Evening star., 1937-12-26
ANNUAL INCOME
ASSURED LABOR
Nunn.Bush Shoe Firm Has
a Plan That Guarantees
81 Pay Checks.
By the Associated Press

By the Associated Press.
MILWAUKEE, Dec. 25.-Henry L.
Num- says he expects the current busi-
ness recession to prove his annual
income-for- labor plan is good eco
nomics.
Moreover. he hopes to show that in
stead of high wage rates, labor needs
steady work and good income each
year. Further, he hopes to demon
strate that the way to beat hard times
is to produce goods at prices the con-
su1ner can pay.
Num-, president of the Num- Bush
Shoe Co., said continued successful
operation of his companys plan guar
anteeing its 700 employees So weekly
pay checks year would be the proof.
Briefly the principles and elements
OF the Nunn-Bush plan are these:
The company considers its labor a
business partner, along with capital
and management. 1t admits labor is
entitled to fair share of values it
creates-and pays it.
uTOup SdldTy Tunu
This is done through group salary
fund into which goes the workers
fixed percentage of gross shoe sales
receipts Each employe is classified
task. The next years business is es-
timated from past averages. The in
dividual's share of this is split into So
parts. The company then pays him
one fifty-second every week. Finally.
upward or downward adjustment of
these drawing accounts is made every
three or four months to compensate
for differences between actual receipts
and estimates.
Since July 3, 1885. Nunn-Bush fac
tory hands have received check.
whether they worked full week, two
days or not at all Their annual in
come was considerably higher than the
industry's average.
But now there has been a recess
sion. Is the Nupn-Bush plan work.
able in a period of decline? Some in
dustrialists say no" Num- believes
its real value will be disclosed.
"Now that we have taken our labor
into a partnership" Num- said in an
interview, 1--WE are no longer tied to
high wage contracts. We don't have
tosshut down 10 await more favor
able labor market. The chief concern
of stockholders, management and
workers alike is profitable production
~nt prices the consumer will pay
Labor Not a Commodity.
understand, the workers will not
carry the full load. As raw materials
become cheaper, We can reduce shoe
prices. We also can make additional
price cuts, since We do not have to
consider hour or piece wage rates.
We shall maintain or increase our
average volume. That means steady
work and an assured income.
"Since our labor receives a prede-
termined part of the receipts, the
more it produces, the more it earns"
Num- said the plan was neither
philanthropic nor paternalistic and
could be made to operate in industry
generally. He added that capital first
must recognize labor is not COM
; modify; management must abolish
dictatorial policies, and labor must
learn to differentiate between wage
rates and annual income.
Men today want and expect to
have some say about the conditions
under which they work" Num- said,
explaining how he put his theories
into operation. "As soon as our firm
progressed to the point where the
factory manager could no longer per-
sonally maintain contact with the in
dividual, the management invited the
workers to organize.
Workers Consulted.
'Now, new employe selected by
management must be accepted by his
fellow-workers. Any discharge must
be approved by the workers. All
nNages, working hours, rules of all
kinds must be mutually agreed upon
before any changes can be made.
Resort to outside arbitration was pro-
vlded IN case of failure to agree.
I'VE inaugurated that policy 25
years ago. What seemed to be
surrender by management of its right
ful power proved to be a gain of
power. In an atmosphere where there
was no arbitrary boss dictation, no
hatred or prejudice was possible. We
work together without fear or sus-
picion of each other"
From this start toward owner-man-
ager-worker partnership, the company
came to the annual income plan
"A look at the statistics showed fac
tory payrolls since 1921 have been
practically the same as total farm
income" Num- said. Nov, when
wage rates go up, prices rise. Eventu-
ally. the consumer rebels. Business
rails of. Factories close. Workers
become idle. Their income ceases.
Labor Doesn't Understand.
It seemed apparent labor does not
understand these truths, so we set
about making them evident by CIV
ing our workers q guaranteed per-
centage Of the value of all merchan-
disc they produced.
I'VE believe that given such an
agreed percentage, labor generally as
~ Ans III ouI OIBanlZaClOn, Will perViece
the immutable law that, to have more.
ono must produce more.
Thus, labor will become sympa-
/. thetic to the problems of management
since it will be seen that they are
identical with labor's own problems,
Wage rates will cease to be a bone
= OF contention since it will be per-
: ceived that income increases not with
wage rates, but with efficiency and
the volume of goods produced"
Num- said the plan, from the COM.
, pany's viewpoint, had resulted in:
A loyal, cooperative, self-respecting
labor group; negligible labor turn
over, freedom from labor troubles,
greater efficiency, reductions of waste,
since each worker realizes a botched
job costs him money; flexibility of
production costs permitting speedy
adjustment to market conditions.
One Grand Sweet Song.