Prior to joining FMCS, Bill Abner’s work as a union official in Chicago prepared him well for his role as Special Assistant to the FMCS Director. A book on former UAW president Walter Reuther made this reference to Abner: “He was perhaps the union equivalent of a Rhodes scholar. Bill Abner, thirty-nine years old in […]
The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 removed labor-management mediation from the Department of Labor (DoL) and placed it in the newly created Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Not everyone favored the new arrangement. Labor Secretary Lewis Schwellerbach urged Congress to return the mediation function to DoL. In Congressional testimony, the first FMCS Director Cyrus Ching […]
While working as a Flight Attendant for Continental Airlines, Maggie Jacobsen became active in the Flight Attendants Union, and eventually she won an election to become the union’s Secretary Treasurer. In that position, she helped the FAU separate from the Airline Pilots Union to improve their representation in grievances and collective bargaining. Subsequently, she accepted […]
Seven former FMCS Directors pictured during the 50th Anniversary of FMCS 1997. * Their combined tenure covers 25 years, or half the life of FMCS in 1998.* FMCS Directors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for four-year terms. They can be reappointed. FMCS is responsible for mediating disputes between labor […]