Working at the Automat
Horn & Hardart relied on immigrant workers willing to work long hours for small salaries. The company did not institute a 40-hour week until 1948 and minimum wage was only 40 cents an hour until after the war when it rose to 60 cents. On the other hand, Horn & Hardart managers generally came up through the ranks. There were plenty of immigrants looking for work in the company's early decades and during the Depression any employment was a God send. Hiring and keeping staff grew tougher in the war years as employment opportunities and wages rose in other industries.
The company offered no medical benefits or sick days but it did have a fund to provide interest-free loans, often tapped for medical reasons. They also offered group life insurance and disability coverage and provided a modest pension. The company awarded a few college scholarships each year to employee children on a competitive basis. Annual Christmas bonuses were generous, beginning at 2 percent of annual salary and rising with seniority to 8 percent. Employees had almost no holidays.
According to Automat, The company sought to create a family atmosphere to stave off unionization. Much of the management and many of the employees were Irish Catholics. The company played up that ethnic tribalism and in the '50s even sponsored communion breakfasts. Most of the Hardart clan identified as Irish Catholics even though the family had originated in Bavaria. Irish Catholic was a default ethnic identity in New York and other major cities at the time. If you had even one Irish ancestor in your family tree you probably identified as Irish no matter what the rest of the lot had been. It was All-American without seeming snobby.
Unlike many establishments of the time, the Automat welcomed black patrons. This bothered some tourists from the South. On the other hand, Horn & Hardart employed African Americans only in the kitchen, out of sight, and the company did not offer them the promotion opportunities offered other workers.