Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Increasing attention has focused on the need to expand the ranks of arbitrators and to bring new practitioners into the field. The American Arbitration Association's Wingspread Conference in Wisconsin on June 9 and 10, 1977, on "The State of the Art of Dispute Resolution Training" is one example. Relatively little has been said, on the other hand, about the need for practicing arbitrators to upgrade their skills. The growth of collective bargaining in the public sector has led to the development of a new group of arbitrators with little private sector experience, while many of those operating in the private sphere find that public employment issues present special problems. For some, interest arbitration represents a challenge. For all, questions of external law have taken on a new urgency. The author of this article calls for the retraining of arbitrators in traditional subjects and makes a special plea for developing skills in the mediation of grievances as well.