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 1914. 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