Contribution To Economy
The company was responsible for nearly all of the shoe and footwear for the United States Army during World War I and World War II.
At its peak, E-J was one of the largest shoe manufacturers in the U.S., with retail outlets in over 30 states. E-J was also substantially vertically integrated, with coal-fired steam generating plants to power factory machinery, and factories for tanning animal hides to make leather and for reclaiming rubber from used automobile tires for use as shoe soles.
But E-J's most long lasting and important economic contribution may be its influence on its neighbor in Endicott, New York: International Business Machines Corporation (now "IBM") and IBM's predecessors in Endicott the Computing-Tabulating-Machine Company and (before that) The Bundy Manufacturing Co. IBM, due at least in part to the influence of E-J's example, became one of the earliest and most important providers of employee benefits. Although they didn't provide free medical and hospital care or build houses for employees they recognized that good pay and benefits were key to remaining non-union. In recent years IBM has significantly reduced their benefit programs for employees and retirees.
Read more about this topic: Endicott Johnson Corporation
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