George F. Johnson
| George F. Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
George Francis Johnson October 14, 1857 Milford, Massachusetts, United States |
| Died | November 28, 1948 (aged 91) Endicott, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | George F |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1881-1948 |
| Known for | Co-owner of Endicott Johnson Corporation |
| Home town | Johnson City, New York, United States |
George Francis Johnson (1857–1948) was an American businessman.
George Francis Johnson was born in Milford, Massachusetts on October 14, 1857 to Francis A. Johnson and Sarah Jane (Aldrich) Johnson. His siblings were Oscar, C. Fred Johnson, Harry L., and Charlotte. In 1881, after 10 years of experience in the shoe and boot-making factories in his home state, he was hired as the supervisor of a work crew in a section of a shoe factory in Binghamton, New York. Nine years later he became superintendent of that company’s new plant, which was located in the community of Lestershire, New York, and said to be the largest factory of its kind in the entire world.
In 1899, Johnson became co-owner of the business with Henry B. Endicott, which was renamed the Endicott-Johnson Co. Under his presidency, the company grew to eight factories in Broome County, New York, employing about 10,000. Endicott-Johnson was the first company in the shoe industry to introduce the 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek, and comprehensive medical care. Despite paying some of the highest wages in the industry, Endicott-Johnson was consistently profitable.
Although Johnson oversaw many different factories throughout the Susquehanna Valley of Broome County, he attracted many immigrant workers to the area by offering to build homes. Although the name Johnson was given to the city in NY where George F. arrived, the city of Endicott better reflects his intimate vision for a prosperous community. This is because Johnson himself developed nearly all of the residential neighborhoods in Endicott, selling houses to the workers at a cost to himself of $1000 each.
Until he died in 1948, Johnson saw to it that Endicott-Johnson employees received a range of benefits that were not typically offered by most employers at the time. The company also created parks (containing swimming pools and carousels that anyone could ride for free), medical facilities, restaurants, libraries, and recreational facilities—all designed to provide high quality goods and services to the employees for free or at a low cost.
The Square Deal Towns of Endicott & Johnson City have set the precedent of eager industrial labor habits for Broome County. The humming EJ factories and neighborhoods were the origins of International Business Machines. Endicott and Johnson City were where George F. Johnson revolutionized the pay system and improved relationships between capital and labor.
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