The origins of the service lay in the act that created the Department of Labor in 1913, Getting the service going was a focus of the first
Secretary of Labor,
William B. Wilson. That first director of the service was Hugh L. Kerwin (who would remain in the position until 1937). Mediation cases were handled by people appointed as Commissioners of Conciliation, When she became secretary of labor,
Frances Perkins made changes to get the unit into a better-run and more effective entity. Those cases that the service could not solve, which overall was about a quarter of them, During fiscal year 1945, the service handled some 26,000 cases, of which 5,000 were at the strike stage or close thereto. == References ==