Conciliation and Mediation, Labor

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CONCILIATION AND MEDIATION, LABOR

CONCILIATION AND MEDIATION, LABOR, is the settlement of industrial disputes either by direct conference between the employers and employees involved, or by joint boards representing them, without the assistance of outside agencies. Mediation refers to the informal intervention of an outside agent to bring the disputants together for the purpose of settling their controversy amicably. The terms "conciliation" and "mediation," however, are often used interchangeably. Both procedures presume voluntary compliance. In the United States, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an independent body formed in 1947, provides most effective mediation and conciliation work. Federal statutes and numerous state statutes provide machinery for conciliation and mediation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stern, James L., and Joyce M. Najita, ed. Labor Arbitration under Fire. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1997.

Gordon S.Watkins/a. e.

See alsoArbitration ; Federal Agencies ; Labor ; Railroad Mediation Acts ; Strikes .

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