Cornell Launches Mediation Service After Federal Agency Layoffs

Cornell University will provide mediation services for workplace and collective bargaining disputes and training for mediators and arbitrators, the school announced.

The new program, called the National Conflict Resolution Service, will address a shortfall in federal mediation services after President Donald Trump pursued mass layoffs at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which provides free dispute resolution for public and private employers and unions. A federal court in Rhode Island ruled in May that the administration must reinstate some of the workers.

Several states, including California and Michigan, have taken steps to ramp up their own supply of mediators in response to the federal layoffs.

Though the goal “is not necessarily to compete with FMCS,” NCRS executive manager Javier Ramirez said, “there definitely is a growing need for assistance in this area.”

“The best case scenario is to have a federally funded service provider for these services that are very much in need,” said Ramirez, who worked at FMCS until last month and was President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the agency. “But we can assist where those services may be missing or not available.”

The NCRS will partner with the American Arbitration Association to “establish a network of skilled dispute resolution professionals” to bolster the “strength of the U.S. labor relations system,” according to the Monday announcement.

In addition to hands-on mediation services, the NCRS will provide training and guidance for unions and employers to improve conflict management and prevention.

The program is housed in Cornell’s Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution. It is currently accepting requests for services, according to the program’s website.