(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 […]
President Eisenhower’s Secretary of Labor James Mitchell (1953–1961) had extensive experience in collective bargaining and labor relations. Early in WW II, Mitchell headed the labor relations division of the Army Construction Program, later he served as director of industrial personnel for the War Department, in charge of one million men. After World War II, he returned to the […]
[1]While working at both USCS and FMCS, Major Charles Estes often emphasized the importance of communication in labor management relations. He frequently used his ‘Skunk Oil Story’ to illustrate the importance of quick and clear communication. Estes often used his Skunk Story in trainings and lectures. He told his story like this: While mediating a […]
Jim Scearce was a company labor relations representative at Cape Kennedy when he met Bill Usery, a union representative for the IAM. Based on their cordial relationship, Usery asked Scearce to accompany him to Washington D.C. to become his Special Assistant when Usery was appointed Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Nixon Administration in March […]
USCS conciliators (mediators) were not writers, and certainly not writers for publication. The same could be said for the early years of FMCS. Major Charles Estes[1] was an exception, having served with both USCS and FMCS, he researched, wrote, trained and mediated. Here are samples of his writing: “The Place of Communications in Maintaining […]
In 1973, FMCS Director Bill Usery dedicated the main FMCS conference room, in the old Department of Labor building at Constitution and 14th Street NW, to Cyrus Ching. The photo above shows Usery with Ching’s widow looking at the painting of Cyrus Ching during a dedication ceremony establishing the Cyrus Ching conference room. In his […]