Third-party mediators have long played a role in private sector collective bargaining negotiations, helping employers and employees come to agreements and avoid drawn-out, costly disputes. The mediators at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) would oversee the mediation process outlined in the Employee Free Choice Act, just as they do now when corporations and unions seek a neutral party to help them come to agreement on a fair contract.
Neutral, Third-Party Mediators Commonly Negotiate Union Contracts in the Private Sector
Congress created the FMCS as part of the 1947 Labor-Management
Relations Act, and for the past 60 years the agency’s mediators have
served as “third party neutrals to facilitate the settlement of issues
in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements.”1 FMCS
mediators are now involved in more than a quarter of all private sector
negotiations.2 Between fiscal years 2003 and 2008, the agency mediated
nearly 19,000 private sector negotiations, affecting over six million
employees.3
Mediation Is a Productive, Effective Process
Despite claims from corporate special interests, mediators improve
the bargaining process by clarifying where the parties differ,
facilitating an understanding of the long and short term effects of the
proposals, keeping the dialogue moving forward, suggesting
recommendations, and establishing realistic expectations.4 Mediation is
proven to be effective; in fiscal year 2008, 87 percent of mediated
negotiations were settled.5
Major Corporations Use Mediation to Settle Bargaining Stalemates
From 2003-2008, a wide range of employers and their unions have engaged
in mediation on a voluntary basis to settle disputes, including General
Electric, Borders, Pepsi Cola, and Princeton University.6
State
Number of
mediated negotiations
Number of
employees affected
Examples of major employers using mediation
AR
84
28,169
ConAgra, Cooper Tire & Rubber, Kroger, Lockheed Martin, Tyson Foods
CA
1,801
1,502,292
Boeing, Costco, Disneyland, Pacific Maritime Association, San Francisco Chronicle, Toyota
LA
139
25,682
Boise Cascade, Cargill, Domino Sugar, International Paper, Northrup Grumman, Shell
ME
67
13,557
American Red Cross, Bath Iron Works, Central Maine Power, Sappi Fine Papers, Shaw’s
Workers Deserve Access to Mediation and Arbitration
The Employee Free Choice Act levels the playing field by giving both
workers and companies the right to bring in an outside mediator and
then an arbitrator if they can’t settle a contract. It’s a fair and
effective way for workers to reach an agreement with their employers
for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Big Business opponents of the this critical labor law reform have
levied misleading claims about the “first contract arbitration”
provision arguing that it would be bad for business. However, not only
do corporations already use third-party mediators as provided for in
this legislation, the business community favors arbitration in a range
of business, employer, and consumer dealings. The only reason
corporate special interests are opposed to mediation and arbitration in
the Employee Free Choice Act is that when it comes to negotiating
contracts with their workers, they would rather use delay tactics to
avoid paying better wages and benefits.
The mediation and arbitration process is a fair
way to ensure that all workers can have a contract, so we can have the economy
work for everyone again.
1 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Sixty-First Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2008.
2 Ibid.
3 Data from Freedom of Information Act submitted to the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service by American Rights at Work, filled 2 June 2009.
4 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. “Collective Bargaining Mediation,” Aug. 2006.
5 FMCS Annual Report.
6 FOIA, 2009.
A growing, bipartisan coalition of policymakers supports the Employee
Free Choice Act, federal legislation that would ensure workers have a
free choice and a fair chance to form a union.
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