Doing so will 

allow FMCS to recruit from groups that may have the requisite skill set but not 

necessarily the experience that FMCS has required in the past.

Also by the end of 2020, FMCS will have completed a new set of mediator 

performance criteria and also will have transitioned to an automated performance 

management system. In combination, these systems will provide more opportunity for 

the Agency to focus on improving the quality and effectiveness of the service it provides.

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 2020, 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 

virtual 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 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.

Modernizing Communications with Customers

FMCS strives to provide high-quality, high-value services to its customers in order to 

meet and fulfill its statutory mission. Equally important is FMCS’s commitment to using 

allocated resources as efficiently as possible in order to ensure that customers and 

taxpayers receive the most value for the services it provides.

In 2020, FMCS will have in place an updated document management system. This is 

in concert with earlier efforts to update Agency technology to better serve current and 

future customers, including: launching a new public website; using social media 

(Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) to communicate with customers and employees; and 

using a new email service delivery system designed to reach larger audiences with 

information about upcoming live and web-based conflict resolution presentations and 

training events.
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D. Conclusion

The U.S. economy is in a period of transition on many levels. While these

transformations present great opportunities, they also present the challenge of increased 

workplace conflicts as workers and businesses grapple with issues of technology, 

automation, competition, skills, and cost-cutting. 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 

FY 2020, the need to fill vacant mediator positions 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 $47,200,000.
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II. FMCS Organizational Chart

Director

(Acting)

Senior Advisor

Conflict Management & 

Prevention

Public Affairs EEO General

Counsel

Deputy Director, 

Field Operations Chief Operating Officer

Finance 

Reg. 01 (Woodbridge, NJ)

Reg. 02 (Philadelphia, PA)

Reg. 03 (Pittsburgh, PA)

Reg. 04 (Cleveland, OH)

Reg. 05 (Nashville, TN)

Reg. 06 (St. Louis, MO)

Reg. 07 (Seattle, WA)

Reg. 08 (Los Angeles, CA)

Reg. 09 (Chicago, IL)

Reg. 10 (Minneapolis, MN)

Information

Technology

Budget

Education & Training,

FMCS Institute

Strategy & 

Development

Division of Agency 

Initiatives

Procurement and 

Operational Services

Office of

Ethics

Human

Resources 

Notice Processing & 

Arbitration

National Rep.

As of Mar. 18, 2019
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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, $47,200,000: 

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.
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IV. 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 labormanagement 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 labormanagement cooperative activities. It also authorized the issuance of grants to support 

joint labor-management activities conducted by plant, area, public sector, and industrywide committees.

In 1990, FMCS was authorized by the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act and the 

Negotiated Rulemaking Act 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 labor-management 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 
13

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

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.
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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 

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 

regulatory-negotiation “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 

conflict management and prevention assistance to Federal agencies. Under 

this legislation, FMCS continues to assist agencies in negotiated rulemaking 

processes as well as other conflict resolution 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.
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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 agreedupon entity, and requires TSA and the unions subject to bargaining to attend 

training in interest-based negotiations conducted by FMCS.








24

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

Detail of Total Employment – End of Year

2018 2019 2020

Actual Estimated Requested

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

ES .................................................................... 2 3 3

Subtotal ............................................ 2 3 4

GS-15............................................................... 25 25 25

GS-14............................................................... 109 113 129

GS-13............................................................... 45 47 35

GS-12............................................................... 4 4 6

GS-11............................................................... 11 11 14

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

GS-9................................................................. 13 13 13

GS-8................................................................. 4 4 4

GS-7................................................................. 6 6 6

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

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

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

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

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

Subtotal ............................................ 218 224 233

Total employment, end of year ..................... 220 * 227 * 237 *

Full-time equivalent (FTE) usage................. 218 * 224 * 234 *

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

Average ES Salary........................................... $173,687 $175,734 $177,000

Average GS Level ........................................... 13:06 13:06 13:07

Average GS Salary .......................................... $115,943 $114,629 $115,700

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

* 9 FTE funded by reimbursable revenue
25

VI. Mission and Program Structure

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 conflict 

resolution and prevention programs to Federal Government agencies, as well as promote 

and establish labor-management partnerships.

The 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 more than 70 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 relationship-development 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.
26

A. Collective Bargaining Mediation

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

work stoppages to the U.S. economy. FMCS’s core work is to mediate 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 sector, and also to the public sector, including Federal agencies, 

and state and local governments.

During mediation, the mediator’s task is to 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 FY 2018, FMCS 

mediators were actively involved in nearly 3,200 collective bargaining contract 

negotiations in every major industry throughout the United States.

B. 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 FY 2018, FMCS 

mediated 1,641 grievance mediation cases and helped the parties reach agreement in 

1,152 of these (70 percent).

C. Relationship-Development and Training

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

agreement is another important goal of FMCS. 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 FY 2018, FMCS mediators conducted more than 1,800 training programs with

collective bargaining partners.

Alternative Bargaining Training, such as Interest Bargaining, teaches techniques and

the potential benefits of a non-adversarial, joint problem-solving approach to negotiation. 

FMCS regularly develops, based on the needs of the parties, alternative bargaining 

models to enhance problem-solving and mitigate adversarial relationships. Core training 

programs consist of:
27

Relationship by Objective. 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.

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.

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.

Interest-Based Bargaining and Interest-Based Problem Solving.

Collective Bargaining and Mediation Training. Trains the parties on 

effective negotiation and communication skills.

D. Conflict Resolution and Prevention Services for Government

Outside the collective bargaining arena, FMCS provides professional services to a 

wide range of Federal, state, and government agencies on a cost-reimbursable basis.

ADRA authorizes FMCS to assist in resolving disputes, train persons in skills and 

procedures employed in alternative means of dispute resolution, design conflict 

management systems, build capacity for constructive conflict management, and 

strengthen inter-agency and public-private cooperation. Through this work, FMCS seeks 

to reduce litigation costs and to promote better government decision-making.

In this context, FMCS provided conflict management and prevention services nearly

1,100 times in FY 2018. These services included mediation, convening, facilitation, and 

systems design. FMCS also provided regulatory negotiations assistance to the 

Department of Education and the Department of Energy.

Workplace and Employment Disputes. FMCS mediates workplace and 

employment disputes for Federal and state agencies. The majority of these 

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

personnel issues and workplace conflicts. FMCS accepts individual and multiparty conflicts for mediation.

Disputes Involving Administrative Programs. FMCS also mediates disputes 

between agencies and their “regulated public,” such as whistleblower 
28

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 also 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.

Consultation, Evaluation, and Systems Design. FMCS provides professional 

conflict resolution specialists to help agencies design conflict prevention and 

resolution systems to build capacity for constructive conflict management 

systems. Systems design may include an initial consultation, an assessment, 

program design and development, training delivery, and program management 

follow-up.

Facilitation during Decision-Making. Particularly in times of limited budgets, 

FMCS facilitation services can 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 virtually, 

another valuable time and cost saving feature of FMCS facilitation services.

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. The Negotiated 

Rulemaking Act of 1996 authorizes FMCS to convene and facilitate this 

process.

Agency Cooperation & Collaboration. FMCS can facilitate 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 is often called upon to facilitate 

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 can 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.
29

E. International Training and Exchange

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

bargaining and conflict resolution around the world. FMCS delivers its international 

training programs using cost-reimbursable funds, largely through interagency acquisition 

agreements with other government agencies, such as the Departments of State, Labor, 

and USAID.

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

helps establish the labor relations 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 economy and, 

as a result, are more effective in resolving domestic labor-management disputes with 

international implications. In FY 2018, FMCS completed training and consultation 

programs in Honduras, Thailand, and Jordan. During all these programs, FMCS 

mediators provided instruction for government labor inspectors, labor representatives, 

employer representatives, government officials and other labor dispute stakeholders. 

They also provided consultative support for governments in these countries to assist in 

their efforts to develop effective dispute resolution systems and organizations.

In addition to programs delivered abroad, every year FMCS mediators host numerous 

foreign delegations visiting the United States and educate them in U.S. labormanagement relations and conflict resolution practices. In 2018, FMCS met with 

international delegations from the International Visitors Program sponsored by the U.S. 

Department of State

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 Labor-Management Disputes, to which FMCS is a signatory.

During FY 2018, the Office of Arbitration Services processed nearly 12,000 requests

and oversaw the appointment of more than 4,100 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 
30

experienced practitioners who use these skills every day. Federal mediators and privatesector arbitrators comprise the Institute faculty. The Institute runs as a reimbursable 

program and is funded by fees received from training participants.

H. Labor-Management Committee Grants

The 1978 Labor-Management Cooperation Act authorizes and directs FMCS to 

encourage and support joint labor-management committees “established for the purpose 

of improving labor-management relationships, job security, and organizational 

effectiveness, enhancing economic development or involving workers in decisions 

affecting their jobs, including improving communication with respect to subjects of 

mutual interest and concern." Congress funds this initiative in FMCS annual 

appropriations, and grants are competed and awarded to encourage labor-management 

committees to develop innovative joint approaches to workplace problems. In FY 2018, 

FMCS awarded nearly $400,000 in grants.
31

VII. Workload Projections – FY 2019 and FY 2020

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

estimates, accomplishments for 2018, and estimated workloads in 2019 and 2020.
32

WORKLOAD OUTPUTS AND PROJECTIONS

FISCAL YEARS 2014 - 2020

PROGRAM SERVICES

FY 2014

Actual

FY 2015

Actual

FY 2016

Actual

FY 2017

Actual

FY 2018

Estimated

FY 2018

Actual

FY 2019

Estimated

FY 2020

Estimated

1. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 

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

Assigned Casesi 12,054 11,636 11,734 11,280 11,800 10,537 11,400 11,400

-Private Sector 10,856 10,620 10,678 10,465 10,674 9,694 10,382 10,382

-Public Sector (state and municipal) 905 749 738 564 847 614 740 740

-Federal Sector 293 267 318 251 279 229 278 278

Mediated Casesii 4,009 3,719 3,540 3,230 3,883 3,166 3,514 3,514

-Private Sector 2,697 2,600 2,435 2,352 2,707 2,268 2,431 2,431

-Public Sector (state and municipal) 1,020 842 808 641 918 672 814 814

-Federal Sector 292 277 297 237 259 226 268 268

Closed Cases 12,032 11,644 11,605 11,261 11,533 10,636 11,410 11,410

Closed Mediated Cases 3,299 3,081 2,941 2,616 3,423 2,602 3,107 3,107

Settled and Closed Mediated Cases 2,852 2,605 2,516 2,278 2,954 2,242 2,681 2,681

Percentage of mediated cases settled w/FMCSiii 86.5% 84.6% 85.5% 87.1% 86.3% 86.2% 86.3% 86.3%

Activity rate in significant casesiv 40.6% 42.6% 38.7% 36.4% 45.0% 39.2% 45.0% 45.0%

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

Assigned Cases 1,762 1,729 1,713 1,719 1,825 1,707 1,850 1,850

Mediated Cases 1,704 1,676 1,670 1,650 1,779 1,641 1,791 1,791

-Private Sector 1,330 1,319 1,269 1,283 1,387 1,313 1,387 1,387

-Public Sector (state and municipal) 256 240 267 229 265 225 265 265

-Federal Sector 118 117 134 138 128 103 139 139

Settled GM Cases 1,308 1,221 1,264 1,224 1,336 1,152 1,351 1,351

Percentage of cases settled w/ FMCSv 76.8% 72.9% 75.7% 74.2% 75.1% 70.2% 75.4% 75.4%
33

PROGRAM SERVICES

FY 2014

Actual

FY 2015

Actual

FY 2016

Actual

FY 2017

Actual

FY 2018

Estimated

FY 2018

Actual

FY 2019

Estimated

FY 2020

Estimated

3. RELATIONSHIP-DEVELOPMENT AND 

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

Number of training programs provided 1,884 1,923 1,941 1,956 2,200 1,815 2,200 2,200

-Private Sector 1,111 1,090 1,107 1,179 1,298 1,142 1,284 1,284

-Public Sector (state and municipal) 436 472 471 410 539 411 517 517

-Federal Sector 337 361 363 367 363 262 399 399

4. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND 

PREVENTION SERVICES ....................................

Mediated Cases 910 1,193 1,076 1,200 1,200 1,081 1,200 1,200

-Federal Sector 884 1,152 1,057 1,185 1,175 1,070 1,173 1,173

-Public Sector (state and municipal) 6 3 3 4 5 1 4 4

-Private 20 38 16 11 19 10 23 23

Settled OCMP Cases 410 536 479 594 556 523 552 552

Percent of OCMP cases settled w/ FMCSvi 45.1% 44.9% 44.5% 49.5% 46.4% 48.4% 46.0% 46.0%

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

Outreach casesvii 2,710 2,722 3,049 2,837 2,900 3,045 2,900 2,900

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

Number of panels issued 13,179 12,744 12,250 11,836 12,500 11,968 12,500 12,500

Number of arbitrators appointed 5,836 5,415 5,296 5,247 5,391 4,116 5,514 5,514

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

Number of grants funded 0 8 3 11 10 4 0 0

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

Number of courses provided 8 8 9 9 10 10 10 10

Number of participants 114 151 142 189 180 190 190 190
34

VIII. 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.
35

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.
36

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.
37

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.
38

Strategic Goal #4: Promoting Conflict Management and Prevention

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 conflict management and prevention 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 conflict management and prevention 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 costeffective alternative to litigation and promote better government decision-making.
39

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 2018 FMCS case intake was more than 18,400. 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 conflict management and prevention 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.