Charlevoix county herald., 1917-10-05

Wage Rate Limited by capabiIity Only,
but Cannot Fall Below Fixed Mini
mum-Worksrs Promoted From One
Class to Another.
BY recognizing individual effort on
the part Of Its employees and by re-
warding them literally for faithful
ness and industry a big machine tool
company In Connecticut has succeeded
In solving practically all the labor
problems Incidental to the manage.
ment Of a large manufacturing plant.
So effective is the system adopted by
the company that In a trife over q
year 1t increased Its working force
from $50 to over 1,400 hands. and that,
too, In the tightest labor market this,
country has ever known In the metals
working industries.
But this was not the only wonder
accomplished BY perfecting the plan
so that 1t gave even greater incentive
to labor initiative able workers were
attracted to the plant and remained
there. SO that gradually the coming
and going Of laborers, with the attend
ant waste, ceased and a permanent
working staff Of about LOO men re-
NAMED. Moreover, records prove that
these / 100 men turned out more work
than the 400 employed by the arm at
the zenith Of its hiring experience.
The basis of the system which work
ed all these reforms In the tool plant
Is the well established rule that the
highest priced man does the best and
most work and the short time man
causes direct loss. Thus the elimina-
tion OF the hiring and firing" evil In
the plant In question resulted, as II
usually does, I'm increased output, de-
creased spoilage Of work and decreased
spOilage Of tools.
Methods Used to Hold Good Men.
The company employs four methods
to secure and retain the most prof.
liable type of workmen. II has In OPP
Grafton "maxi-pay" wage plan,
production bonus, a service bonus and
an attractive form of insurance. From
time to time happily wOrded pieces OF
literature are distributed to the work.
men to call attention to some phase Of
cooperation.
The "maxi-pay" plan offers full OPP
portunity for advancement along def
mite lines TO those showing ability,
provides a wage rate limited only by
ability and occupation and advances
wages in recognition Of ability. The
workmen are divided into these classes:
Glass IA includes sub-foremen and
leaders In charge Of working gangs Of
mechanics and, so far as possible, all
foremen and shop executives are Sc
lected from this class. The minimum
rate per hour is So cents, but the max
imum rate is dependent on ability. Z
Glass A includes skilled mechanics of
demonstrated ability with a minimum
rate Of 90 cents per hour and the pos,
sibility Of higher maximum rate.
Class B includes mechanics of good
average ability, and the rate is IS cents
per hour. Mechanics Of limited expert.
ence are placed I'm Glass G. The rate
per hour for this class 10 40 cents.
Apprentices, both special and regular,
are included In Glass d. Men from this
class upon completing their courses are
advanced to the class determined by
computing their average efficiency rec
ords over the last three months OF their
apprenticeship.
In Class f Is found labor OF ali
kinds, skilled or unskilled, which is not
directly productive. The minimum rate
per hour Is 30 cents, but the ma ximum
Is dependent upon ability and occupa.
ton. In the employment Of men Of
this class preference Is given to those
who speak and write English and who
show qualities which will later war.
rant advancement. This "maxi-pay"
plan has been In successful operation
since May 10, 1916.
Reward For Skill and Service.
production bonus which was tn
corporated into the plan on Nov. 1, |
1916, provides extra compensation for |
employees who can beat the standard |
time set for the turning out of the va
rious pieces. i
or course the basis OF efficiency va
ries according to the class rating Of
the operator. In the lowest class Of
productive employees. for instance, the |
basis Is set at rs per cent, and I per ]
cent OF wages is paid for each per cent
OF efficiency above 70 per cent The
records OF bonuses earned are used as
n basis for advancement from one class
to another In the ''maxi-pay" rating.
An employee also gets bonus |
amounting to 10 per cent of the week.
ly wages he earns during the regular
hours of operation. n
Buys Insurance For Workers. 4
On Nov. IA, 1916 the company took
out group insurance for all workmen
who had been six months or more In
the employ OF the company.
IL can hardly be said that the sue
cess OF the system as whole Is due
he - Al. II