Happy Birthday Henry Ford! Auto Giant Doubled Workers’ Pay
More: The $5 Day
In 1913, Henry Ford’s team reinvented manufacturing by introducing the moving assembly line. It worked well, but workers hated the jobs. They quit almost as quickly as they were trained.
On January 5, 1914, the company announced it would double worker’s pay and shorten the workday. Instead of $2.34 for nine hours, most workers would make $5.00 for eight hours.
Manufacturers said it was crazy and socialist. It would cost Ford 10 million dollars that year alone! But the very next day, 10,000 people flocked to Highland Park clamoring for jobs, and turnover dropped drastically.
Workers entered the middle class, and could afford to buy the cars they built. Henry Ford became a hero to millions.
And eventually, other manufacturers had to follow suit.
Read more at HenryFord150.com
Henry Ford was also an asshole in many ways, particularly his virulent anti-Semitism. His grandson, Henry Ford II, flouted the Arab League boycott to conduct business in Israel. And many Juice have found employment at Ford Motor Company.