This edition continues the Newsletter’s new mail-out policy of issues bi-monthly.
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THE U.S. MID-TERM ELECTION
MAY HAVE SURPRISED SOME
What the Republicans hoped would be a clean-sweep by their party of both Houses of Congress did not happen. As this issue is being written both Democrats and Republicans are facing challenges in trying to determine what comes next after the Republicans take control of the House. Each party is trying to develop a strategy for dealing with the other beginning in January, 2023. This accompanies a bit of internal complexity as they deal with their own internal issues such as some disarray among Republicans determining who will be Speaker of the House. Also in the background these days is the right wing of that party. At this writing Donald Trump remains the only announced candidate for President in 2024. While his influence may be questioned by many including all Democrats and a growing number (still a minority) of outspoken Republicans).
Dispute resolution will take a more important role beginning in the New Year as each party controls one wing of Congress. We can all hope that differences between the political parties can be “ironed out” and Congress will be successful adding to the accomplishments reached, as some important acts have been passed in 2021 and in 2022 (with help from both parties). However, as this newsletter goes out to many mediators/peacemakers in the U.S., Canada and Europe, agreement on a federal budget seems a bit elusive. The specter of a U.S. government shut down looms over all of us as we try to proceed merrily along this holiday season.
One thing that has, so far, united both parties at the national level has been the military and humanitarian support for Ukraine. Democrats and Independents seem clear that massive support should continue along with Europe and other parts of the world for the valiant people of Ukraine; however, some in the Republican party (which will control federal funding in 2023 and 2024 at least until the next national election) have said that there will not be an open and un-ending checkbook for the Ukrainians.
In our field of professional dispute resolution, most of us see the “silver lining” in things. Thus, we see the political parties successfully working out what will come in the future - both domestically and internationally. Please God, we will never see again the kind of domestic dispute(s) which lead to January 6 type of activity. Truth is, there are also many skeptics, even in our own field, who see these policy differences (in the U.S. and abroad) still holding the potential for serious trouble.
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT CONSORTIUM CONTINUES PREPARATION FOR TRAINING AND SERVICES
As noted in the last edition of this newsletter, the Conflict Management Consortium LLC has succeeded to the business of the former Mediate-Tech/MTI. Jim Martin, Executive Vice President and Director of Operations for CMC, continues to acknowledge the need for dispute resolution training in organizations (public and private sector) and services (mediation, facilitation and consulting) as he and the CMC team push forward into 2023. Currently, a select group of trainers are undergoing preparation for what could be a busy time working with individuals and organizations of all types, that can use CMC’s training and services.
It is both human nature and the complexity of our times – when added to the Pandemic and current presence of disease, which continue to make “conflict” a growth field. Charles and Bryane Lickson, a married couple and mediators - facilitators with many successes under their belts, continue to be involved. It turns out that distance may not be as big a factor in resolving cases or training as it used to be. “I was a bit reluctant when I was asked to do a mediation at long distance with parties who were not in person with each other or me,” said Charles Lickson (known by many as “Chips”). Thanks to the assistance of a technical guru who is a continuing part of the CMC team, the matter reached a successful outcome even during the Pandemic. Parties saved money using mediation and preserved a relationship by using the non-traditional methodology of online mediation. “I am now convinced that the mediation process can work successfully, even if all parties cannot be present", said Chips. “I’ll admit I was a bit concerned when parties were not in the same space”, he said. “Often, it is the dynamic of the parties themselves, as facilitated by the mediator, which causes them to search for an outcome which works. “However, I am now a believer,” he added.
In addition to its training offering, in person and online, CMC will be offering a systems approach to Organizational Conflict in late Spring 2023. Diane Ditzler joins the CMC Team to help initiate entry into the conflict resolution policy arena. She has extensive experience in the systems design field. More about Diane in upcoming isssues of the Newsletter.
Open trainings (where members of the general public, government and private organizations can take the training) will be offered in 2023. New dates will be released in January, 2023.
While CMC’s intensive reactivation modified for the Holidays, the Company continues to offer its confidential dispute resolution services including mediation conducted by trained professionals. Mediation, an alternative to traditional dispute resolution through the legal system, can be offered both in-person and online.
HOUSE COMMITTEE TO FINISH JANUARY 6 PROBE BEFORE END OF YEAR – ADR CAN’T ALWAYS WORK
While, as noted above, the elections of November, 2022, did not produce the Republican landslide they had hoped for, they did win control of the House of Representatives for 2023 and 2024. The vote has pushed the Democrat controlled January 6 Committee to wrap up their business and have their Report completed by the end of this year.
It is hard to recall any event that has caused such a public and political uproar as the January 6 incursion to and into the United States Capitol building itself. Both U.S. political parties and many foreign commentators in government and the private sector have decried the event. There have been hundreds of people convicted and the U.S. Department of Justice including the FBI have had their hands full with the investigation and case preparation. What exactly will happen with this gigantic case, a true shocker to people all over the world, is not yet fully known.
Most Republicans were initially as outraged as their Democrat colleagues, but in the ensuing months, the fervor that was initially felt has worn off for many in the Republican party. However, the outrage still remains for the staff of President Biden and Democrats.
We will not predict what will happen to the House Committee after January 1, 2023, and what the Democrat controlled Senate will do. In our conversations at CMC, we acknowledge that certain matters are not amendable to alternate dispute resolution. In cases, where a legal precedent is desired by one or both parties, mediation will not work. Some criminal cases (and almost all civil cases) can be resolved through alternate means.
CMC has worked behind the scenes several times when the result is withdrawing the pending criminal case and replacing it with a civil outcome. It takes both a unique set of circumstances for ADR to work in a criminal matter and a very cooperative prosecuting attorney.
News From Lalo Publishing
As sole source for manuals and the basic training books, IRONING IT OUT: SEVEN SIMPLE STEPS TO RESOLVING CONFLICT and EFFECTIVE NEGOTIATION IN SEVEN SIMPLE STEPS, Lalo Publishing, Inc. (LPI) is gearing up for new programs in 2023. LPI continues to offer all of its publications through Amazon and select bookstores.
Included in its Holiday offering is Todd Denick’s book, IT WILL COME: ALASKA ADVENTURES PALE IN COMPARISON TO SURVIVING SEPSIS. Todd’s interview during his family’s visit from Germany and description of his battle with sepsis can be found at www.royalexaminer.com at Town Talk, July 10, 2022. Available and upcoming titles from Lalo Publishing can be seen at www.lalopublishing.com.
