Although Henry Ford’s name is closely associated with the concept of mass production, he should receive equal credit for introducing labor practices as early as 1913 that would be considered advanced even by today’s standards. Safety measures were improved, and the work day was reduced to eight hours, compared with the ten-or twelve-hour day common at the time. In order to accommodate the shorter work day, the entire factory was converted from two to three shifts.
盡管亨利•福特的名字和大生產(chǎn)的概念相連,但他在勞工保護(hù)上得到同樣的贊譽(yù),因?yàn)?他早在1913年便實(shí)行了用今天的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來衡量依然是先進(jìn)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。安全措施得到改進(jìn),日工作時(shí)間從當(dāng)時(shí)普遍的10或12小時(shí)減少到8小時(shí)。為了適應(yīng)更短的日工作時(shí)間,整個(gè)工廠從雙班變成了三班。
In addition, sick leaves as well as improved medical care for those injured on the job were instituted. The Ford Motor Company was one of the first factories to develop a technical school to train specialized skilled laborers and an English language school for immigrants. Some efforts were even made to hire the handicapped and provide jobs for former convicts.
而且,病假和改善了的工傷醫(yī)療得以制度化。福特汽車公司是最早建立技術(shù)學(xué)校來培訓(xùn)專門技工和為移民開設(shè)英語學(xué)校的工廠之一。公司甚至為雇傭殘疾人和有前科的人而作出了一些努力。
The most widely acclaimed innovation was the five-dollar-a-day minimum wage that was offered in order to recruit and retain the best mechanics and to discourage the growth of labor unions. Ford explained the new wage policy in terms of efficiency and profit sharing. He also mentioned the fact that his employees would be able to purchase the automobiles that they produced – in effect creating a market for the product. In order to qualify for the minimum wage, an employee had to establish a decent home and demonstrate good personal habits, including sobriety, thriftiness, industriousness, and dependability. Although some criticism was directed at Ford for involving himself too much in the personal lives of his employees, there can be no doubt that, at a time when immigrants were being taken advantage of in frightful ways, Henry Ford was helping many people to establish themselves in America.
最受廣泛稱贊的革新是實(shí)行五美元一天的最低工資。其目的是招收和留住那些最好的技工并阻礙工會(huì)的發(fā)展。福特從效率和利潤分享的角度來解釋這項(xiàng)新的工資政策。他也提到這樣一個(gè)事實(shí),他的員工可以買他們生產(chǎn)的汽車--這實(shí)際上是為其產(chǎn)品另開辟了一個(gè)市場。為了夠資格得到最低工資,員工必須建立一個(gè)得體的家庭并顯示出良好的個(gè)人習(xí)慣,包括節(jié)制、儉省、勤勉和可靠。雖然有人批評福特過多地干涉了員工的私人生活,但毫無疑問,在移民們被用惡劣的方式剝削的時(shí)代,亨利•福特卻幫助了許多人在美國扎下根來。