Mediation Operates for Opera Dispute

Labor talks have utilized mediation and arbitration for decades.  Professional athletes and professional artists, even opera singers, have used these processes to get at the problem of compensation, work conditions, and more.

However, the use of mediation and arbitration in non-union workplaces on these same issues in a “pre-litigation” phase has not had the same degree of traction.  Why?

Perhaps the cost.  Perhaps the suggestion that an employer is “not in charge.”  Perhaps the protections that now exist under federal law (and in many states).  Perhaps the thought that only litigation will create necessary change.

Whatever the reason, non-union workforces and their employers may be missing great opportunities to nip issues in the bud.