The Company
Under Stetson's direction, The John B. Stetson Company became one of the largest hat firms in the world. Stetson hats won numerous awards, but his company grew, he "faced the challenge of developing a reliable labor force." Reportedly, "people working in the hat trade at that time tended to drift from employer to employer" and "absenteeism was rampant." Stetson, "guided by Baptist religious principles, believed that by providing for his employees he would lend stability to their lives and attract higher caliber ones." Unlike most other employers, Stetson decided to offer benefits to entice workers to stay. Stetson also made sure his employees had a clean, safe place to work, also building a hospital, a park and houses for his 5,000 employees. Stetson's unusual moves helped him build a factory in Philadelphia that grew to 25 buildings on 9 acres (36,000 m2). By 1915, nine years after Stetson's death, 5,400 employees were turning out 3.3 million hats.
Read more about this topic: John Batterson Stetson
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