‘We started something new here’: Factory gets influx of workers with unique offer

CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro follows single, working mom Jessica Kelly as she begins her new job at the Kawasaki factory in Lincoln, Nebraska. #CNN #News

48 comments

  1. About fricking time companies start being willing to do stuff like this, hours that still allow people to manage their family commitments too. There is a potential workforce out there of stay at home moms, hard working and detail oriented, who want to work but they need to be able to drop kids off at school and be there to pick them up.

    1. @Alejo Hernandez a 5 year old? Ours is 3 miles and even if he takes the bus we still have to get him to/from the stop which is a mile away on busy roads.

  2. Amazing! They worked out that giving a decent wage and decent hours gets them a willing and productive workforce!!
    Who knew!?!?

    1. Just wait until it is gone. That is why Scott wants his 5 yr plan. So they can take away Social benefits. So good luck. Let’s hope you don’t have to go back to work.

  3. Since they work on a assembly line maybe this might encourage some of these mothers to perform light mechanic work on their vehicles.

    Also I know a lot of guys wifes at my job that struggle with having kids and balancing out their work around them. So this would be a win for everyone but mainly families.

  4. Employers must realize the value of employees. I hear from employers all the time “people just don’t want to work”….. That is NOT TRUE at ALL! The truth is that people do not want to work FOR YOU because now they have options. Great job Kawasaki I use your products and have bought many of your machines over the years.

  5. Wow, company offers more money, benifits and flexible working, and recruits. This has been going on in the UK for years. I mean it is a legal requirement for a company to set up a pension scheme, minimum 3% of salary matched by the company. Flexiabke working has also been a legal right for several years, this is across the whole country.

  6. Keeps everyone happier, so it obviously is the way to go. There is enough other stress that is more difficult to do something about. This arrangement frees up people to deal with the rest of life. Congratulations!

    1. Wow, the workers didn’t even have to unionize.
      Guess they thought this was better than empty Gatorade bottles.

    2. @Oracle Of Delphi Does that even apply here? These employees are part time and making a pretty decent hourly rate. I’d be very interested to see if any benefits come along as well. I was a member of a union for about 15 years, the money and benefits were good! But everything else was miserable.

  7. A happy, heathy, and good paid for workforce is crucial! <3 employees and employers who respect their 'workers'!! It's a win win! <3

  8. What a great thing they are doing ! Now this is the direction we need to be moving in. Kudos to Kawasaki !!! Wow and the most I got paid was $17.50 p/hr in corporate, and that took me 6 years to get to. good for them.

    1. Love that a company named Kawasaki (great bikes by the way) Pulled this off in the middle of cornhusker territory.

    2. Look at the happy faces, they really seem motivated! Who’d a thunk it? Thank you! Mic’22

    3. $17.50 p/hr omg thats less as a McDonalds employee in denmark get he started with 22$ per hour

  9. Believe it or not, this used to be the norm in the US, before all the “downsizing, restructuring, relocation, offshoring and outsourcing” that led to the “gig economy” with odd, unsocial work hours, evenings, weekends, overtime, lack of hours, and part-time and short-term, contract work becoming the new norm.

  10. Watching this would make me want to purchase their product which is a good one. The most important aspect of our society right now is ensuring mothers and fathers can be there for their kids without sacrificing economic security. Way to go Kawasaki.

    1. @Chewbacca’s kid I tried to tell my cousin that before he hit the van and died….they don’t listen..the think their life is in their hands on the road. Its in the other drivers. Van burned the red.

    2. I was thinking the same thing. Kawasaki is now fresh in my mind and would lean toward them in the future just by seeing how they are putting their people first.

    3. @Chewbacca’s kid lmao just wrecked my kawasaki z400 2 weeks ago even tho it put me in a couple casts i’d buy another

  11. What a crazy concept, great your employees well…and it creates more productivity and they keep their people.

    Wow. Who would have thunk it?

  12. It’s about time that corporations begin thinking differently about the people that work for them.

  13. BRILLIANT! So silly, to imagine all a company had to do to thrive was listen to what the workers needed.

    Duh.

  14. The pandemic revealed a lot of things that needed to be supported and/or fixed in our country. Wages CAN be increased. Work doesn’t have to be 9-5 or even Mon-Fri, and benefits can be afforded by the company to support those that built them up. Its not about shareholders, its about the people who work for you. Good job Kawasaki!

    1. Its about time, I got tired of hearing how you American “workers” as you are called suffer.

  15. I’m happy to see some good change for Americans for once. All i want as a European is for our cousins to do well and live well. And this is a small step towards a better future.

  16. Businesses have been treating employees badly for years. Time to respect the worker, and your company can still grow. Give the worker respect, treat people in a more human way, today’s world is hectic, nice to see a few companies that see the value of their workers.

  17. “There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.”
    – Henry Ford, 1922

  18. It’s past time for employers to accept that people have lives apart from a job that needs attention and flexibility will bring them into the job market as well as making better employees. One day years ago while waiting in line at the bank, a lady told me that she had a bad start to her day but it could have been much worse because she didn’t have to worry about being late for work because the employer offered three “no excuse necessary” tardies a month. … How nice to recognize that life is full of ups and downs and what a great example that was to me that day.

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