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In FY 1979, the Service will continue extending

technical assistance to state and local governments that have passed or are in the process of passing legislation to institute or permit public employee bargaining. FMCS plans to help these governments by educating the parties in collective bargaining, mediation, arbitration, and techniques to promote harmonious relations. The aim will be to help states and localities to become self-sufficient in handling labor negotiations.

Because of the increase in requests for technical assistance, the Service has had to be more selective in its response. For example, the RBO program has been utilized only in situations where labor-management relationships have deteriorated to the point where each contract expiration has brought a lengthy and bitter strike. It is anticipated that requests for technical assistance will far exceed the level of manpower available, so this same selectivity will have to be extended to TA programs in FY 1979. In addition to making sure that new TA programs are carefully launched, the Service will keep up the quality of present programs.

The Service's public information and educational activities play an important role by providing the labor-management community and the public with a fuller understanding of its role. The long-range benefit from these activities will be a further

reduction in strikes and their duration.

In the United States, grievance arbitration--and

more recently, interest arbitration--as an alternative to
strikes has been a unique achievement of our industrial re-
lations system. These approaches differ radically, both as
concepts and practices from experiences in any of the indus-
trialized nations. The impact of arbitration on the economy
of the Nation, because it does serve as an important alterna-
tive to costly and lengthy work stoppages, is immeasurable.
growth in the use of arbitration has been enormous, and it will
undoubtedly increase.

The

The use of FMCS arbitration services has risen rapidly. It is anticipated that by the end of the current fiscal year, the Service will submit about 28,500 panels of arbitrators to the parties, an increase of more than 100 percent since FY 1972. Comparable increases have occurred in the number of requests received, and the number of arbitrator appointments. All of this has placed a heavy strain on the arbitration services function. A key element in providing these services is time. It is essential that the Service is able to respond promptly to the parties. Maintenance of the roster of qualified arbitrators to hear these -cases requires countless hours to make sure that the most current and accurate data for each arbitrator is reflected in his or her biographical sketch that is sent to the parties. This information is an important factor in the selection of arbitrators.

In addition,

the quality of the FMCS roster of arbitrators is under continual review to make sure that each member and potential member meets the highest standards of ethical and professional qualifications and conduct.

The labor-management community continues to urge

The

that the Service develop programs for developing new arbitra-
tors and accelerating their acceptability by the parties.
role of FMCS in this process should be to assist the parties
in developing programs that will achieve these goals.

FMCS plans to take a leadership role in this area, both because of our statutory responsibility and because we are in a unique position to supply expertise for these programs. The Service plans to assume a major role in the training and development of new arbitrators in FY 1979. In addition, the Service will seek to respond to the new demands being made on the arbitrator's expertise in the areas of interest arbitration, the public sector, and the health care industry. All of these require new kinds of expertise and training which have not been required of arbitrators before.

The Service's management and administrative support programs interact with the other program areas at the regional, field, and national office levels. Major support duties include personnel management, budget and financial management, management

information services, administrative services, legal support services, research and development, planning and evaluation, employee training, and program effectiveness.

FMCS plans to initiate significant personnel improvements in FY 1979. An integrated employee training and development program will provide employees with specialized skills training in job-related areas. New programs for upgrading and upward mobility will be initiated to ensure that qualified and capable employees can utilize their full potential and will remain with the Service.

The President's goals and objectives in recruiting and training of minorities, women, and the handicapped to fill jobs at all levels in the Service will be given increased emphasis in FY 1979. Although the Service has begun to make important advances in these areas, it recognizes that it has only begun to tap these resources. Our recruitment program will include a nationwide search for talent and expertise in all fields.

The Service's Office of the General Counsel in FY 1979 will be more involved in legislative and interagency programs. It will maintain close liaison with the Civil Service Commission so that FMCS is aware of the latest legal developments and changes in procedures in such areas as equal employment opportunity and other applicable program areas. The Office of the General Counsel will be more heavily involved in policy development, legal aspects of the arbitration program, and dispute mediation.

The Service's management in FY 1979 will plan and

evaluate programs to measure the quality of the agency's accomplishments as well as the quantity.

Analysis of caseload trends will enable FMCS to determine more quickly and more accurately whether mediator staff should be redistributed, geographical boundaries should be changed, more technical assistance programs are needed, or specialized mediator training might be necessary to solve particular problems. Geographical changes in industry patterns will be studied for similar clues to how FMCS might better respond to changing needs, and critical industries will be evaluated for data which will help mediators keep pace with collective bargaining developments.

In terms of employment, the Service's full-time employment ceiling for Fiscal Years 1977 and 1978 is limited to 540 permanent positions, as determined by the Office of Management and Budget. This is a reduction of 35 positions below the authorization in the appropriations for FY 1977.

Although there is an anticipated increase in dispute and arbitration caseload during FY 1979, the Service believes that with additional effort and improved capability of mediators and support staff, the increased workload can be effectively handled without additional personnel. However, to compensate for the additional mediator time required to handle the increase in dispute workload, our technical assistance and public information