FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is an independent agency of the U.S. government that seeks to prevent or settle dis-
putes between LABOR UNIONS and management
that affect interstate commerce. The FMCS was
established by the 1947 LABOR-MANAGEMENT
RELATIONS ACT (61 Stat. 153 [29 U.S.C.A.
§ 172]), better known as the TAFT-HARTLEY ACT.
Mediators for the FMCS have no law enforce-
ment authority and must rely on their own per-
suasive techniques.
The Labor-Management Relations Act
requires that parties to a labor contract must file
a notice with the FMCS if agreement is not
reached within 30 days before a contract termi-
nation or reopening date. The FMCS is required
by the act to avoid mediation of disputes that
would have only a minor effect on interstate
commerce. However, in seeking to promote
labor peace through the encouragement and
development of long-term, stable relationships
between labor and management, the FMCS has
taken a broad view of its statutory mandate and
has involved itself in disputes that have little
effect on interstate commerce.
The FMCS provides both mediation and
conciliation services. Most of its interventions
involve mediation, which is a voluntary, non-
binding form of dispute resolution. A mediator
attempts to facilitate an agreement by conduct-
ing meetings and coordinating discussions. A
mediator may make substantive suggestions as
an active participant to help the parties reach a
voluntary agreement.
FMCS mediators must be neutral and must
have a minimum of seven years’ experience in
bargaining methods and tactics.Mediators must
maintain strict confidentiality of both sides’
positions and may be removed for bias or a fail-
ure to maintain confidences. The FMCS
employs over 200 mediators, who typically han-
dle about 30,000 cases every year.
Conciliation is a different form of dispute
resolution. A conciliator acts as a neutral third
party, serving as a resource person for both
sides. Generally, a conciliator will not participate
in any joint meetings between the parties.
Instead, a conciliator will present each party’s
position to the other in separate sessions. The
conciliator may also suggest solutions, especially
when negotiations have reached a stalemate.
The FMCS will also provide ARBITRATION
support. Arbitration is an informal method of
adjudication, in which both parties present their
side of the case, and an arbitrator decides who
will prevail. Upon the joint request of a union
and an employer, the FMCS will help to select
arbitrators from a roster of private citizens.
The agency also employs preventive media-
tion techniques once an agreement is reached.
These techniques include the organization of or
participation in labor-management committees,
which serve as outlets for discussing problems,
and the training of labor and management in
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION techniques.
This training is often presented through confer-
ences and seminars.
By 2002, the FMCS had developed web tech-
nology that provided the public with compre-
