A joint statement from the unions said the agency needs between 80 to 100 mediators to perform its legally mandated functions but currently has only five at work. Image: BOKEH STOCK/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA coalition of unions including the AFG have sued to reverse the deep staff cuts the Trump administration has imposed at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which has involved putting nine-tenths of the workforce on administrative leave pending layoffs and the closing of field offices.
The suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York asserts that the actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act and prevent the agency from performing the duties assigned to it by Congress.
It could serve as a precursor to similar complaints involving other agencies that along with the FMCS were the target of an executive order requiring a number of relatively small federal entities to reduce their operations and personnel “to the minimum presence and function required by law.”
“The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is a small but mighty agency that directly benefits the U.S. economy by helping to resolve costly and disruptive labor disputes in the public and private sectors. Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to abolish FMCS have nothing to do with saving taxpayers’ money and everything to do with gutting workers’ union rights and protections. It’s shameful, it’s wasteful, and it must be stopped,” the AFGE said.
A joint statement from the unions said the agency needs between 80 to 100 mediators to perform its legally mandated functions but currently has only five at work.
The unions said that several of them were “actively engaged in collective-bargaining negotiations with FMCS when the mediator was forced to abruptly leave or cancel the negotiations because they had been placed on leave. With only five mediators remaining at FMCS, these unions and their workers will be left in the lurch, working under expired contracts or no contracts.”
Large Share of Federal Workforce about to Experience a Payless Pay Period
OPM Details Coverage Changes, Plan Dropouts for FEHB/PSHB in 2026
OMB Says Federal Workforce RIFs are Starting as Shutdown Drags On
Financial Impact of Shutdown Starts to Hit Home; WH Threatens No Back Pay
Surge of Retirement Applications Is in the Pipeline, Says OPM
See also,
TSP Takes Step toward Upcoming In-Plan Roth Conversions
5 Steps to Protect Your Federal Job During the Shutdown
Over 30K TSP Accounts Have Crossed the Million Mark in 2025
The Best Ages for Federal Employees to Retire
