Local union officers were distressed last month to learn that federal mediator Mike Steffany was terminated as part of an ongoing Trump administration purge of the federal workforce. Steffany was one of a number of probationary employees of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) who were let go in mid-February under the orders of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, which is led by Elon Musk. Steffany had joined the agency in August 2023 after seven years as an agent in the Portland office of the National Labor Relations Board. FMCS helps avert strikes by sending mediators to shuttle between union and employer negotiators when talks break down.
But as of March 6, about a dozen of the FMCS terminations were rescinded, including Steffany’s. He returned to work March 7.
Good to hear! Great mediator glad he is back.