Re:When Henry Ford Doubled His Minimum Wage (2014)
by crdoconnor on Thursday May 02, 2019 @09:51AM
(#19807881)
>The strength of organized labor, particularly at Ford in 1914 was weak
It was about seeing off an incipient threat. IWW were quite active at the time. Amazon's goal last year was similar when they raised wages even though they refused to recognize the union.
>Ford's rationale for increasing the wage for his workers as laid out by him, was to make it so every Ford employee could buy a Ford car.
Which was obviously bullshit. The effect employees buying cars could have had on the bottom line was far outstripped by the increased wage bill.
Re:When Henry Ford Doubled His Minimum Wage (2014)
by astazangasta on Thursday May 02, 2019 @10:46AM
(#19808440)
This is wrong. There were 8 hour movements going back to 1886. Notable are strikes for a 40 hour week in 1919. Ford was responding to the inevitable. https://libcom.org/history/articles/40-hours-strike-1919
Ford's rationale for increasing the wage for his workers, as laid out by him, was to make it so every Ford employee could buy a Ford car.
If you're curious, and want to know more about Ford Motor Company, I highly recommend a book called Wheels for the World by Douglas Brinkley. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067003181X/) Ford opened its full archives to the author, and it covers their entire history, warts and all.