Ford’s Solutions

The Five-Dollar Day Assembly line work was tedious and difficult. Employee turnover was high. To solve the problem, Ford introduced the “Five-Dollar Day” in The program allowed employees, many of whom were unskilled, immigrant workers, to more than double their wages and cut their workday from nine to eight hours a day. Ford Motor Company Clipping Book, Volume 2, January 6-10, 1914 From the Collections of The Henry Ford. ID# THF80232

The Five-Dollar Day Thousands of workers flocked to work for Ford and take advantage of the unheard of wages. Workers did not automatically make five dollars a day though; they had to meet standards both in the work place and at home to share in Ford’s profits. Nonetheless, many workers were willing to make those changes because it allowed them to live a middle-class lifestyle, including owning a Model T of their own! Crowd of Applicants outside Highland Park Plant after Five Dollar Day Announcement, January 1914 From the Collections of The Henry Ford. ID#THF4402