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Although Henry Fords name is closely associated with the concept of massproduction, he should receive equal credit for introducing labor practices as early as 1913 that would be considered advanced even bytodays standards. Safety measures were improved, and the work day wasreduced to eight hours, compared with the ten-or twelve-hour day common at thetime. In order to accommodate the shorter work day, theentire factory was converted from two to three shifts.In addition, sickleaves as well as improved medical care for those injured on the job wereinstituted. The Ford Motor Company was one of the first factories todevelop a technical school to train specialized skilled laborers and anEnglish language school for immigrants. Some efforts were even made to hire thehandicapped and provide jobs for former convicts. The mostwidely acclaimed innovation was the five-dollar-a-day minimum wage that wasoffered in order to recruit and retain the best mechanics and todiscourage the growth of labor unions. Ford explained the new wage policyin terms of efficiency and profit sharing. He also mentioned thefact that his employees would be able to purchase the automobilesthat they produced -- in effect creating a market for the product. Inorder to qualify for the minimum wage, an employee had to establisha decent home and demonstrate good personal habits, includingsobriety, thriftiness, industriousness, and dependability. Although somecriticism was directed at Ford for involving himself too much in the personallives of his employees, there can be no doubt that, at a time when immigrantswere being taken advantage of in frightful ways, Henry Ford was helpingmany people to establish themselves in America. | 
