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>Does it matter what the rationale was? If you're Amazon, yes, it matters a ridiculous amount. The last thing you'll want is for people to realize that the un

>Does it matter what the rationale was? If you're Amazon, yes, it matters a ridiculous amount. The last thing you'll want is for people to realize that the union drives actually worked. That would mean more union drives and more pay rises on the horizon. Can't have that! Count the number of mentions of the reason for their decision in their press releases: https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-raises-minimum-wage-15-all-us-employees-including-full https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-det...

tomnipotent 8y ago
So did it matter what Ford's motivation was when he introduced the 40 hour work week? He didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart.
- chc 8y ago
  I don't think you can necessarily say that. He did have a business justification for the decisions, but he also expressed humanitarian reasons, such as the idea that leisure time should not be a privilege afforded only to the upper class. It turned out to work out well for his company, but would the business case have been strong enough to make him take the risk if he hadn't also thought the social consequences were good? Quite possibly not.
  - tomnipotent 8y ago
    In a 1926 interview to a magazine, World's Work, Ford said: "Leisure is an indispensable ingredient in a growing consumer market because working people need to have enough free time to find uses for consumer products, including automobiles." He wanted people to have free time so they could appreciate the stuff they buy. Capitalism at its finest.
    - chc 8y ago
      Yes, he said that. He also said that leisure time shouldn't be a class privilege. He said both of those things. That was the entire point of my comment — he had a business justification, but he also expressed socially minded reasons for wanting to make the change. I see no reason why you'd only pay attention to the business reason. It was similar with other decisions he made that benefited employees — for example, he paid significantly above-market rates across the board because he wanted his workers to be happy, and he justified this in the business by saying that he believed these happy workers would be more productive and would hopefully want to buy the same cars they were making.

tomnipotent 8y ago

So did it matter what Ford's motivation was when he introduced the 40 hour work week? He didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart.

chc 8y ago
I don't think you can necessarily say that. He did have a business justification for the decisions, but he also expressed humanitarian reasons, such as the idea that leisure time should not be a privilege afforded only to the upper class. It turned out to work out well for his company, but would the business case have been strong enough to make him take the risk if he hadn't also thought the social consequences were good? Quite possibly not.
- tomnipotent 8y ago
  In a 1926 interview to a magazine, World's Work, Ford said: "Leisure is an indispensable ingredient in a growing consumer market because working people need to have enough free time to find uses for consumer products, including automobiles." He wanted people to have free time so they could appreciate the stuff they buy. Capitalism at its finest.
  - chc 8y ago
    Yes, he said that. He also said that leisure time shouldn't be a class privilege. He said both of those things. That was the entire point of my comment — he had a business justification, but he also expressed socially minded reasons for wanting to make the change. I see no reason why you'd only pay attention to the business reason. It was similar with other decisions he made that benefited employees — for example, he paid significantly above-market rates across the board because he wanted his workers to be happy, and he justified this in the business by saying that he believed these happy workers would be more productive and would hopefully want to buy the same cars they were making.