NYS ERB provides mediation services free of charge to unions and employers. We believe that it is important to employers, employees, unions and the State of New York for labor and management to resolve their disputes quickly and voluntarily, without resort to strikes or lockouts. The Board provides two kinds of mediation services upon request of the parties:

Contract mediation: There are times in the collective bargaining process when the parties are unable to reach agreement. By federal law, if you as a union or employer intend to seek a termination or modification of a collective bargaining agreement upon its expiration, you must notify the other side at least 60 days before the contract expires (90 days for health care institutions). In addition to sending it to FMCS, you should file the same Form F-7 with the NYS ERB either by email (download the form and email the completed form to perbinfo@perb.state.ny.us), mail (download the form and return the completed form to any ERB office), or fax (212-352-6114).

The parties, if they choose, may call a neutral mediator into their negotiations at any time. A creative and experienced mediator, being informal and flexible, may be able to help the parties resolve their differences. At the request of the parties, the Board has mediators available to work with the parties to help them reach a mutually acceptable resolution of their disputes.

Grievance mediation: The parties to a collective bargaining agreement may choose, either in that agreement or on an ad hoc basis, to bring in a mediator either before or during the course of a grievance arbitration. Such mediation has the advantage of saving the cost of arbitration and creating the possibility of reaching a resolution acceptable to both sides, avoiding the result of a winner and a loser. A mediated agreement enhances ongoing labor-management relations.

For futher information, please contact Bruce Newman, Supervising Mediator, at 518-248-3337.