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The assembly line (or “the belt,” as the workers call it) initially represents the benefit of new technology. Because it allows for a greater division of labor, the belt revolutionizes Ford’s factories. All in all, it allows Ford to reduce the time it takes to assemble a car from 12 hours and 28 minutes to 1 hour and 33 minutes, increasing efficiency and productivity in the plant.
However, the belt also symbolizes the harm of new technology, as well as how unregulated capitalism degrades working conditions. The belt quickly becomes a tool to take advantage of the workers in the factory, squeezing as much productivity out of them as possible. Ford periodically speeds up the assembly line without the workers’ knowledge, causing them to do more work for the same wages. The assembly line becomes so harmful that people are constantly injured on the line—they even have a saying in the factory that one man dies every day. Without safety regulations or union protections, the assembly line enables Ford to take advantage of his workers, thus illustrating how new technology can also have detrimental effects, particularly on working-class people who are defenseless against unjust working conditions.
Assembly Line (or “the Belt”) Quotes in The Flivver King
The The Flivver King quotes below all refer to the symbol of Assembly Line (or “the Belt”). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 19
Quotes
Never had there been such a device for speeding up labor. You simply moved a switch, and a thousand men jumped more quickly. It was an invisible tax, like the tariff, which the consumer pays without being aware of it. The worker cannot hold a stopwatch, and count the number of cars which come to him in an hour. Even if he learns about it from the man who sets the speed of the belt—again it is like the tariff in that he can do nothing about it. If he is a weakling, there are a dozen strong men waiting outside to take his place. Shut your mouth and do what you’re told!
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Chapter 61
Quotes
With every month of the depression these things had got worse and worse. The twenty-five thousand workers were driven until they went out “punch-drunk.” Sometimes one went out on a stretcher, because men so driven couldn’t handle machinery without accidents. On no subject had Henry written more eloquently than on the importance of safety; but again and again his “safety department” was overruled by his speed-up department, and there was a saying in the plant that it took one life a day. They had their own hospital, and there was no way to get any figures.
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Assembly Line (or “the Belt”) Symbol Timeline in The Flivver King
The timeline below shows where the symbol Assembly Line (or “the Belt”) appears in The Flivver King. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 14
...wheel assembly. He goes from car to car, watching others work. This is before the assembly line , which means that a lot of men are constantly bumping into each other. Abner...
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Chapter 19
Ford hears about a new assembly line at General Motors, and he decides to try it out at his factory. Now, 29...
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...getting the most out of his labor. So, after a few weeks with the new assembly line , they speed up the “belt” one minute per hour and make 16 more cars...
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Chapter 41
...the plant. He discovers that Ford’s reorganization means reducing the amount of men on the assembly line . Before the reorganization, the factory employed 15 men per car; now, the factory only...
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...work of 20 men, and Abner becomes one of the 20, getting back on the assembly line . Abner’s job lets him rest his legs, but his back begins to ache and...
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Chapter 61
...been known as a model employer for years, now his practices are being questioned. His assembly line is using more machines so that one man can do the work formerly done by...
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...workers until they injure themselves in their exhaustion. The supervisors overseeing the speed of the assembly line often overrule the safety department. The company even has its own hospital and there is...
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Chapter 65
...was employed at Ford’s for many years and was outraged by the speed-up of the assembly line and the lack of security at the plant. The man’s words encourage Abner, and when...
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...laid off or unemployment benefits until they had work again, and the slowing of the assembly line . The listeners shout in support. Organizers declare that they are unarmed and warn that...
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Chapter 82
...the worst employer: he pays the worst wages in the industry and maintains the cruelest assembly line .
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