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

NEWS RELEASE 

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017 Contact: Linda Gray-Broughton 

For Immediate Release Grants Program Coordinator

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

FMCS Announces Labor-Management Grants Totaling $895,096 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) today announced 10 

recipients of labor-management grants totaling $895,096 to fund cooperative projects addressing 

disruptive workplace issues, including the “skills gap” between applicants and job vacancies in fields

such as manufacturing and the building trades. 

In this year’s grants program, FMCS especially sought applications targeting a shortage of skilled workers 

for U.S. manufacturing jobs and other vital economic sectors. Grant recipients reflected a variety of

approaches to developing a more skilled workforce as well as proposals that jointly tackle other 

workplace issues for labor and management. The successful labor-management applicants reflect both 

economic and geographic diversity, including diverse industries and regions. 

“I am extremely gratified by the outstanding applications we received for this year’s grants program. 

Our grantees represent the best of the best. They offer real creative approaches to building skill levels in 

young workers for our nation’s workplaces. In addition, our grantees are showing innovative ways that

labor and management can team up to jointly resolve other, potentially disruptive workplace issues,” 

said FMCS Acting Director John Pinto. 

 “It is my belief that management and labor, working collaboratively, and with FMCS assistance, can 

develop plans to suit their individual circumstances and special needs, whatever they might be,” he 

added. “A strong labor-management relationship is a key factor in the success of businesses and labor

organizations that build their communities while they fuel regional and national economies. At FMCS, 

we are all about growing these relationships.” 

Under the Agency’s grants program, FMCS awards a limited number of competitive grants to encourage 

and promote labor-management cooperation as well as joint, innovative solutions to workplace issues. 

Through its grant awards, the Agency supports best practices in labor-management cooperation as a 

way of improving collective bargaining and proactively mitigating labor-management disputes. The 

grants program helps foster the establishment and operation of joint labor-management committees at 

the company level, on a community or area-wide basis, within a particular industry, or for public sector 

employees. 

(MORE) 
Grants – page 2 

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

 

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

Act of 1978 (PL 95-524), has funded a broad range of projects including outreach, communications, 

strategic planning, minority recruitment and process development. 

(Please see the attached FY-2017 Labor-Management Cooperation Grant Program Funding 

Summaries) 

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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.