CHAPTER 1
THE TREND TOWARD SHORTER WORKING
HOURS

IE HAS already been emphasized that the adoption of a
five-day work week in a manufacturing plant does not
necessarily mean a reduction of the weekly working time
of employees, but may consist entirely, or in part, of a rearrangement
 of the work schedule. Nevertheless, because of
those instances in which it does mean a reduction of working
time, the five-day week is quite commonly taken to be a part
of a general movement in industry toward shorter working
hours. It will therefore be useful to review briefly the available
 material regarding the trend toward shorter work time,
and the extent to which that trend has taken effect in the
various occupations.
Wide-spread and coordinated action aimed at reduction of
hours of work in the United States dates back only to about
1850. Originally, little or no distinction was made between
the working hours of industrial employees and of agricultural
workers. The working schedule of the farmer, from sunrise
to dusk, was generally accepted, although this resulted in a
variable number of hours per day according to the season.
Occasional efforts of urban employees to secure shorter hours
were generally not effective because of lack of the power to
enforce agreements made. The movement for shorter work
hours first received governmental recognition, and thereby
assumed a political as well as a social aspect, when President
Van Buren issued an executive order, in 1840, establishing a
ten-hour day in all government-operated industries. Social
reformers joined the workers in their demand for the wider
extension of this arrangement, and during the next two
decades several state legislatures enacted statutes that embodied
 similar provisions. These laws were not effective,
however, because of the ease with which they could be evaded
and because administrative machinery for enforcing them
was generally lacking.