Endicott Johnson Corporation
The Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company was a prosperous manufacturer of shoes based in New York's Southern Tier, with factories mostly located in the area's Triple Cities of Binghamton, Johnson City, and Endicott. An estimated 20,000 people worked in the company's factories by the 1920s, and an even greater number worked there during the boom years of the mid-1940s when, helped by footwear it produced for the military during the war years, it was producing 52 million pairs of shoes a year. During the early 1950s, the work force was still approximately 17,000 to 18,000. Today, EJ Footwear, LLC operates as a unit of Nelsonville, Ohio-based Rocky Shoes & Boots, Inc.
Founding
The Endicott Johnson Corporation grew out of the Lester Brothers Boot and Shoe Company, which began in Binghamton in 1854. In 1890, the Lester Brothers moved their business west to a nearby rural area, which in 1892 was incorporated as the Village of Lestershire and in 1916 became Johnson City. Financial problems in 1890 forced the sale of the company to a creditor and fellow shoemaker, Henry Bradford Endicott of Dedham, Massachusetts, who founded the Endicott Shoe Company and in 1899 made factory foreman George F. Johnson his partner.George F. and the ''Square Deal''
The E-J story is dominated by George F. Johnson, or George F as he was popularly called, who rose through the shoe factory ranks to become the half-owner of E-J, and its highest executive until his death in 1948.George F's reign was dominated by his Square Deal version of welfare capitalism that, like progressive movements of the early twentieth century, advocated providing parades and churches and libraries to "uplift" workers. George F's Square Deal consisted of worker benefits even in harsh economic times that were generous and innovative for their time, but also meant to engender worker loyalty and discourage unionizing. The company had a chess and checkers club.
For workers, the Square Deal consisted of a chance to buy E-J built and E-J financed homes, a profit sharing program, health care from factory-funded medical facilities and later two worker recreational facilities. But the Square Deal was more than an employee benefit program. E-J and the Johnson family also provided and helped to finance two libraries, theaters, a golf course, swimming pools, carousels, parks and food markets, many of which were available to the community without charge. Reminders of the source of that generosity were inescapable:
Endicott was a community planned by E-J and incorporated in 1906. It was named after Henry B. Endicott who owned the business that became E-J. Lestershire was renamed Johnson City, New York in honor of George F. All of the tanneries and the vast majority of the shoe factories were located in Endicott with a few satellite locations in Johnson City and Binghamton. The Johnsons lived in Endicott and George F's mansion was donated to the Village after his death and became the public library. Most of the jobs were classified as "piece work." Racks of shoes moved through the factories with "coupons" attached to each rack. When the worker completed his/her operation on the rack of shoes, he or she removed the appropriate coupon which was worth a few pennies. At the end of the week the worker turned in his coupons from which the payroll department calculated pay. The work was hard and the pay was low, but the extensive benefits were offsets. The windows in the factories were painted so workers wouldn't be distracted by the outside. The company needed a large labor pool and initiated a recruitment program aimed at southern Italy and the Slavic countries and so Endicott became a small town with a rich ethnic mix. Many of the sons and daughters of these immigrants graduated from Union-Endicott High School and went on to become teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, and successful business people. Very few went to work in the factories.
The E-J Workers Arch and other monuments
The entrance to Johnson City on Main Street from Binghamton is marked with a stone arch embossed with Home of the Square Deal. There is a corresponding arch on the other end of Main Street that served as the entrance to Endicott. Image:MainST Binghamton.JPG|thumb|Square Deal Arch on the border between Binghamton and Johnson CityE-J workers paid for and erected these arches. Both arches were dedicated on September 6, 1920. They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.- One of the E-J swimming pools was shaped in the outline of a gigantic shoe sole.
- The Triple Cities contain a number of statues of the Johnson family, including Johnson City's statue of Harry L. Johnson, and Binghamton's statue of George F. Johnson in the George F. Johnson Recreation Park, and, also in Recreation Park, the Harry L. Johnson memorial.
- Endicott had En-Joie Park. Each Triple Cities Parks contained a carousel called "merry go rounds" and they also contained playground equipment, a baseball diamond, picnic areas, a large swimming pool, and a band stand. During the summer the Endicott-Johnson workers band performed concerts every Sunday evening in Endicott En-Joy Park. There were also recreation buildings in Endicott and Johnson City, which contained subsidized bowling alleys in the basement and a large banquet room on the main floor. Retirement dinners were given on a regular basis in the recreation centers. Any employee could attend the dinners for $.25.
- Various roads and bridges refer to the Johnsons, including CFJ Boulevard in Johnson City, and the C. Fred Johnson Bridge over the Susquehanna River, which was named in honor of Charles F. Johnson
- The word Ideal appeared in many places, including E-J's first factory in Endicott, Endicott's Ideal Home Library and Ideal Hospital. The library was later demolished to make room for municipal facilities and relocated to George F's former mansion.
Image:Bronze_bust_of_Harry_L._Johnson__erected_by_"Endicott_Johnson_workers_and_citizens_of_Johnson_City"_which_contains_the_Johnson_motto_"BE_NOT_WEARY_IN_WELL_DOING.".jpg|thumb|Monument to Harry L. Johnson
But the Square Deal campaign also created a cult of personality about Johnson family which is reflected, as examples:
- in the inscription in the Harry L. Johnson memorial states "This Fountain Was Given By The School Children In Memory Of Their Friend Harry L. Johnson MCMXXII;" and
- in the inscription accompanying a statue of George F. Johnson which states "Have Faith In The People. George F. Johnson. Erected By An Appreciative Community To The Nobility Of His Character And His Great Benefactions To The People. 1923. Labor Is Honorable."
- the daunting Johnson City monument displaying a bronze bust of Harry L. Johnson erected by "Endicott Johnson workers and citizens of Johnson City" which contains the Johnson motto "BE NOT WEARY IN WELL DOING." which is from the Bible Galatians 6:9
Decline and sale
The demise of the E-J was rooted in many economic changes. Its founding principles of valuing labor were threatened by the availability of cheap foreign labor and the rise of global shoemakers such as Nike. According to some sources, C. F. Johnson was a vehement critic of free trade, and believed that it was contrary to his glorification of the American worker. The demise of the company may also be attributable, in part, to bad business decisions, including the continuation of its focus during the 1950s on work shoes when the market for lighter, more stylish shoes was expanding and potentially more profitable.
In 1995, E-J was purchased by U.S. Industries, Inc. and its name was changed to EJ Footwear Corp., and its base of operations changed to Franklin, Tennessee. In 2000, EJ Footwear was bought out by Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd., a subsidiary of Citigroup.
Finally, on December 6, 2004, EJ Footwear agreed to be acquired by Rocky Shoes & Boots, Inc. EJ had previously been the sole licensee for Rocky's "Dickies" line of work footwear. According to its 2005 annual report, Rocky's sales more than doubled over 2004, largely reflecting this acquisition.