Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has effectively shut down a key federal government agency in the US that mediates industrial disputes.
Doge took action in response to a presidential decree signed by Donald Trump on 14 March, which directed federal agencies to eliminate non-statutory components and reduce the performance of statutory functions and the associated personnel to a minimum requirement by law.
Trump is unlikely to have any legal authority against the agency, as its funding and programs are approved and funded by Congress.
The FMCS offers mediation, training and facilitation in order to resolve disputes between unions, employers and other parties. The FMCS was created in 1947 in order to enhance the federal role and prevent harm to the economy, services, infrastructure and public safety caused by difficult disputes.
According to the US Economic Policy Institute’s report, the FMCS’s budget for 2024 represented less than 0.0014% the federal budget. The institute also stated that “eliminating all of the FMCS’s staff and work would not save the federal government any money.”
The Institute said that unions and employers would no longer be able to rely on a neutral third party within the government to assist them in resolving disagreements during bargaining.
About 12 of the 200 employees at the agency are believed to have been retained.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (which represents 63 unions) was highly critical of Trump’s move.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler has promised legal action and stated: “Dismantling Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a small, but important federal agency, will be destructive for workers, employers, and the entire economy.”
She predicted that the outcome would be long and drawn out contract negotiations, delays in the implementation of new union contracts which raised wages and benefits and disruptions to the economy due to strikes and lockouts.
“This action is a direct attack on the people who earn a living. It will prevent good union jobs from being created with fair contracts for both workers and employers.” It’s once again clear that the Doge agenda is all about what’s right for billionaires and not the workers of this country. We’ll be seeing the administration in court,” said Shuler.
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