FMCS | 250 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20427 | 202-606-8100 | www.fmcs.gov 

NEWS RELEASE 

Monday, October 24, 2016 Contact: Linda Gray-Broughton 

For Immediate Release Grants Program Coordinator

Website: www.fmcs.gov Phone: (202) 606-8181 

FMCS Announces 2016 Grants 

For Innovative Labor-Management Partnerships 

WASHINGTON, DC – FMCS Director Allison Beck today announced the award of three grants to 

assist community, sectoral and industry labor-management partnerships address 21st century 

workplace challenges in hiring and retaining the next generation of workers, enhancing 

workers’ skills and safety, and adapting to the needs of businesses and workers in the 

transitioning economy. 

“I am happy to announce the successful completion of our FY 2016 FMCS grants award cycle, 

which has yielded three impressive grant recipients, selected from a highly competitive field of 

applicants,” Ms. Beck stated. The three labor-management grants total $514,486 in available 

funds out of nearly $3 million in proposals submitted. 

This year’s grantees are: 

• Finishing Trades Institute of the Mid-Atlantic Region (FTI MAR), Philadelphia, PA ($250,000) 

The highly regarded FTI MAR labor-management partnership will receive funding for a new 

initiative designed to attract, hire, and retain the next generation of workers in the construction 

industry, where there is a significant shortage of highly skilled workers. Uniquely, this program 

will develop both hard and soft skills among high school graduates and provide important 

opportunities for continuing education in post-secondary degree programs at institutions of 

higher learning. Partnering with two colleges on programming and curriculum development, FTI 

MAR will guide newly hired workers in the construction industry finishing trades from high 

school to a bachelor’s and master’s degree, providing program participants with advanced 

opportunities in construction management, architecture, and organizational design. 

• SEIU Healthcare NW – Health Benefits Trust, Seattle, WA ($150,827) 

Due to well-documented demographic changes in the U.S., there is a dramatically increasing 

need for skilled Home Care Workers (HCWs) to care for the elderly and disabled in their homes. 

Providing care in the home not only saves on hospital and nursing home costs, but also 

improves the quality of life of this growing population. One issue that has not been addressed 

in the context of this widely expanding sector of the economy, however, is the increased risk of 

on-the-job injuries to individual HCWs. Unlike workers in other industries, such as 
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FMCS | 250 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20427 | 202-606-8100 | www.fmcs.gov 

 

manufacturing, construction, or facility-based health care delivery, Home Care Workers lack 

access to standard safety equipment. To the extent such equipment is available, it currently 

depends entirely on the elderly or disabled client to drive the requisition process and HCWs are 

therefore at increased risk for on-the-job injury. FMCS seed money will permit the creation of a 

Labor-Management Committee to evaluate the potential of worker-carried mobile assistive 

devices in a “safety toolkit” that can easily be carried into clients’ homes by the HCW. The 

project will produce much-needed evidence about the injury reduction potential of the portable 

toolkit and serve as foundation for developing best practices in HCW safety. Results will be 

shared with key stakeholders in Washington State’s home care system as well as with a national 

audience to help build awareness, develop best practices, and prevent on-the-job injuries in 

home care. 

• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ ($113,659) 

The New Jersey K-12 Public School Labor-Management Committee (the “Committee” or “LMC”) 

will receive a grant to advance student performance, teacher retention, and overall educational 

quality. Evidence has shown that a collaborative, partnership approach is a cornerstone of 

excellence in teaching and learning. FMCS seed money will allow the Committee to broaden and 

deepen its reach by regularly convening an innovative Inter-District Learning Network to 

facilitate the exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices for improving educational 

outcomes. In addition, the establishment of a website and annual state-wide information and 

learning exchange will further support this network of districts, administrators, and educators. 

The Committee, aided by researchers from Rutgers University, will evaluate and deliver a report 

on the impact of increased labor-management collaboration on student performance, teacher 

retention, and overall educational quality at the district and local school level. 

The FMCS grants program, which began in 1981 under the authority of the Labor-Management 

Cooperation Act of 1978 (PL 95-524), has funded projects designed to improve communications, 

strategic planning, recruitment, industry changes, and economic development by encouraging 

cooperative efforts among labor, management, and communities to jointly address issues such as 

health, safety, employee training, and the resolution of workplace disputes. 

### 

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, created in 1947, is an independent U.S. government 

agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation. 

Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 10 regional offices and more than 60 field offices, the agency 

provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities.