Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR NEWS—Cornell’s National Conflict Resolution Service seeks to strengthen U.S. labor relations system, (Jun 25, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:American Arbitration Association | Cornell University
By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.
The NCRS will be led by Javier Ramirez, a 20-year veteran of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which recently faced mass layoffs.
In response to mass layoffs at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) at Cornell University launched the National Conflict Resolution Service (NCRS). In collaboration with the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the NCRS “brings together some of the most experienced mediators and practitioners in the nation—ensuring parties have access to trusted, effective support[.]”
Services provided. The NCRS will partner with the AAA to establish a network of skilled dispute resolution professionals. It will also provide training opportunities in alternative dispute resolution, serving experienced mediators and arbitrators who are looking to advance their skills, as well as professionals aspiring to enter the field. Parties who come to NCRS seeking arbitrators to resolve workplace disputes will be referred to the AAA, which offers its services across labor, employment, government, international, and commercial sectors.
Mission, leadership. The NCRS website states that the organization’s mission is “to establish a trusted, national hub for high-quality labor dispute resolution, training, facilitation, and conflict management and prevention services—built on a foundation of neutrality, excellence, and public service values.” The NCRS will be headed by Javier Ramirez, whose experience in dispute resolution includes 20 years at the FMCS as the former deputy director of field operations. Ramirez has joined ILR’s Scheinman Institute to help lead the new service as its executive manager.
“This new service and the hiring of Javier Ramirez provides the Scheinman Institute with the capability to extend its reach and build upon its two decades of experience in dispute resolution,” said Harry Katz, the Jack Sheinkman Professor of Collective Bargaining (ILR) and director of the institute.
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