The Federal Mediation And Conciliation Service Should Strive To Avoid Mediating Minor Disputes

Author : United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 34 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (64 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Should Strive to Avoid Mediating Minor Disputes written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: GAO reviewed the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service's (FMCS) activities to determine whether they were within the authority of enabling legislation, and to evaluate the adequacy of the FMCS management practices for determining jurisdiction in a labor dispute and for reporting on resources used. GAO focused its analysis on the 19 states which have mediation services. FMCS was created to promote industrial peace and the nation's economic welfare by resolving labor disputes through collective bargaining. The Taft-Hartley Act provides for FMCS involvement in any labor dispute in industries affecting commerce if, in FMCS judgment, such a dispute threatens to cause a substantial interruption of interstate commerce. FMCS is directed to avoid attempting to mediate disputes that have only a minor impact on interstate commerce if state services are available. State and local governments are specifically excluded from the act's coverage. GAO found that FMCS has not followed the criteria provided by statute. FMCS involvement was questionable in 103 of the 404 dispute mediation cases which were reviewed. FMCS did not make a determination of the potential for substantial interruption of interstate commerce before it became involved. Instead, FMCS considered such factors as the number of employees in the union, the potential impact on the local community, whether the FMCS assistance was asked, and whether FMCS had mediated the parties' last dispute. FMCS has not determined which states have inadequate mediation services. Sixty-five percent of the FMCS workload was in states having mediation services. It had not established the cooperative agreements with states having mediation services authorized by the act. The act specifically excludes, by definition, state and local governments from FMCS coverage, but FMCS has mediated state and local public employee disputes, and involvement in these disputes is increasing. About one-half of the FMCS public sector mediations in fiscal year 1978 were in states that had legislated procedures to resolve state and local public employee disputes. FMCS does not have adequate information on the use of its staff resources. FMCS needs information on caseload time for allocating resources and time, and preparing budget submissions. FMCS continued involvement in minor disputes in states without a mediation service creates a disincentive for these states to provide such services.