The “Gang of Four,” is the unofficial name given to a mediation team, comprised of two Bricklyn mediators, joined by two from the Outland city of Burlington, Vermont, that has been called on the help resolve three major Bricklyn disputes:

1. The Great Donut Debate, where a citizen-initiated petition to ban the manufacture, distribution, and consumption of donuts triggered angry debates and threatened the financial stability of Dunk Them Donuts, the largest employer in the Realm of Bricklyn.

2. The pressman’s strike at The Bricklyn Eagle, the longest strike in Bricklyn history, that resulted in Bricklyn’s only print and online newspaper ceasing publication for 206 days.

3. The 2024 strike by the Inland Union of Bricklayers & Masons against Dunk Them Donuts and its Drury Bricks subsidiary. The Gang of Four helped prod the sides to compromise, and also urged Dunk Them Donuts to agree to the provision of time off days for childcare.

For more on the role of mediation in resolving land use disputes see “Building Consensus,” by Lawrence Susskind & Patrick Field, available on our companion PlannersWeb.com site.