Today, President Biden designated Gregory Goldstein as Acting Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) and we call on the Senate to quickly confirm Javier Ramirez to serve as the permanent FMCS Director.
 
Goldstein is a career member of the Senior Executive Service and has served as the Chief Operating Officer for FMCS since 2018. Ramirez began his FMCS career as a Commissioner in 2005 and is currently the Executive Manager of the Division of Agency Initiatives. He has mediated disputes in almost all sectors of the American economy, including multi-party disputes in manufacturing, construction, and education. 
 
Because of the President’s American Rescue Plan and Build Back Better agenda, our economy has recovered more rapidly than predicted from the COVID-19 pandemic downturn. With tighter labor markets and more money in their pockets, workers have greater power to demand their fair share from employers in collective bargaining with unions across the country. These conditions have put a spotlight on the important role of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in facilitating productive collective bargaining relationships and labor-management partnerships.
 
The President’s designation of Gregory Goldstein, and his urging of the Senate to confirm Javier Ramirez, should help the FMCS play an even more proactive role in helping unions and employers successfully negotiate collective bargaining agreements, including where there are strikes or lockouts currently underway.