The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-02
Detroit: Kingdom of Henry I.
BY ERSKNE CALDWELL
CONTINUED from Page y


the overhead bridge or subway on
his way to his street car, he is i'm
mediately spotted by a sevicemsn
and finds his JOB gone forever.
( II ne is lucky enough to be able
TO walk the chalk line to his street
car, he must then board it and go
to his garden and spend several
hours planting, wedding. and cul-
tivating. For he has been forced to
/ sign up for one Of Fords twenty
thousand gardens, and has paid
fifty cents for the privilege. How
ever, if he goes home and stretches
OUT on the floor for two hours in
order to regain enough strength to
/ eat supper after eight hours Of
bounding, speed-up, and no lunch
hour rest period, he still runs the
risk of losing his job. Because the
servicemen may have been to in
spect his garden and found a few
weeds in it. Weeds in a forced Ia
Dor garden is one of the thousand
deadly and objectionable Ford sins.
VI u - AENAAE W Ut kAlUWA dA lIlE
father Of all and sundry was the
prompter Of one Of his many famous
orders. Investigators from the serv-
ice department we're sent out to
gather complete information re-
garding the attitude of the worker
towards the great father. The report
turned in stated that the father
of them all was known to the work
ers as "the big boss" "the chief"
the pushar," "slavedriver." Mister
Ford" and other less quotable titles.
Ford's action was immediate. The
order was given that henceforth
ne was to be referred to by all
workers, both on and off company
property, as The Old Man. He had
been assured by his council that
the term was both affectionate and
respectful.
The stool-pigeons we're notified
by the service department to report
for the blacklist any worker who
failed to use the new fatherly adj
dress of affection and respect when
referring to Mr. Ford personally.
Soon afterward the new regulation
died swift death when the reports
began coming in that the workers
in abiding by the letter Of the law,
had evaded the spirit of it by add
ing a few syllables of their own
Ford was being called Old Man Son
ofsbitch.
These are the workers once en-
Wed throughout the world, News
papers through their news columns,
and many by editorials, helped
spread the misinformation, always
supplied by his publicity depart
ment, that Ford workers are the
highest paid and enjoy the most
ideal working conditions in the
automobile industry. 1t was recently
announced throughout the country,
and in news columns again and not
in paid advertisements, that Ford's
lowest daily wage was five dollars.
No mention was made Of the fact
that, in order to cover the raise in
pay. Ford had instituted new
speed-up on the conveyor and as
senbly lines, had increased the
hourly production schedule, and had
laid off enough men In every de-
partment to more than save himself
money on the new wage scale.
But even then the workers who
retained their jobs we're not the
highest paid in the industry" The
Ford worker, as a matter Of fact,
receives the lowest wages. Ford
pays a worker on the final assembly
line IS. In the same department at
the Hudson plant a worker doing
the same operation receives $3.50,
and in the Plymouth plant 81 per
day
In addition to this fact, the Ford |
worker is the victim of the most
inhuman system of extracting labor
known in any industry. The speed
up system-of which Ford is the
proud papa-drives men insane.
Others are so wrecked physically |
that they can never work again. |
After having invented the speed
up--which was later introduced into |
cotton mills as the stretch-out-
Ford is still the leader No other |
motor car manufacturer in America |
dares drive men as Ford does, He |
is proud of his man-killing system,
and his engineers are constantly |
improving it to such an extent that,
at the present rate of increase in
speed, workers will soon be forced |
to run in order to keep up with
their labor. Once there was a time
when the workers could stand still
and perform their labor; today they
must actually hop. skip and jump
while performing it; tomorrow the
workers face the likelihood of being
forced to ruin while boiling frames
and tightening nuts A bed-ridden
wreck of man, victim of Ford'S
speed-up, muttered, May God rest
Henry Ford's soul for his hop-skip-
For the workers who remain at
their jobs today at River Rouge
there is no time to fleX kink out
Of a contracted muscle; no time7to
up your back; no time to
get a drink of water; hurry, hurry,
hurry no time to draw a handker-
chief to wipe your nose-wipe it on
your sleeve or let it run. Some days
you will have thirteen minutes in
which to eat your lunch and catch
your breath and get to the toilets.
Take your choice between losing
Nollr lob and hainc constina ted |