Office of Arbitration, Shared Neutrals and Notices

The labor policy of the United States promotes and encourages the use of voluntary arbitration to resolve disputes over the interpretation or application of collective bargaining agreements. Voluntary arbitration and fact-finding are important features of constructive labor-management relations and virtually all collective bargaining agreements contain arbitration provisions. FMCS administers a roster of qualified labor arbitrators. We promptly provide arbitrator panels from the roster when parties request and appoint arbitrators pursuant to parties’ agreement. The director provides education, advocacy, and outreach to actual and prospective FMCS arbitration customers.

Arbitration office phone: 202-606-5111
Fax: 202-606-3749
(Some older fax machines may not be able to send faxes to this number.  If this is the case, please email your attachment to arbitrationfax@fmcs.gov)

For more detailed information about the FMCS arbitration program, click on Arbitration Services.

A party to a collective bargaining agreement is required by statute to notify FMCS within 30 days (60 days if it involves employees of a healthcare institution) of serving notice to the other party of intent to terminate or modify the agreement. Our dedicated Notice Processing staff is responsible for ensuring timely and accurate recording of these notices of collective bargaining contract termination or modifications (F-7 notice). Online submission of the notice is simple and creates a clear record to protect the submitting party. When the employer is a healthcare institution, a labor organization is separately required to notify FMCS at least ten days prior to any strike, picket, or other concerted refusal to work.

Notice Processing Unit phone: 202-606-5499
Fax: 202-606-4253
(Some older fax machines may not be able to send faxes to this number.  If this is the case, please email your attachment to npufax@fmcs.gov)

The Office of Arbitration and Notice Processing Unit is also responsible for the Shared Neutrals (SN) program. SN is an inter-agency mediation program in the National Capital Region including the Washington, DC area and Baltimore, operating since the 1990s. Management of the program was transferred from the Department of Health and Human Services to FMCS in December, 2018. Upon request, SN assists participating federal agencies through a pool of trained, collateral-duty federal employees who provide mediation services to agencies other than their own in exchange for like services to the program from the recipient agency. For more information on the program, please visit the web page for Shared Neutrals.

Click to download biography PDF:
Director of Arbitration, Shared Neutrals and Notices: Arthur Pearlstein