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

NEWS RELEASE

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022 Contact: Greg Raelson

For Immediate Release Director, Congressional & Public Affairs

Website: www.fmcs.gov Phone: (202) 606-8081

FMCS Congratulates Department of Defense Education 

Activity and Overseas Federation of Teachers on Pivotal 

Agreement

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 26, 2022) – The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) 

welcomed representatives from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) and the 

Overseas Federation of Teachers (OFT) to its Washington, DC headquarters yesterday to 

congratulate the parties on a pivotal tentative labor agreement. It is the parties’ first successor 

contract agreement in 28 years.

Representatives from both DoDEA and OFT were in attendance and were also joined online by 

others in their respective organizations, including American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

President Randi Weingarten and DoDEA Director Thomas Brady. AFT is OFT’s parent 

organization.

“We would like to extend our congratulations to the parties on this momentous occasion,” 

FMCS Acting Director Greg Goldstein said. “Though FMCS cannot comment on the substance of 

their specific negotiations, FMCS was honored to assist the parties in coming to a resolution of 

their negotiations and successfully completing their collective bargaining agreement.”

The contract covering the Europe South school district represents the culmination of a long 

series of negotiations between the two parties. The district includes 16 DoDEA schools in

Bahrain, Italy, Spain, and Turkey, and educates over 5,600 students with nearly 600 teachers 

making up the OFT bargaining unit. 

FMCS Commissioner Kevin Wagner was invited by the parties in 2020 to assist with developing 

ground rules which were adopted in mid-2021, and he was subsequently invited to help

mediate the parties’ collective bargaining process, ultimately resulting in the mutually 

acceptable resolution they achieved yesterday.

“These parties faced difficult and divisive issues,” said Wagner. “Through their determination,

commitment, professionalism, and dedication to the process, they were able to overcome 

significant challenges and obstacles to find their path to a contract.” 
FMCS | 250 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20427 | 202-606-8100 | www.fmcs.gov

(Oct. 25, 2022) Representatives from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) 

and Overseas Federation of Teachers (OFT) are congratulated on their recent tentative 

agreement by leaders from their organizations and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

Service (FMCS) at the FMCS headquarters in Washington, DC.

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The U.S. Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS) is the nation’s premier public agency for 

dispute resolution and conflict management. FMCS was created by Congress as a neutral and 

independent government agency upon enactment of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (TaftHartley Act) and mandated to resolve industrial conflict and promote labor-management peace and 

cooperation, minimizing the impact of these disputes on the free flow of commerce. With headquarters 

in Washington, D.C. and offices across the country, the agency has a proud track record of decades of 

effective dispute resolution and conflict management services for employers and unions across industries 

and work activities in the private, public, and federal sectors. FMCS is also recognized for its success 

facilitating negotiated rulemaking processes and for its robust employment mediation program in the 

federal sector as well as its global program, partnering with more than 60 countries to provide 

international consulting and training. For more on FMCS or to request services, visit www.fmcs.gov