ssional managers simply did not exist. The Industrial Revolution depersonalized the relationship between workers and their employers, introduced professional managers, and created wide gaps between owners of companies and their workers. With large pools of labor from which to draw (including children), companies could offer long hours and little pay and workers had little recourse.
As workers began to unionize, the federal government began to assume the role of arbiter between workers and owners. Laws were passed regarding the length of a workday, minimum ages for workers and new government agencies were created (including the National Labor Relations Board) that monitored and participated in the relationship between labor and management (Leroy, 2001).
The first half of the twentieth century is generally seen as one in which the federal government took a pro-labor stance in its policies and activities, including introducing a minimum wage. During the second half of the twentieth century, and particularly during the last quarter, the role of the government is generally considered to have shifted to favor ow
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