In December 1968, Nancy C. Fibish was the first woman hired by FMCS since its creation in 1947. Her hiring ended a 21 year FMCS practice of hiring only men. The United States Conciliation Service (USCS), which FMCS replaced in 1947, had several women mediators who transferred to FMCS. Only one remained when Fibish was […]
Today, Regulatory Negotiations (RegNeg) are in common use at the State and Federal level helping agencies apply laws they are charged with enforcing. This was not the case forty years ago, before ADR use expanded into new dispute arenas. Since statutory law lacks the detail necessary to provide for reasonable application and enforcement, government agencies […]
Union General Oliver Otis Howard fought at Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Antietam, Peninsula Campaign, Chattanooga, Atlanta and the Carolinas. He lost an arm at the Battle of Fair Oaks in Virginia, and received a Medal of Honor. He would subsequently become Founder of Howard University in Washington D.C., Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point, and […]
[1]Two men glare at each other. Long-haired and bearded, their garments oily from use, they hold gnarled clubs loosely at their sides. Emotions have been building since the rainy season started and the river overflowed. Who will be forced to brave the swollen river to hunt, and who will hunt near their village? Today it […]
“During World War II, David Tanzman fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Europe, was promoted to a chaplain administrator, arranged Gen. George S. Patton’s funeral and conducted the first High Holiday services in Heidelberg, Germany, after the war. When the war ended, Tanzman worked first as a government messenger in Washington DC and […]
(March 1951 to October 1977) The story of African-American mediators employed by FMCS[1] covers the 30-year period between 1947 and 1977. Below are names, hiring dates, photos and bios of 23 African-Americans hired by FMCS between 1947 and 1977. 1950 was the first class of new mediators hired since the creation of FMCS in 1947. […]
Most FMCS Directors[1] have been individuals with experience in labor/management relations as an advocate or as a neutral.[2] However, there were two exceptions to that practice. These two individuals began their FMCS career as a mediator, but then rose through the management ranks to ultimately receive a presidential appointment as FMCS Director. Like other Directors, […]
Born in 1900 on a farm near Thornton, Arkansas, John Steelman, as a young man, spent time as a hobo riding the rails and working in western wheat fields, serving in the army during WWI, and working a variety of jobs. All the while, he saved money to attend college. He eventually earned a PhD, […]
Before his term as FMCS Director ended, Cyus Ching and John Steelman, Assistant to the President, urged President Truman to appoint David Cole FMCS Director. Truman did appoint him on 10-1-52. Cole was not confirmed by the Senate, and left the Directorship after six months because incoming President Eisenhower appointed Whitney McCoy, who is discussed […]
Pictured above are Charlie Tilton, Bob Donnahoo, Lou Towers and Yates Heafner, all served as technical conciliators[1]. The U.S. Department of Labor’s United States Conciliation Service (USCS) created a new category of conciliators (mediators), in response to a trend that introduced engineering principals into manufacturing processes, such as “time and motion studies.” When this trend […]