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They Tried to Kill Federal Labor Mediation. A Judge Said No.
A landmark federal court ruling has stopped deep cuts to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), preserving a critical pillar of U.S. labor relations. In this episode, we break down Judge Arun Subramanian’s December 2025 decision vacating FMCS policies that slashed mediator staffing and restricted access to federal mediation services.
We explain what the FMCS does, why its role in healthcare and collective bargaining disputes is legally mandatory under the National Labor Relations Act, and how the court applied the Administrative Procedure Act’s “arbitrary and capricious”…
The skinny
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