FMCS Commissioner Richard Giacolone has been appointed by President Trump to serve as the Acting Director for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
Federal labor relations professionals working for agencies or unions are familiar with the agency as it often plays a significant role in resolving contracts between federal agencies and unions representing federal employees.
About FMCS
The FMCS is a small agency created in 1947. Its mission is to resolve disputes between labor and management.
Its headquarters are in Washington, DC. It also has ten regional offices and more than 60 field offices. It provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities.
The new Acting Director, Richard Giacolone, has been involved in mediation with the FMCS since 1995. He initially worked in the Chesapeake, Virginia field office. He has also served as the Director of the FMCS International/Alternative Dispute Resolution Department and Special Assistant to the Director of FMCS.
Prior to receiving his commission with FMCS, Giacolone was Labor Relations Advisor for the Department of the Navy and has an extensive background in labor relations representing management.
During his 23-year FMCS career, Giacolone has mediated thousands of domestic labor and employment cases. He has also mediated numerous significant collective bargaining agreements covering nationwide bargaining units in the federal sector. His international experience at FMCS includes both mediation and the development and delivery of dispute resolution programs in some fourteen countries.
Among his professional honors, Giacolone was previously awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal for his contributions to the Department of Navy Labor and Employee Relations program and the Society of Federal Labor and Employee Relations Professionals Lifetime Achievement Award. He was elected national President of the Society of Federal Labor and Employee Relations Professionals.
Giacolone has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Psychology and a Master of Public Administration degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. He has served on the faculty and regularly lectured at a number of universities on topics such as collective bargaining and arbitration.
Our congratulations to Rich Giacolone on his appointment as the FMCS Acting Director.
