100 Years ago

[rfitzpatrick]

May 1st, 1926, Henry Ford started the 40 hour/5 day work week.

[katy]

With a lot of stipulations.

[P.S.]

That came with a $6 per day wage too! ($5 per day for new employees).

[alexiskai]

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Originally Posted by P.S.

That came with a $6 per day wage too! ($5 per day for new employees).

This isn't quite true, at least initially. When Ford bumped pay to $5/day in 1914, it wasn't automatic. Your actual wages remained at $2.34 a day, but you could get another $2.66 a day in "profit sharing" if you (a) were a head of household and (b) agreed to various lifestyle commitments, like no drinking. At the time, the Highland Park plant had 370% annual turnover. The profit-sharing tactic broke that cycle by attracting more stable employees and discouraging them from absenteeism.