1

2014 
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A Message from the Acting Director 

As the nation’s economy has gradually emerged from the shadow of the Great Recession, 

cooperative and collaborative labor-management relationships among U.S. employers and 

unions again have proved their value. With the economy firmly in recovery mode during FY 

2014, we saw highly successful examples of labor and management working together and 

laying the groundwork for future growth, improved productivity and enhanced job security. 

At the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), we are proud to have played a 

role in many of these labor relations success stories and the vital boosts they gave to the 

economies of local communities, states and regions of the country. 

This ongoing economic recovery is showing us once again that good labor relations is the 

necessary spark for igniting a revival at flagging companies or entire industrial sectors. In FY 

2014, the FMCS continued and intensified our work among private, public and federal sector 

labor-management parties to help build or, in some instances, re-build relationships and 

union-employer partnerships. The results in many cases have been gratifying. When problems 

are addressed jointly, when communication becomes a dialogue, and when trust and respect 

replace contentiousness and hostility, the affected enterprise grows stronger and inevitable 

disagreements are managed, thus avoiding disruptive conflicts. Labor disputes are shortened 

or averted and both sides benefit through the innovation and creativity that often spring from 

joint problem solving. At the FMCS we have known these “best practices” for labor relations 

to be a proven formula for success. Our success stories of the past fiscal year have yet again 

shown the value of FMCS services to the nation’s economy. 

The FMCS also played an increasingly important role in helping sister federal agencies with 

a wide variety of professional services, such as mediating workplace and employment 

disputes, mediating disputes involving administrative programs, consultation and evaluation 

in designing and building capacity for effective conflict management systems, convening and 

facilitation services associated with negotiated rulemaking, facilitation services for public 

policy discussions occurring under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and developing 

tools for interagency and public-private cooperation and collaboration. 

In FY 2014, the FMCS inaugurated a new program to better inform the public of FMCS 

collective bargaining mediation and training services, as well as the full range of alternative 

dispute resolution services and training available to sister agencies. In this new and 

innovative program, titled “Conflict Resolution Week,” the FMCS partnered with conflict 

resolution experts from the National Council on Labor Management Relations, the U.S. 

Report for 

Fiscal Year 2014 
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resolution experts from the National Council on Labor Management Relations, the U.S. Office of 

Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, the Federal Labor Relations 

Authority, the Udall Foundation/U.S. Environmental Conflict Resolution and experts from the 

University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Through 40 different live and web-based training 

seminars, FMCS was able to reach thousands of participants at no cost to them and with minimal 

cost to FMCS and the providers. As the first of its kind for the FMCS, this high-tech showcase 

demonstrated the cost-saving benefits of innovative, web-based communications and training 

technologies for the Agency. 

The program’s success led to numerous requests for in-person and web-based training, including 

programs in early dispute resolution and other skills for the Federal Labor Relations Authority, 

the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Park Service. Similar 

programs are underway at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Social Security 

Administration. The Conflict Resolution Week concept will be replicated in FY 2015. 

Improving Private and Public Sector Bargaining Relationships 

In the private, public and federal sectors, the FMCS’s relationship-building programs are 

designed to improve labor-management relationships by helping unions and employers develop 

collaborative, problem-solving approaches and manage their inherent conflict. Developed 

through decades of dispute resolution experience, the FMCS labor relations model encourages a 

cooperative process instituted well in advance of formal collective bargaining. This early 

engagement initiative, started by the FMCS in 2010 and endorsed by employers and unions, 

highlights the need for an ongoing, joint, problem-solving approach to manage the complex 

problems confronting employer and unions. It is based upon the concept that difficult issues can 

be better addressed if the parties have a relationship and a process for decision-making based on 

trust, transparency, and a commitment to joint problem solving that commences well in advance 

of contract expiration. 

These messages were highlighted to labor-management professionals throughout the country in a 

major FMCS national outreach early in FY 2014. Along with the departments of Labor and 

Commerce, FMCS co-hosted a White House Summit on Labor-Management Partnerships. 

Before a White House audience of labor and management leaders and news media, 

representatives of outstanding labor-management partnerships discussed their experiences and 

“lessons learned.” Representatives from some of America’s greatest companies, public sector 

institutions and labor organizations—the Ford Motor Company, International Paper, the Federal 

Aviation Administration, Montgomery County Maryland public schools, the Walt Disney 

Company, ABC, Inc. and the Montefiore Health System—joined in highlighting the value of 

good collective bargaining relationships to their resurgence and overall success. 

In FY 2014, the FMCS also continued its important work in support of effective labormanagement forums for federal government agencies across the country, as mandated by 

Executive Order 13522, issued in 2009, to “promote satisfactory labor relations and improve the 

productivity and effectiveness of the Federal Government.” FMCS mediators provided essential 
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training for labor and management participants. FMCS mediators also facilitated labormanagement forums throughout the country. 

The value of such efforts was demonstrated through a landmark agreement reached between the 

U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and Council of Prison Locals (CPL). After training from the 

FMCS, the Bureau of Prisons and Council of Prison Locals signed their first master labormanagement contract in 16 years. Upon announcing the new agreement at a joint press 

conference, both sides acknowledged that a breakdown in their communications and ongoing 

mistrust between the parties had obstructed the efficient functioning of the agency. The parties 

credited the FMCS relationship-by-objective (RBO) training as a key element in improving their 

relationship at a national level and ultimately providing the foundation for their reaching a 

national agreement. The RBO training conducted for BOP marked the launch of an ongoing 

program conducted by FMCS mediators for the agency and its local unions nationwide. 

The FMCS also helps build positive labor-management relationships through non-traditional 

approaches to training and outreach. At the request of the parties, the FMCS continued its 

partnership in FY 2014 with the U.S. Department of Education along with the American 

Federation of Teachers; the National Education Association; the Council of the Great City 

Schools; the Council of Chief State School Officers; the National School Boards Association and 

the American Association of School Administrators. This partnership program worked to 

advance student achievement through labor-management collaboration in K-12 public education. 

In continuation of the partnership effort, FMCS leaders attended the Department of Education’s 

National Labor-Management Conference held in St. Louis, MO. The conference participants 

expressed strong support for the FMCS model of labor-management collaboration as an essential 

element in achieving important labor-management reform in U.S. public schools. 

Effectively Managing Bargaining Challenges 

Even the best labor-management relationships can be challenged when negotiations involve the 

kinds of multiple and complex issues currently facing most bargaining partners. Thus, the work 

of the FMCS and its importance to the overall U.S. economy was powerfully demonstrated 

throughout FY 2014 by a number of high profile disputes. In these cases, and many others, 

FMCS mediation services played a critical role in collective bargaining agreements ultimately 

being achieved. 

• Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 

Local 1555 and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021—

FMCS mediation was a key to resolving issues and bringing an end to a four-day strike 

that shut down the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, disrupting the daily commute of 

some 400,000 Bay Area riders in October, 2013. Disagreement over work rules 

sparked the work stoppage that shut down this important public transportation system 

and led to a joint request from the parties for FMCS assistance. Prior to the lengthy 

bargaining sessions that produced an agreement, senior FMCS mediators led a number 

of marathon negotiations, including one all-night meeting, that kept the system 
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operating for commuters. The nightly drama of the negotiation and midnight strike 

deadlines kept tens of thousands of Bay Area commuters in suspense regarding their 

morning mode of transportation, and the quick resolution of the dispute produced a 

collective sigh of relief. The resulting tentative agreement eventually was ratified by 

union members after additional disputes over technical issues related to the signing of 

the contract were resolved—again with FMCS help. 

• Southern California Supermarkets and the United Food and Commercial 

Workers (UFCW)—In early 2014, a group of Southern California's three largest 

supermarket chains and several UFCW locals jointly requested FMCS assistance to 

resolve a longstanding negotiation dispute. The dispute involved Ralph's (Kroger), 

Albertsons, and Vons (Safeway) supermarkets and UFCW locals representing more 

than 60,000 workers in Southern California. A senior FMCS mediation team was 

brought in, and the parties continued to negotiate, prompting a final, seven-day push of 

bargaining meetings that brought successful resolution to several months of intense 

negotiations. With FMCS assistance, the parties ratified a new, two-year contract, 

avoiding a repeat of the crippling 141-day strike of 2003, which cost the grocery 

industry and local economy in that region an estimated $2 billion. The parties publicly 

acknowledged the expertise and assistance of the FMCS, crediting it with helping 

negotiators for both sides address complex benefits issues that had previously divided 

them. 

• The Professional Referee Organization (PRO) and the Professional Soccer 

Referees Association (PSRA)—Prior to the start of the 2014 Major League Soccer 

(MLS) season, the Professional Referee Organization and the Professional Soccer 

Referees Association representing MLS game officials experienced a major dispute as 

they bargained for a historic first labor contract. After months of failed contract 

negotiations, tensions mounted, each side filed unfair labor practice complaints, and a 

lockout of the referees was instituted with the accompanying use of replacement 

officials at the start of the regular season. The FMCS remained in contact with the 

parties as their negotiations continued without resolution, concerned about the 

economic impact on the related industries dependent on MLS games in 18 U.S. cities 

(Los Angeles has two teams) and three Canadian communities that support MLS clubs. 

Given the FMCS's record of success in assisting unions and employers with past 

lockouts in professional sports, the parties jointly requested the services of experienced 

FMCS mediators to assist with the stalled negotiations. The FMCS entered the 

negotiations on March 12, after which the two sides engaged in lengthy mediation 

sessions that ultimately resulted in a ratified five-year agreement. In a statement 

announcing the agreement, the PSRA lead negotiator lauded the historic first collective 

bargaining agreement and cited the benefit of FMCS assistance at the bargaining table. 

By the start of the second week of the MLS season established referees returned to 

officiating, and the critical role of FMCS in resolving high-profile, national labor 

disputes was demonstrated once again. 
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• Appalachian Regional Healthcare and Southern United Nurses/National Nurses 

United—Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) and its two unions, representing 

approximately 700 registered nurses working in Kentucky and West Virginia, engaged 

in several weeks of negotiations without reaching agreement on a number of 

contentious issues, including health care premiums, salaries, and mandatory overtime. 

Southern United Nurses (SUN) and National Nurses United (NNU) planned a one-day 

strike at the Hazard, KY, ARH Regional Medical Center and Beckley, WV, ARH 

Hospital, which was especially concerning given that the strike would create a potential 

lapse in patient care and safety at the medical centers. The parties jointly requested to 

continue the negotiations under the auspices of FMCS, and a top-level mediator 

assisted the parties in reaching a tentative agreement just prior to the midnight 

expiration of the existing contract. The federal mediator was essential in helping the 

parties navigate through a number of complicated issues, averting the potential work 

stoppage and enabling nurses to return to work the next day to provide much-needed 

care for hospital patients. 

• Army Fleet Support (AFS) and International Association of Machinists and 

Aerospace Workers Local 2003—With assistance from a federal mediator, L-3 Army 

Fleet Support (AFS) and members of the International Association of Machinists and 

Aerospace Workers Local 2003, were able to reach a new collective bargaining 

agreement, ending a one-week strike that affected some 3,000 workers at Fort Rucker. 

The work stoppage at the base had disrupted maintenance and logistics support 

provided by AFS to the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Ft. Rucker and the 

U.S. Air Force. When lengthy contract negotiations between the parties had stalled, 

IAM members began the strike that severely limited flight training at the base. After 

both parties requested FMCS help, the resulting five-year labor contract restored the 

base to normal operations. 

• The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific 

Northwest grain companies—After engaging in difficult and contentious bargaining 

for over two years, including mediation sessions held under the auspices of the FMCS, 

a senior FMCS mediator was able to help the parties reach a tentative agreement that 

was subsequently ratified by the ILWU membership. The dispute gained national 

attention as a result of hostile actions on both sides and the likelihood that a prolonged 

work stoppage could disrupt economically important grain export shipments through 

the affected Pacific Northwest terminals. Ratification by union members cleared the 

way for a return to normal operations and a resumption of economically vital grain 

exports at the terminals. 

• Metropolitan Opera (Met) and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) 

Local 802 and the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA)—One of the world's 

premier cultural institutions, the Metropolitan Opera, and its two largest unions turned 

to the FMCS for mediation as a deadline neared for contract negotiations and the 

possibility of a lockout that could have disrupted the Met's artistic season. In response, 
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senior FMCS mediators led all-night negotiations that resulted in a highly-lauded 

tentative agreement, averting a possible work stoppage, and bringing the parties 

together in a cost-saving program that featured sacrifices by both labor and 

management. In the words of The New York Times, "The tentative deal pulled the 

house back from the precipice of a lockout that could have been damaging to all sides: 

It would have shuttered the Met, the largest performing arts company in the nation; left 

its artists and artisans without pay; endangered the coming season; and kept audiences 

away at a moment when the company has already been struggling at the box office." 

The FMCS praised the parties for their commitment to the collective bargaining 

process. 

In the end, experience teaches that good faith collective bargaining unquestionably is the best 

mechanism for resolving labor-management disputes and for providing the framework for 

working together to achieve productivity, innovation and competitiveness – the necessary 

ingredients for success in our global economy. 

FMCS Workplace Leadership 

The FMCS ended FY 2014 on a very positive note with a second place rating among small and 

independent Federal agencies in the annual rankings of best places to work in the Federal 

government. As a basis for the ratings, the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey has consistently 

recognized the FMCS as one of the best places to work in the federal government. The FMCS 

also was designated as one of the “most innovative” federal agencies, rating highly among 371 

federal agencies and subcomponents for fostering innovation and motivating employees to 

develop new ideas on the job. Despite these accolades, the FMCS continues to mine the results 

of employee surveys to identify areas for improvement. Analysis of previous years’ survey 

results has prompted ongoing initiatives related to improving employee performance evaluation 

systems and encouraging appropriate utilization of telework. 

Conclusion 

Although FY 2014 was not without its challenges for the FMCS, the Agency demonstrated once 

again the qualities of innovation, expertise and dedication in performance of its mission that have 

justly earned its outstanding reputation among its stakeholders. It is fair to say that the challenges

that FMCS has overcome in the past year and in the previous decades of our history have better 

prepared us for the challenges to come. With the onset of a new fiscal year, we have sharpened 
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our focus and strengthened our organization with new training and new administrative policies 

and procedures. At the FMCS, we are ever mindful of the working families, businesses, 

communities and sister agencies that we serve. 

Sincerely, 

Allison Beck 

Acting Director 

Scot L. Beckenbaugh 

Deputy Director
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FY 2014 Agency Services 

Agency Mission 

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is an independent agency of the federal 

government established by Congress in 1947 to help employers and unions avoid costly work 

stoppages and minimize their potentially devastating effects on regional or national commerce. 

The FMCS, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has mediators located in over 60 field offices 

and ten regional offices across the country and is best known for its history of successful and 

innovative advances in labor-management collaboration, joint problem-solving and the 

resolution of major collective bargaining disputes. In 1996, Congress recognized this record for 

pioneering dispute resolution techniques and highly skilled professional mediators and called 

upon the FMCS to help other federal, state and local agencies minimize costly litigation by 

resolving disputes arising under their jurisdictions. Thus, while its core activity remains the 

prevention or resolution of labor-management disputes, FMCS also provides its sister agencies 

with a wide variety of alternative dispute resolution services. 

A. Collective Bargaining Mediation 

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

stoppages to the U.S. economy. The 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 2014, FMCS mediators were actively 

involved in more than 4,100 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 spilling over into future contract negotiations. Lengthening contract 

terms increase the importance of resolving contentious issues arising during the term of a 

contract. In FY 2014, FMCS mediated nearly 1,800 grievance mediation cases and helped the 

parties reach agreement in 1,349 of these (77 percent). 
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C. Relationship-Development and Training 

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

important goal of the FMCS. The FMCS’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 2014, FMCS mediators conducted more than 1,800 training programs with the parties of 

collective bargaining. 

D. ADR Services 

Outside the collective bargaining arena, FMCS provides dispute resolution services to other 

federal, state, and local government agencies on a cost-reimbursable basis. The Administrative 

Dispute Resolution and Negotiated Rulemaking Acts recognized FMCS’s conflict resolution 

expertise and called on FMCS to help expand the use of alternative dispute resolution throughout 

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

context, FMCS provided management and alternative dispute resolution, including negotiations, 

mediation, convening, facilitation, training, and systems design more than 900 times in FY 2014. 

E. International Training and Exchange 

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

bargaining and conflict resolution around the world. The FMCS international work is a small, 

but integral, part of its services. Emerging market economies often struggle to compete 

effectively in a globally integrated marketplace. The 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. 

The FMCS international training programs are delivered using cost-reimbursable funds, largely 

through interagency acquisition agreements with other government agencies, such as the 

Departments of State and Labor and U.S. AID. In FY 2014, FMCS mediators designed and/or 

delivered mediation training programs in China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Haiti, and Taiwan. Better 

industrial relations practices were developed through joint labor-management training programs 

in transitioning democracies, such as Morocco, Honduras, Haiti, and Myanmar. In addition to 

programs delivered abroad, every year, FMCS mediators host numerous foreign delegations 

visiting the U.S. and interested in U.S. labor-management relations and conflict resolution 

practices. 
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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 1,100 independent 

arbitrators who are qualified to hear and decide disputes over the interpretation or application of 

collective bargaining agreements. Upon request from the parties, the FMCS furnishes a list of 

names from which they may choose an arbitrator to hear their case and render a decision. 

During FY 2014, the Office of Arbitration Services processed almost 13,300 requests for 

arbitration panels nationwide. Arbitrators on the FMCS roster heard and decided more than 

2,100 labor arbitration cases. 

G. FMCS Institute for Conflict Management 

The FMCS Institute for Conflict Management (Institute) delivers accessible, practical, 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. Courses 

offered in FY 2014 included Mediation Skills for the Workplace, Labor-Management 

Negotiation Skills, Evidence and Witness Examination in Arbitration, Arbitration for Federal 

Advocates, The Art and Science of Inquiry (part of the Essential Neutral Skills series) and 

Becoming a Labor Arbitrator. The Institute runs as a reimbursable program and is funded by 

fees received from training participants. 
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Mediation Services Program Data

PROGRAM SERVICES FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014

1. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING MEDIATION.................... 

 Assigned Cases113,712 13,114 12,938 12,054 

 -Private Sector 12,460 11,814 11,802 10,856 

 -Public Sector (state and municipal) 943 943 843 905 

 -Federal Sector 309 357 293 293 

 Mediated Cases2

4,665 4,528 4,122 4,009 

 -Private Sector 3,271 3,079 2,826 2,697 

 -Public Sector (state and municipal) 1,091 1,111 981 1,020 

 -Federal Sector 303 338 315 292 

 Closed Cases 13,776 13,652 12,651 12,032 

 Closed Mediated Cases 3,815 3,764 3,339 3,299 

 Activity Rate3

28% 28% 26% 27% 

 Settled and Closed Mediated Cases 3,234 3,159 2,807 2,852 

 Percentage of mediated cases settled through FMCS4 85% 84% 84% 86% 

 Activity rate in significant cases5 33% 46% 47% 41% 

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

 Assigned Cases 1,968 1,837 1,872 1,762 

 Mediated Cases 1,905 1,784 1,809 1,704 

 -Private Sector 1,513 1,372 1,398 1,330 

 -Public Sector (state and municipal) 261 264 267 256 

 -Federal Sector 131 148 144 118 

 Settled GM Cases 1,428 1,367 1,383 1,308 

 Percentage of cases settled through FMCS6 75% 77% 76% 77% 

3. RELATIONSHIP-DEVELOPMENT AND 

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

 

 Number of training programs provided 2,301 2,128 2,027 1,884 

 -Private Sector 1,267 1,262 1,174 1,111 

 -Public Sector (state and municipal) 493 463 533 436 

 -Federal Sector 541 403 320 337 

4. EMPLOYMENT MEDIATION................................ 

 Mediated Cases 1,330 1,110 1,118 910 

 -Federal Sector 1,297 1,090 1,089 884 

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

 -Private 28 15 28 20 

 Settled EM Cases 641 537 488 410 

 Percent of EM cases settled through FMCS7 48% 48% 44% 45% 

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

 Outreach cases83,190 3,019 2,911 2,710 

 

1

 Section 8(d) of the NLRA, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §158(d) requires that any employer or labor organization provide notice to FMCS 30 days prior to 

contract expiration. Not all cases providing notices are assigned. Actual FY 2014 FMCS case intake exceeded 21,000.

2

 Mediated cases (formerly called “active” cases) represent the number of cases in the FY where mediators have become active in the negotiations.

3

 Defined as the number of closed cases where there was at least one meeting divided by the number of total closed assignments.

4

 Defined as the number of active cases settled divided by the total number of active cases.

5

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

6

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

7

 Defined as the number of mediated employment cases settled divided by the number of mediated cases closed
5

Work Stoppage Information 

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 

Work stoppages carried from preceding FY 29 13 18 24 21 16 

Work stoppages beginning within FY 103 159 155 161 154 105 

Work stoppages closed within FY 119 154 149 164 159 108 

Work stoppages open at end of FY 13 18 24 21 16 13 

Average duration of work stoppages in closed cases 

(number of days) 104.2 44.9 45.3 49.0 44.3 73.0 

Estimated number of worker-hours lost due to work 

stoppages (1,000s) 19,609 8,877 11,222 11,038 15,317 5,269 

Work Stoppage Cost Information 

Direct 

Costs 

Indirect 

Costs 

Total 

Costs 

Year ($1,000s) ($1,000s) ($1,000s) 

2002 363,522 461,289 824,811 

2003 372,678 329,595 702,273 

2004 1,102,475 267,260 1,369,735 

2005 488,075 450,737 938,812 

2006 725,180 686,468 1,411,648 

2007 801,314 931,108 1,732,422 

2008 533,971 567,397 1,101,368 

2009 623,264 736,032 1,359,296 

2010 250,162 238,538 488,700 

2011 389,041 314,144 703,185 

2012 380,080 343,279 723,359 

2013 564,716 391,938 956,654 

2014 203,153 190,052 393,205 

 

Savings to Parties Attributable to Mediation

Reduced 

Incidence

Reduced 

Duration

Total 

Savings

Year ($1,000s) ($1,000s) ($1,000s)

2002 840,936 272,595 1,113,531 

2003 717,239 224,287 941,525 

2004 2,259,575 173,177 2,432,752 

2005 1,269,679 798,666 2,068,345 

2006 1,320,946 374,872 1,695,818 

2007 888,376 383,386 1,271,762 

2008 1,155,903 (501,807) 654,096 

2009 2,613,336 1,142,193 3,755,529 

2010 1,389,809 (39,122) 1,350,687 

2011 301,044 763,335 1,064,379 

2012 283,421 601,157 884,578 

2013 378,358 (298,717) 79,641 

2014 607,519 62,518 670,037 

 

8

 FMCS requires all mediators to engage in outreach efforts. These kinds of activities include non-bargaining 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.
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Arbitration Services Program Data

Activity 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 

 

Panels Issued9 16,692 16,486 14,367 13,538 13,361 13,179 

Arbitrators Appointed 6,496 6,870 6,608 6,129 6,020 5,836 

 

Activity Charged For 

Travel Days .57 .48 .44 .92 .63 .59 

Hearing Days 1.10 1.14 1.10 1.13 1.05 1.17 

Study Days 2.40 2.37 2.37 2.37 2.39 2.21 

Total 4.07 3.99 3.91 4.42 4.07 3.97 

 

Average Charges 

Per Diem Rate $962 $981 $984 $1,006 $1,024 $1,045 

Amount of Fee $4,049 $4,039 $4,045 $4,576 $4,517 $4,488 

Amount of Expenses $421 $380 $384 $389 $395 $405 

Total Charged $4,470 $4,419 $4,429 $4,965 $4,912 $4,893 

 

9 Frequently, the labor-management parties request more than one panel for arbitration cases, resulting in an increase in the number of panels issued over the number of requests 

received.