The Federal Labor Relations Authority on Tuesday approved a plan to move some labor-management cases to a voluntary mediation program, aimed at resolving workplace disputes prior to adjudication.
That new program will not be part of FLRA, however. Instead, the Authority is for a second time shifting the mediation work over to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
The FMCS program is expected to handle cases related to collective bargaining in instances where both an agency and a union voluntarily agree to use mediation to try to resolve a dispute.
“The purpose of the mediation program is to facilitate the efficient and effective resolution of these disputes,” FLRA said in its notice, published Tuesday to the Federal Register.
Going forward, parties involved in labor-management disputes would be able to jointly request their case be moved to the FMCS program. The FLRA itself can also refer specific cases to mediation. Both agencies and unions reserve the right to decline participation in mediation, according to FLRA’s notice.
Once a case is moved into the new program, FLRA will put it “in abeyance,” meaning Authority members will halt processing the case while it moves through mediation.
The parties may settle the dispute fully through the FMCS program. Otherwise, FMCS would report back that the dispute was not resolved, at which point FLRA would continue processing the case.
The FLRA is a quasi-judicial body overseeing labor-management relations for federal agencies, employees and unions. The FMCS focuses on mediation and alternative dispute resolution for agencies and unions.
“I am pleased the FLRA is once again partnering with FMCS to give agencies and labor organizations an invaluable opportunity to resolve their negotiability disputes efficiently and collaboratively,” FLRA Chairman Colleen Kiko said Tuesday in a press release. “Resolving these disputes through mediation returns the parties to the bargaining table and advances the collective bargaining process.”
It’s not entirely clear when or how the new mediation program will take shape at FMCS. The First Circuit Court of Appeals is currently reviewing a case involving the Trump administration’s 2025 orders to shutter or shrink several small agencies, including FMCS, Bloomberg reported in September.
Details are also missing regarding the expected mediation timeframe for the new program, and who will serve as mediators. FMCS did not immediately respond to Federal News Network’s request for comment.
A mediation program for resolving federal labor-management disputes is not a new concept. For years, FLRA used an internal Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Office (CADRO) to mitigate cases before the adjudication stage. Like the newly created mediation program, the now-disbanded FLRA office would work with agencies and unions who agreed to bring their disputes there.
In 2018, however, Kiko — who also served as FLRA chairman during the first Trump administration — shuttered CADRO. The Authority then moved forward in 2019 with launching a mediation office at FMCS, created through a memorandum of understanding.
Under the Biden administration, FLRA reversed course and restored CADRO as an internal office in 2021.
In August 2025, FLRA eliminated CADRO for a second time as part of President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order telling agencies to close components and offices that were not statutorily mandated.
“There will no longer be a separate, dedicated FLRA office focusing exclusively on the use of [alternative dispute resolution],” FLRA wrote in its August 2025 notice. “CADRO services were always voluntary and at the discretion of the FLRA, as resources permitted.”
Suzanne Summerlin, a federal labor attorney, questioned FLRA’s latest decision to revive the mediation program externally at FMCS.
“The mediators who worked at CADRO were excellent — and the Authority lost two of them when it closed the office,” she told Federal News Network. “It is hard to see how outsourcing the work to FMCS replaces what they had in-house.”
There is also one “crucial” change under the new mediation program: While the 2019 office said mediation was expected to take 30 to 60 days to complete, Summerlin pointed out that the new program does not set a target timeline for resolving disputes.
“A petition could sit with no stated horizon,” she said.
FMCS has been making other changes to its internal processes. In August, the agency issued an interim final rule to clarify circumstances in which it does not have to approve arbitration panels or provide other arbitration-related services.
“Recent executive orders excluding certain agencies or subdivisions from federal labor-management relations have increased the likelihood that FMCS will receive requests for arbitration panels in circumstances where one party asserts that participation in the requested arbitration process is prohibited by law, court order or otherwise outside FMCS’ statutory or regulatory authority,” the interim final rule states.
In Sept. 28 public comments on the FMCS rule, the Federal Workers Alliance — an organization co-chaired by Summerlin — urged the agency to withdraw its rule, arguing that it will erode neutrality and that it unlawfully exceeds the agency’s authority.
Joined by nearly two dozen labor organizations, FWA accused the agency of already withholding panels at agencies’ request, as well as improperly screening arbitration panel requests.
“In my view, trust in FMCS is at an all-time low among the unions it depends on,” Summerlin said.
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