FMCS Statement on the Executive Order “Continuing the Reduction of The Federal Bureaucracy”

FMCS Statement on the Executive Order “Continuing the Reduction of The Federal Bureaucracy”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 19, 2025) – Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) acknowledges the March 14 Executive Order, “Continuing the Reduction of The Federal Bureaucracy,” and is actively reviewing its alignment with the Administration’s previous directives, including the February 11 Workforce Optimization Initiative and February 26 Cost Efficiency Initiative. FMCS is examining how these Executive Orders and guidance work together to ensure a coordinated approach to efficiency, optimization, and mission focus across the federal government.

In response to multiple inquiries from both media and clients, FMCS wishes to assure all stakeholders that we remain operational and are continuing to provide our statutorily mandated services, including tracking and servicing approximately 15,000 private sector collective bargaining agreements negotiated annually nationwide. With an annual budget of $55 million (less than 0.0014% of the federal budget), FMCS’s work delivers extraordinarily outsized economic benefits. Using conservative estimates, FMCS’s work saves the American economy well over $500 million annually.

Established under Title II of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Act), FMCS was created as an independent agency to prevent and minimize labor-management disputes that could disrupt the free flow of commerce. FMCS is statutorily mandated to:

• Minimize labor disputes in the private sector through mediation and conciliation services.
• Support labor-management cooperation under the Labor-Management Cooperation Act, which directs FMCS to encourage joint labor-management initiatives to improve workplace relations.
• Manage dispute resolution in the health care industry as required by the Health Care Amendments of 1974, ensuring labor disputes do not disrupt health care delivery.
• Provide mediation services in federal sector labor disputes under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.
• Assist in disputes in the U.S. Postal Service under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 and provide fact-finding panels for supervisory pay disputes under the Postal Reorganization Act of 1980.

To be clear, FMCS is still operational and performing our statutory functions of collective bargaining mediation work in the private and federal Sectors, USPS dispute cases, labor-management committee work, and providing arbitration panels.  Mediation remains the most cost-effective approach, requiring fewer resources and delivering faster resolutions compared to labor disruptions, litigation, or administrative hearings. FMCS will continue working with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to secure approval of its efficiency-focused plans, ensuring alignment with administration priorities.

For reference, FMCS remains statutorily required to provide mediation, conciliation, and voluntary arbitration under Title II of the Labor-Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley). While other statutes have authorized additional activities, FMCS has refocused solely on its mandated functions, consistent with the Executive Orders.

###

The U.S. Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS) is the nation’s premier public agency for dispute resolution and conflict management. 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 headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices across the country, the agency has a proud track record of decades of effective dispute resolution and conflict management services for employers and unions across industries and work activities in the private, public, and federal sectors. For more on FMCS or to request services, visit www.fmcs.gov