W. J. “Bill” Usery is appointed by President Nixon as FMCS’ seventh director.
The FMCS Office of Arbitration Services is created. An Arbitration Services Advisory Committee, composed of 12 labor relations experts and arbitrators, is established to advise on arbitration policy and procedures.
The FMCS Office of Technical Services is established and given responsibility for the development and implementation of techniques for dispute prevention, research and analysis of problems related to dispute activity, staff training and the provision of statistical information to the parties.
A Relationship-by-Objectives (RBO) program is developed for use in extreme cases of poor labor-management relations, when continued deterioration of the relationship could have drastic economic effect. The first RBO program is delivered in Maine on behalf of the Georgia-Pacific Company and Paperworkers Local 27.
