James P. Kinney
MA in Conflict Resolution, 2003
Hometown: Yonkers, NY
James
Kinney is a Commissioner for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service (FMCS) at the Woodbridge, NJ field office, appointed in January,
2003. The FMCS is an independent federal agency that conducts labor mediations
during collective bargaining negotiations between companies and
unions in organized workplaces. As a federal mediator, James
conducts mediation within collective bargaining negotiations and offers
training in conflict and dispute resolution skills to labor and management
parties.
During his nearly twenty years in the US Postal Service (1983-2003), James
spent fourteen years as a union officer and shop steward where he was involved
in a very broad variety of workplace disputes including local negotiations,
grievances, arbitrations, EEO cases, workers compensation and veteran appeals.
James spent ten years (1993-2003) in Puerto Rico working in the US Postal
Service where he developed a special interest in cross-cultural identity
and conflict. James earned a B.A. in Labor Studies through the (then) Antioch
program at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies. James is semi-fluent
in Spanish with the goal of becoming bi-lingual.
Of the Antioch University McGregor
Conflict Resolution Program, James says, “I
found the Antioch philosophy of ‘working while you study and studying
while you work’ to be a perfect fit. While the courses covered many
areas in the field of conflict resolution I was able to apply what
I learned to my particular area of focus - workplace mediation.
Additionally, the program offered a strong foundation in the theory and
practice of the field of conflict resolution that has served me well as
I develop as a practitioner in the field.”
