A Change in Insurance Plans of Endicott Johnson
By Kevin Hiller
The Endicott Johnson Corporation was at its height from 1920's throughout the 1940's. During this time however, its shoe factories could be dangerous at times as accidents did happen. The company wanted it's employees to be protected financially in case of a serious workplace accident. Insurance plans allowed those who purchased them to be protected in case of an accident. The insurance plans were not required to be purchased by all employees but it was highly encouraged.
From the 1920's through the 1940's there were two different insurance plans that the company had. The first was the 1927 plan. The second was the 1946 plan. The 1946 insurance plan replaced the plan of 1927. Both of these were similar in some ways and different in others. By looking at the change of insurance policies offered to employees of Endicott Johnson from the 1920's through the 1940's, we see that the 1927 Workers Medical Service insurance plan was advertised to a more personal level than the 1946 plan which tells us that Endicott Johnson in 1946 did not worry about trying to sell the plan to a personal level as they did in 1927.
Endicott Johnson Workers Medical Service
The Endicott Johnson Workers Medical Service (1927)
The Endicott Johnson insurance plan of 1927 was officially titled The Endicott Johnson Workers Medical Service. This plan was presented with a very personal connection that the corporation tried to convey to their workers. The Endicott Johnson Workers Medical Service was not a reqiurement for employees to purchase. Almost three out of four employees had purchased this insurance plan. 12,000 Workers had purchased this plan and had the ability to benefit from it. It was presented to employees in a pamphlet that consisted of 60 pages. Only the first ten are involved with the actual details of the insurance. The rest of the pages present pictures of what the service provided, including pictures of Endicott- Johnson associated hospitals doctors, nurses, babies that were born in Endicott Johnson sponsored hospitals, disabled workers, and plenty more.
Unlike the plan it was replaced by, The Endicott Johnson Workers Medical Service gave numbers of injuries and claims that were made. In 1926, the total number of accidents treated was 3,876 and 530 of them occured in the workplace and were serious enough to receive compensation. The fact that there was 530 workplace accidents at Endicott Johnson shows that there was a risk involved with working there as this figure shows and give proof that workplace accidents were common. For those that were insured, the Workers Medical Service was a way in which the workers could get compensation to keep providing for their families. The weekly charge of this insurance plan was 20 cents, which was taken out of the employees weekly paycheck.
Group Accident and Sickness and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Plan
Group Accident and Sickness and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Plan for Workers of Endicott Johnson Corporation (1946)
This insurance plan, The Group Accident and Sickness and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Plan for Workers of Endicott Johnson Corporation incorporated by the company in 1946 replaced the previous plan of the company, the Endicott Johnson Medical Workers Service. Like its predecessor, this plan was optional for employees to purchase. However, 13,000 workers did purchase the plan which was 76 percent of its workforce in 1946.
The Group Accident and Sickness and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Plan for Workers of Endicott Johnson Corporation plan of 1946 was purchased just a little bit more than the previous based both on percentage of workers, and the number of workers that were insured. The weekly charge that was taken out of the employees weekly paycheck was 25 cents. This was a 20% increase in cost over a 19 year gap between the time the two plans were published.
This insurance plan was presented much differently than the 1927 plan, The Endicott Johnson Workers Medical Service. The Group Accident and Sickness and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Plan for Workers of Endicott Johnson plan of 1946 was presented in a very short and descrete pamphlet of 10 pages. It is not even close to it predecessor in terms of it being as personal. This insurance plan stated the purpose of the plan and the benefits of it. It did not have any pictures of anything else to visually represent what the plan covered unlike the previous plan. This 1946 plan seems as if it was published in a manner that its sole purpose was to just state the plan instead of trying to really sell the fact that the company cared.
Work Cited:
Endicott Johnson Corporation. Group Accident and Sickness and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Plan for Workers of Endicott Johnson Corporation, Endicott, New York. 1946, Endicott, New York. Binghamton University Special Collections.
Endicott Johnson Corporation. "The Endicott Johnson Workers Medical Service". Johnson City Publishing Company. 1928. Johnson City, NY. Binghamton University Special Collections
Gerald Zahavi. Workers, Managers, and Welfare Capitalism: The Shoeworkers and Tanners of Endicott Johnson, 1890-1950 (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1988)