The Labor Center was originally established as the Bureau of Labor and Management within the College of Commerce in September 1950. Its creation was, in part, a response to a speech by Iowa Governor William Beardsley in January 1949, in which he called for the establishment of an organization to train labor and management and to study human engineering. According to the 1952 University of Iowa General Catalog, the aim of the Bureau was to meet the need for instruction, research and service to Iowa labor and industrial management groups. It proposed to do so by utilizing the existing staff of the colleges of Commerce, Engineering, and Law and the Departments of Psychology and Sociology to teach, conduct research, and sponsor conferences at which state business and labor leaders might meet with prominent industrial relations authorities. Karl E. Leib, head of the Department of Labor and Industrial Management, was acting director of the Bureau until 1955, when Jack F. Culley became director.

According to the 1960 General Catalog, the program grew and developed a variety of non-credit training programs serving management and labor groups. John Flagler became program director for the Bureau in 1957 and then labor program director in 1960. He was succeeded by Anthony V. Sinicropi in 1963. The 1964 General Catalog described the Bureau's activities as including a continuing series of educational programs for management, labor and government personnel. The programs varied in duration from one day to four weeks, were conducted both on and off campus, and were designed to develop the human, technical and conceptual skills of the participants. The staff of the Bureau included 5 full-time faculty in 1964 -- two were involved with management programs, one with government services, Sinicropi with labor programs, and Cully as director.

In 1965 the name of the Bureau changed to the Center for Labor and Management. Don Sheriff became director in that year, Sinicropi became associate director with primary responsibility for the labor programs, and Robert Winn was hired as labor program director. Mr. Winn was replaced by Edgar R. Czarnecki in 1966, and Harry Graham joined the labor staff in 1967. By 1970 Jude West was director of the Center and both Sinicropi and Graham had left the program. Czarnecki continued in his position as labor program director. The directorship of the Center passed to Duane Thompson in 1974 and he retained that post until 1980. Czarnecki left in 1977 and John Sloan took over the labor program until 1980.

The Center for Labor and Management was restructured in 1980, resulting in the creation of two organizations -- the Labor Center and the Management Center -- both under the jurisdiction of the External Programs division of the College of Business. The Labor Center later became a unit of the Division of Continuing Education.