Incentive Pay. But the deepest quagmire for production was a fantastic incentive pay plan. Colt had always had incentive pay. When mass production came to Colt, it kept the same piecework rates as for the slow handwork. Thus semiskilled filers came to earn as high as $8,200 a year, while the highly skilled toolmakers made as little as $3,000 a year. Result: many workers drew big pay for little work, had no incentive to work harder, fearing rates would be cut if wages, became too fantastic. Colt went through a series of small strikes. The War Labor Board spanked management as "largely responsible" for the wage mess. When WLB tried to even up wages by lowering some, raising others, Colt landed in a new mess over the cuts. Production slumped. In May Colt turned out only 31% of its scheduled number of .50-caliber machine guns, only 54% of its .45-caliber automatic pistols. only 55% of its .38-caliber automatics. Another Brewster? New President Anthony took his coat off and charged. He called in workers, warned them that if their production did not rise, they would be let go. When production dawdled, Anthony fired some 42 workers. The next day pro duction started up. By last week guns were coming out at the pre-slump level. But all this jiggery-pokery had boosted the price of Colt machine guns some 60% above the price the U.S. Government pays General Motors and New Haven's High Standard (TIME, Oct. 25), to whom Colt leased its patents and "know-how." Already Anthony has made one price reduction. The swollen price netted Colt a profit of $1,010,196 last year. But in October 1943 the Army asked Colt to cut prices in line with those of other makers. Colt fell into the red. President Anthony frankly worries about how long the Army will buy Colt machine guns, when it can get them cheaper and faster elsewhere. The Army has held off mainly because Colt has done the experimental work for the Army on machine guns, and will still be making them in peacetime, when General Motors has gone back to autos. But President Anthony is not sure that this work is enough to guarantee continuing contracts. Said he sternly: "We don't want to be another Brewster." Copyright 2006 nopukob.com