Федеральная служба посредничества и примирения США

Independent agency of the US government

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), founded in 1947, is an independent agency of the United States government, and the nation's largest public agency for dispute resolution and conflict management, providing mediation services and related conflict prevention and resolution services in the private, public, and federal sectors. FMCS is tasked with mediating labor disputes around the country; it provides training and relationship development programs for management and unions as part of its role in promoting labor management peace and cooperation. The Agency also provides mediation, conflict prevention, and conflict management services outside the labor context for federal agencies and the programs they operate. The FMCS headquarters is located in Washington, D. C., with other offices across the country.

FMCS was created by Congress as a neutral and independent government agency upon enactment of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft–Hartley 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 its headquarters in Washington, D. C., and offices across the country, the agency has, for decades, been providing dispute resolution and conflict management services for employers and unions across industries and work activities in the private, public, and federal sectors. FMCS has also been involved in facilitating negotiated rulemaking processes and providing conflict prevention and conflict management for a wide range of agencies in the federal sector. The Agency also has an international program, partnering with more than 60 countries to provide consulting and training in labor dispute resolution and the design of conflict management systems.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service was created as an independent agency of the federal government under the terms of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (better known as the Taft–Hartley Act) to replace the United States Conciliation Service that previously operated within the Department of Labor. Under Taft Hartley, FMCS may offer its services "in any labor dispute in any industry affecting commerce, either upon its own motion or upon the request of one or more of the parties to the dispute, whenever in its judgment such dispute threatens to cause a substantial interruption of commerce." By statute, FMCS receives advance notification any time a party to a collective bargaining agreement intends to terminate or modify the contract upon expiration. No modification or termination of a collective bargaining agreement is permitted unless the party wishing to modify or terminate notifies the other party at least 60 days prior to expiration and, within 30 days after notice to the other party, notifies FMCS and applicable state mediation agencies. For healthcare institutions, the notice times are extended to 90 and 60 days respectively. FMCS also has a large labor arbitration program. The Agency maintains a roster of approximately 1,000 private arbitrators who are vetted based on their background, experience, and training in issues arising under collective bargaining agreements. Typically, more than 10,000 requests for arbitrator panels are received by FMCS each year from parties to labor management grievance disputes. Panels are randomly drawn from the FMCS Roster based on specified parameters, and the parties select an arbitrator who is then officially appointed by FMCS. Arbitrators must abide by the Code of Professional Responsibility for Arbitrators of Labor Management Disputes, to which FMCS is a signatory; the Code is incorporated by reference in the Agency's federal regulations.

On August 7, 1947, President of the United States Harry S. Truman appointed Cyrus S. Ching as the first director of the FMCS. As Director of the FMCS, he received $12,000, placing the position at par with the National Labor Relations Board. Ching had been a member of the National War Labor Board until 1943, and had been an employee of the United States Rubber Company since 1919, serving as the firm's director of industrial and public relations in 1929. Ching would take office as of August 22, 1947, the date established in the Taft–Hartley Act for the creation of the FMCS as an independent agency, and would assume the role of the nation's top labor mediator from Edgar L. Warren, who had filled the senior mediation role for the U. S. Conciliation Service within the Labor Department. After conferring with the President in August, Ching stated that he would assume his role as director in early September upon the completion of his duties at U. S. Rubber. Ching stated that his role was to settle labor disputes at the level when and where they develop. Ching was sworn into office on September 5, 1947, with an oath administered by Judge Henry White Edgerton at ceremonies also attended by Howard T. Colvin, who served as acting head from the August 22 creation of the FMCS, as well as other representatives of labor, industry and government.

In 2019, FMCS began administrative management of the Federal Shared Neutrals Program, an interagency collaborative effort in support of alternative dispute resolution, formerly operated as Sharing Neutrals by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). FMCS administers the program in the National Capital Region, in coordination with participating federal agencies that contribute to, and make use of, a pool of collateral duty federal employees to mediate cases outside their own agency. In many regions of the country, Federal Executive Boards (FEBs) have created individual programs modeled after the DC based program but run through each FEB. These programs continue separate operations, except for those who may wish to have FMCS administer their regional Shared Neutrals program. Annually, the Shared Neutrals Program provides workplace mediation services for hundreds of cases across more than 50 participating agencies and sub agencies, supported by a pool of more than 250 collateral duty federal employees who are dedicated to assisting in the resolution of workplace disputes.

FMCS received the top ranking among small Federal agencies as a Best Place to Work in the Federal Government, according to the 2018 rankings by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and Boston Consulting Group. With rankings first being held in 2003, 2018 marks the fifth time FMCS was selected for the top spot, having also earned this distinction in 2005, 2007, 2015, and in 2017. Additionally, the Agency has consistently ranked in the top 4 since the “small agency” category rankings were first included in 2007. Data points from the FEVS revealed that FMCS's 2018 employee engagement score is 87.2 out of 100, which placed FMCS at 1 out of 29 small agencies. By 2022, the score had dropped to 63.6 out of 100, placing FMCS as the 24th out of 30 small agencies.

FMCS hosts a biennial conference to promote better relationship and dispute management as a proactive means for preventing conflict that can impair organizational success. Historically, the NLMC attracts over 1000 industrial relations professionals, representatives of labor and management, academics, arbitrators and legal professionals across the labor relations and employment spectrum. The conference was most recently held virtually in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The next conference, “Challenges and Choices at Work in a Time of Heightened Worker Activism”, is scheduled for June 26 30, 2024.

In 2013, The Washington Examiner alleged in a series of articles that employees at the agency had made improper purchases such as auto leases and spouses' cellular phones using government credit cards. In response, the FMCS issued the following statement: "These items which the Examiner is inquiring about appear to have been the subject of a now settled employment dispute involving a disgruntled FMCS employee. These purchasing issues were addressed in the settlement, but must remain confidential under federal personnel rules, as noted, in the absence of a release from the employee. "When FMCS became aware of this employee’s concerns about the Agency’s procurement practices, we took immediate actions. These actions included taking steps to ensure that the Agency’s internal processes meet federal regulations. Additionally, we obtained a review by an outside, independent authority regarding FMCS procurements made over a period of years. We conducted a prompt and thorough investigation and a review of our own internal processes. With the settlement of the employment dispute, the conclusion of our own investigation and reviews by outside authorities, the allegations were dropped and outside authorities indicated they would take no further action." Subsequently, Congressional committee staff in both the House and Senate looked into the allegations that prompted the articles in the Examiner and concluded their inquiries without making any findings against the agency or its employees.