Ford Friday

Unions love to claim that it was they who brought about the labor reforms of the 20th century. I'll occasionally see bumper stickers to that effect even here in Texas, arguably the bastion of right-to-work states. As with most things union, it's a load of hooey: it was Henry Ford who brought us the weekend and forty-hour work week, way back in 1926. Ford didn't even recognize the UAW until just before World War II, and even then Henry agreed to sit down with them only because his wife Clara threatened to leave him if he did not. Left to his own devices, he'd have broken up the company rather than cave to the unions, so much did he despise them.

So as you indulge in a tipple of whiskey or swig a cold one this weekend, you might spare a toast for the ghost of Henry.