[1]The expansion of the Soviet Union into Eastern Europe, the Berlin Blockade, and other aggressive actions including espionage following World War 11 caused fear and anxiety in the U.S. Taking advantage of these conditions in the early 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy, as head of the Senate Permanent Investigating Committee, used hearings and investigations to […]
FMCS Director J. Curtis Counts (1969-1973)
FMCS Director J. Curtis Counts (1969-1973) During college Curt Counts met and began dating the college roommate of Patricia Ryan, the future wife of Richard Nixon. During and after college and law school, the two couples frequently double dated, and kept in touch over the years. During college at UCLA, Curt was known as a […]
The First Woman Mediator Hired by FMCS
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 […]
FMCS Role in Regulatory Negotiated Rule Making (RegNeg)
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 Howard Founder of Employment Arbitration
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 […]
Early Alternative Dispute Resolution
[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 […]
Mediator David Tanzman: One of a Kind
“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 […]
Twenty-three African-American FMCS Mediators
(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. […]
The Remarkable John R. Steelman
David L. Cole: FMCS Director Plus Much More
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 […]