The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is a small, independent federal agency that plays a crucial role in sustaining the American economy by preventing, minimizing, and resolving work stoppages and labor disputes. These efforts help avoid costly disruptions in production, services, and supply chains, ensuring economic stability and growth. FMCS accomplishes this mission by offering mediation, training, and facilitation services to employers and unions nationwide, fostering collaborative labor-management relationships. Additionally, FMCS enhances government efficiency by providing training, mediation, facilitation, dispute systems design, and other alternative dispute resolution services to federal agencies, allowing them to operate more effectively and serve the public better.
Success Stories
FMCS assisted the Juneau School District and the National Education Association in reaching a two-year agreement covering 275 educators. The agreement, reached through mediation, avoided a potential strike and helped maintain continuity in classroom instruction. Read the JSD news release…
By preventing and resolving labor disputes, FMCS helps avoid costly disruptions to production, services, and supply chains—supporting stability and growth across the nation.
How FMCS Can Help You
Useful Links
Explore our multi-part FMCS 101 video series covering everything from mediation basics to building stronger labor-management relationships. Gain insights and learn how FMCS helps minimize and prevent costly labor disputes, fostering economic stability and growth across industries.
Sign Up For FMCS News and Information Updates
FMCS is pleased to announce that we have implemented a new email subscription service to make it easier for you to get information about FMCS meetings and conferences as well as news and announcements about FMCS activities and services. We hope that you will find it useful to have the ability to customize the emails you receive from the FMCS based upon your particular areas of interest. Click to subscribe
With FMCS email updates, you can password protect your subscriptions and preferences, change your email address, or unsubscribe at any time by accessing your Manage Subscriptions page. You’ll find convenient links to your Subscriber Preferences in the footer of every message. You’ll need to log in with your email address. Be sure to save your changes, and look for a confirmation via email.
You can also choose a frequency preference for how often you’d like to receive e-mail and view an archive of messages sent to you,
Thank you for your continued interest in the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
FMCS Statement on the Tentative Agreement Between the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and the NYC Hospital Alliance
Date: 6/18/15
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Allison Beck, Acting Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), today announced that with the assistance of Federal mediators, a tentative settlement has been reached between the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and the New York City Hospital Alliance, representing major medical facilities in the city of New York.
Bargaining under the auspices of FMCS mediators, including FMCS Acting Director Allison Beck, Deputy Director Scot Beckenbaugh, and Commissioner Cynthia Jeffries, the nurses’ union and hospital group reached a tentative agreement after many hours of intense talks early today.
Ms. Beck commended the work of FMCS Deputy Director Beckenbaugh and Commissioner Jeffries for their roles in helping the nurses’ union and hospital group overcome major differences at the bargaining table. “We are gratified that our team of mediators was able to provide assistance in these challenging and complex negotiations,” Ms. Beck said. “Ultimately, it was perseverance and hard work by the nurses and hospital management that enabled them to reach agreement.”
The tentative agreement is subject to ratification. As is Agency practice, the FMCS will not comment on the substance or content of the agreement or negotiation.
Click here for a PDF version of the FMCS statement.
Click here to access the joint news release issued by the parties.
FMCS Mediators Assist Department of Energy and Industry Groups Establish Groundbreaking Energy Saving Standards
Date: 6/30/2015
WASHINGTON, DC—In what has been hailed as the biggest energy-saving standards rulemaking in Department of Energy history, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) assisted industry, government and advocacy groups to achieve major new consensus energy standards for commercial heating and air conditioning equipment. These standards could save nearly 15 quadrillion BTUs (quads) of energy over 30 years and reduce energy consumption and costs by billions of dollars over the lifespan of the equipment.
FMCS Acting Director Allison Beck commended FMCS mediators Eileen Hoffman, Javier Ramirez, Ted Bantle and Isael Hermosillo for facilitating the rulemaking process. “This is a huge accomplishment with far-reaching benefits for our country and its future. The parties dedicated themselves to a collaborative rulemaking process, and we are proud that our mediators were able to help them achieve an extraordinary result.”
While FMCS is known for its distinguished work in the field of labor-management mediation and conflict resolution, the Agency also has a rich history of facilitating collaborative decision-making processes. The Administrative Dispute Resolution and Negotiated Rulemaking Acts of 1990 designated FMCS as a key provider of dispute resolution services to other federal, state, and local government agencies recognizing FMCS’s expertise and ability to reduce costs through the expanded use of alternative dispute resolution processes throughout government.
Click here for a PDF version of the FMCS news release.
MCS Congratulates Both Sides in Final Settlement for Rhode Island Pension Case
Date: 7/1/2015
WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) Acting Director Allison Beck congratulated Rhode Island state officials and union negotiators on the implementation of a settlement agreement to Rhode Island’s longstanding public employee pension dispute.
Ms Beck led a team of FMCS mediators who worked with the parties to craft a settlement agreement last year that provided the foundation for resolving the statewide pension dispute. Provisions of the negotiated agreement are part of the Rhode Island state budget signed into law on June 30, 2015 by Governor Raimondo and are to be implemented with the state’s new fiscal year.
“On behalf of the FMCS mediators who assisted in this important negotiation, we are gratified that the dedication and hard work of the retiree and union negotiating teams, and by the negotiators for the Administration and the Treasurer’s office in this complex and lengthy process have achieved a successful resolution. Their professionalism and perseverance were the keys to ultimately gaining a consensual resolution to what had been an intractable legal dispute. I especially want to commend FMCS Boston and Providence mediators, Commissioners Josh Flax and Joseph Kelleher, for their tireless assistance to the parties. Theirs was a tremendous effort, and they have my personal thanks as well.”
For a PDF version of the FMCS statement, click here.
2015 Association of Labor Relations Agencies’ Annual Conference
Date: July 18 – 21, 2015
Description: ALRA is an association of impartial government agencies in the United States and Canada responsible for administering labor-management relations laws or services. This year’s conference will promotes: Cooperation among these agencies, high professional standards, public interest in labor relations, improved employer-employee relationships, peaceful resolution and labor disputes, exchange of information regarding the administration and improvement of agency services including, but not limited to, mediation, conciliation, fact-finding, arbitration or adjudication.
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Agenda: The agenda will be posted as soon as it becomes available.
Contact: Lane Harstad
612-331-6193
lharstad@fmcs.gov
Louisiana-Mississippi Labor-Management Conference
Date: July 27 – 29, 2015
Louisiana-Mississippi Labor-Management Conference
Description: Through annual informational and educational meetings, the Conference is dedicated to Labor-Management cooperation in the private and public sectors. We invite participation by all members of the labor-management community, and encourage Unions and Employers to attend together.
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Biloxi, Mississippi, Golden Nugget Hotel
SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS
Dan Borne, President-Louisiana Chemical Association, President-Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance
Peyton Hairston, Jr., Executive Director North America’s Building Trades Unions
Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Dorinda Folse and Eugene Stewart, Directors, OSHA Louisiana and Mississippi respectively
Kay Lane, Director of Labor Relations, Entergy Corporation
Arbitration Panel: What Arbitrators Like and What They Don’t Like
FMCS: Interest-Based Problem Solving
Department of Homeland Security: Workplace Violence
FBI: Cyber-Security at Home and Work
Contact: administrator@mslmc.org
Dallas-Fort Worth Federal Executive Board 1-Day Advanced Mediation Skills Training
August 11, 2015
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Contact: Lu-Ann Glaser
(202) 606-2222
lglaser@fmcs.gov
Additional Information (links): Registration Form