On Wednesday, November 4th, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a voluntary mediation process to help federal agencies and labor organizations resolve negotiability disputes before they proceed to a decision by the FLRA. The new process provides agencies and unions an opportunity to address these disputes through facilitated discussions before the FLRA resumes consideration of the appeal.
This agreement reflects both agencies’ commitment to promoting constructive labor-management relationships and providing federal-sector parties with additional opportunities to resolve disputes collaboratively. Read more about this MOU in our press release available [here].