The assembly line's ability to turn out automobiles was matched only by its capacity to create worker discontent. An auto industry that had become increasingly mechanized, and whose workforce had grown considerably, instituted measures to encourage worker loyalty and discourage collective organization. The din and pace of the assembly line was the most effective tool for limiting work place interaction but strict no-talking rules were also in effect in many plants. Lunch breaks were restricted to fifteen to twenty minutes, offering little opportunity for socialization, and workers were advised to not loiter outside the plant at the end of their shift.

Other company measures served to limit the possibility of unionization. Companies' hiring policies favoured younger workers who were more likely to be thankful for employment and less likely to organize. New workers were also often forced to sign "yellow dog" contracts that made non-union involvement a condition of employment. Ford had a "Service Department - a collection of gangsters, thugs and ex-convicts who patrolled and disciplined the workforce - while other car makers such as Chrysler enlisted the spying services of the Corporation's Auxiliary Company, a private anti-union agency that infiltrated the workforce and reported all organizing activity. Workers involved were typically fired, and blacklists helped to ensure trouble makers did not find employment in auto again. Sometimes workers found their organizational activity brought retribution in the form of early retooling and layoffs.

Economic incentives designed to keep workers loyal also had the side effect of keeping them divided. Group bonuses and profit-sharing plans offered by Dodge, Chrysler and General Motors, were linked to production rates, and increased inter-worker animosity as the fastest or most experienced were encouraged to complete the work of the slowest or to pass on time-saving tricks-of-the-trade. Ford attempted to discourage the formation of working-class neighbourhoods by granting bonuses only to those workers found living in appropriate, company-sanctioned areas of the city with small working-class populations.

As the orchestrator of workers' private lives many companies eliminated the opportunity for their employees to organize. Ford's "Sociological Department" not only encouraged, but required workers to spend their new-found wealth wisely. It sent men to inspect employees' private residences for order, cleanliness and (possibly) union activity. A booklet issued to workers entitled Helpful Hints and Advice to Ford Employes [sic] offered counsel on everything from marriage, to how to make a bed. This notion of the "corporate family" was adopted by numerous auto makers and was perpetuated through company-sponsored sports teams, dances and picnics. Many such schemes were discontinued with the onset of the depression, however, when job shortages left workers at the mercy of their employers.