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How Mediation Works 21 and the United States. Auerbach's Justice Without Law (1983) is an excellent history that describes the dispute resolution me- chanisms of the Puritans, Quakers, and other religious sects; procedures of Chinese and Jewish ethnic groups; and informal alternative dispute resolution efforts. For the most part, mediation historically and in other cultures has been performed by people with informal training, and the intervenor's role has usually occurred within the con- text of other functions or duties. Only since the turn of the twentieth century has mediation become formally institutional- ized and developed into a recognized profession. The first arena in which mediation was formally institu- tionalized in the United States was in labor-management rela- tions (Simkin, 1971). In 1913 the U.S. Department of Labor was established, and a panel, the "commissioners of concilia- tion," was appointed to handle conflicts between labor and management. This panel subsequently became the United States Conciliation Service, and in 1947 was reconstituted as the Fed- eral Mediation and Conciliation Service. The rationale for ini- tiating mediation procedures in the industrial sector was to promote a "sound and stable industrial peace" and "the settle- ment of issues between employer and employees through col- lective bargaining" (Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947). It was expected that mediated settlements would prevent costly strikes or lockouts for workers and employers alike and that the safety, welfare, and wealth of Americans would be improved. Federal use of mediation in labor disputes has provided a model for many states. Numerous states have passed laws, devel- oped regulations, and trained a cadre of mediators to handle intrastate labor conflicts. The private sector has also initiated labor-management and commercial relations mediation. The American Arbitration Association was founded in 1926 to en- courage the use of arbitration and other techniques of volun- tary dispute settlement. Mediation sponsored by government agencies has not been confined to labor-management issues. The U.S.- Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and created the Commu- nity Relations Service (CRS) of the U.S. Department of Justice.