In 1914, Henry Ford made a "bet the company" decision. Conventional
thinkers thought he was insane. Those without Ford's imagination were
certain his decision would send Ford Motor (F, news, msgs) into
bankruptcy.

What did this radical industrialist do?

He chopped the workday down to eight hours, and he doubled employees'
daily wages. But he did not do this out of compassion. He had no
desire to share the wealth. He made a hardheaded business decision.

Absenteeism plummeted. Worker turnover virtually disappeared. So did
the number of accidents; ditto the number of manufacturing defects.
Meanwhile, productivity soared. And the automotive age was born.

Today, the reverse is happening. The entire structure that promotes
worker security, health and devoted service is being systematically
dismantled. As investors, we benefit from this. But the largest
beneficiaries are corporate executives. Every dime they squeeze out of
payroll drops to the bottom line. The same money takes them a step
closer to realizing gigantic stock-option gains.
Millwright Ron
www.unionmillwright.com