Question: Answer: year, hiring that in some cases was For these reasons, we believe that our request for Program Administration is fully justified. SENIOR COMPANION PROGRAM Ms. Kenny, we have more frail elderly in The Senior Companion Program is one of the most cost-effective means of delivering vitally needed home care services. Our Senior Companion Program in Waterloo is helping nearly 300 frail elderly to stay in their own homes and out of expensive nursing homes. Ms. Kenny, in light of growing need, and the cost effectiveness of this program, why are you proposing level funding? We fully recognize the valuable Concerning the fiscal year 1992 budget, we considered several factors in recommending an overall level budget for the Senior Companion Program. First, in light of the overall budget ceiling, as well as the mandates in the Domestic Volunteer Service Act, trade-offs were required. We believed it necessary to respond to the mandatory requirements in our authorizing legislation, particularly those related to the VISTA program. Second, as I indicated earlier the number of SCP projects has increased significantly since 1987. We need to allow those projects to stabilize fully before attempting to add new ones. Indeed, as of the last grant reporting period, these new SCP grantees were spending at an effective rate of approximately 84% of their authorized levels, meaning that 16% of the available monies were not being used and the projects are not operating at full capacity. Third, and finally, we felt that the most important increment at this time was to support whatever portion of the $0.15 authorized stipend increases we could afford within an overall level budget for these programs. That is why we have included a $.05 stipend increase for the Senior Companion Program within our budget request. FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE STATEMENT OF BERNARD E. DeLURY, DIRECTOR ACCOMPANIED BY: BRIAN L. FLORES, DEPUTY DIRECTOR MARY P. DURKIN, BUDGET OFFICER BUDGET REQUEST Senator HARKIN. Now we will hear from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The mission of the Service is to prevent and to minimize labor-management disputes having a significant impact on interstate commerce or national defense for all industries, with the exception of railroad and airline industries. The fiscal year 1992 budget request for the Service is $28.1 million, an increase of $1.1 million over 1991. No funding is sought for labor-management cooperation grants. Welcome, Mr. Bernard DeLury, the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Your statement will be made a part of the record in its entirety, and if you can introduce your companions and summarize your statement, I would sure appreciate it. INTRODUCTION OF ASSOCIATES Mr. DELURY. On my left is Brian Flores, who is Deputy Director of the Service-Brian is a 14-year career mediator with the FMCS and on my right is Mary Durkin our budget officer, who has 21 years of service with the Federal Government and 18 years with the FMCS. PREPARED STATEMENT Mr. Chairman, if you would like, in the interest of time, we could dispense with reading the opening statement. We are requesting is $1.1 million over last year's budget or an increase of 4 percent, for a total of $28,145,000, which we expect will cover a full-time equivalency of 315, 204 of which will be stationed in the field, and we hope to add to that number by approximately 20 mediators in 1992. [The statement follows:] STATEMENT of Bernard E. DELURY Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, it is my pleasure to present to you the fiscal year 1992 appropriation request of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. I would like to describe briefly the Service's mission, detail our work by program area, and outline our request. FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE'S MISSION The Service was established by Congress in 1947 as an independent agency to prevent or minimize interruptions of the free flow of commerce growing out of labor disputes and to assist parties to labor disputes in industries affecting commerce to settle such disputes through conciliation and mediation. In addition, the FMCS mission statement calls for the development of sound and stable labor-management collective bargaining relationships, the advocation of collective bargaining, mediation and voluntary arbitration as the preferred process of settling issues between employers and representatives of employees, and the fostering of constructive joint relationships of labor and management leaders to increase their mutual understanding and ability to resolve common problems. The Service's mission is accomplished through the following programs: DISPUTE MEDIATION In 1992 there will be major contracts expiring in the communications (telephone and telegraph), electronic manufacturing, retail and wholesale food, utilities, construction, farm implements, wood products manufacturing, broadcasting, shipbuilding, hotel, entertainment and health care industries. Issues in collective bargaining will include normal "lunch box" issues but will also include proposals from both sides of the table dealing with more difficult issues such as health care cost containment, pensions, management rights, mixed pay systems, pay for knowledge, merit pay and lump sums versus percentage add-ons to existing rates. Health care cost containment is expected to be the single most difficult issue in negotiations. A recent survey has shown that the average company spent 21.6 percent more last year to provide doctor and hospital care to employees than the year before. Over the past two years, the cost to employers has risen 46.3 percent and it is estimated that the cost of health care consumes 25 percent of corporate profits annually. Dealing with the health care and other contentious issues will place a severe strain on labor-management relationships and we expect to be actively involved in 7,000 dispute mediation cases in fiscal year 1992. PREVENTIVE MEDIATION The mediator's involvement in the often highly stressful atmosphere of collective bargaining provides the ideal opportunity to assess the existing relationship between the parties. Preventive Mediation is specifically aimed at improving deteriorated employer-union relationships during non-crisis periods in the interest of avoiding future disputes. Through Preventive Mediation labor and management are introduced to methods of avoiding workplace strife and provided with training in approaches that alter previously hostile environments. Federal mediators will be involved in 1,400 Preventive Mediation cases in fiscal year 1992 and they will utilize a variety of approaches in problem identification and conflict resolution. Activities will include sponsorship of conferences and seminars, consultation and liaison, creation and expansion of labor-management committees, development of training modules, and use of our programs called Relationships-by-Objectives, Orientation to Labor-Management Initiatives, Partners-in-Change, and other non-adversarial or socalled "Win-Win" type assistance or training. ARBITRATION Arbitration is used almost universally to resolve labor disputes arising out of the interpretation of collective bargaining contracts. In addition, arbitration is used as a substitute for strikes or as a method of resolving impasses in contract negotiations. The Service maintains a roster of qualified arbitrators and provides lists of arbitrators to labor-management parties. The parties then select an arbitrator to hear and decide their dispute. In fiscal year 1992 we expect to submit 33,000 panels of arbitrators to the labor-management parties. LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION PROGRAM The Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978 authorizes FMCS to carry out a program of grants and contracts to support the establishment and operation of plant, area, and industry labor-management committees. In fiscal year 1991 the Service will award 11 to 13 new grants, and approximately five extension grants will be issued to continue the work of grantees originally funded in fiscal year 1989. The Administration believes that in order for labor-management cooperation committees to be successful, they should be funded by the parties involved. Therefore, no funding is requested for new or extension grants in fiscal year 1992. |