NCJ Number
93454
Date Published
1982
Length
34 pages
Annotation
Written primarily for key military officials whose responsibilities include the management and supervision of civilians, this essay discusses the pros and cons of conventional impasse-resolution techniques used to deal with labor-management disputes in the public sector: mediation, factfinding, and arbitration.
Abstract
To put the topic in perspective, the presentation begins with a review of the emergence of public-sector labor-management conflict and a discussion of views on strikes, which have provided the incentive for the development of dispute resolution. This is followed by a summary description of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which provides the legal foundation for the operations of the Federal labor-management relations program. The pros and cons are then discussed for the dispute-resolution techniques of direct negotiation, mediation, factfinding, and arbitration. Direct negotiation is presented as the most desirable format for the settlement of disputes. This is described as the face-to-face discussion between adversary parties for the purpose of reaching an agreement on any matter or item in dispute. Direct negotiations are normally conducted without any third party or mediator present. Mediation or conciliation is explained to be a diplomatic procedure with a third party, called the mediator, acting as intermediary to assist the adversary parties with their negotiations. The aim is to settle the dispute through voluntary agreement by both parties. Mediation is indicated to have become accepted in the public sector as an effective means of resolving disputes. Factfinding is presented as a procedure involving a 'neutral' (a factfinder or a factfinding panel), which conducts a hearing at which the adversary parties offer their recommendations for resolving the dispute, attended by supporting evidence and arguments. After the hearing, the neutral makes recommendations for a solution to the dispute. Arbitration is explained to involve the use of a third party to decide on an approach for resolving the dispute which is binding on both parties. Direct negotiation and mediation are deemed to be the preferable means for resolving labor-management disputes. The appendixes contain information on work stoppages in the United States by major issues and by industry groups for 1975, a list of unions and associations representing civilan employees of the Federal Government, and a summary of Title VII - labor-management relations. Twenty-nine bibliographic listings are provided.