Gerard Swope (December 1, 1872 – November 20, 1957) was an American electronics businessman. He served as the president of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...

between 1922 and 1940, and again from 1942 until 1945. During this time Swope expanded GE's product offerings, reorienting GE toward consumer home appliances, and offering consumer credit services.

Biography

Swope was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Ida and Isaac Swope, Jewish immigrants from Germany. He graduated from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

in 1895. He married Mary Dayton Hill. He was the brother of

Herbert Bayard Swope Herbert Bayard Swope Sr. (; January 5, 1882 – June 20, 1958) was an American editor, journalist and intimate of the Algonquin Round Table. Swope spent most of his career at the ''New York World.'' He was the first and three-time recipient of t ...

, and father of Henrietta Swope and John Swope, the Hollywood and Life Magazine photographer who married actress

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...

. He is possibly best known for his

labor relations Labor relations is a field of study that can have different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. In an international context, it is a subfield of labor history that studies the human relations with regard to work in its broadest ...

innovations. At General Electric, Swope implemented numerous labor reforms, making conditions better for employees with voluntary unemployment insurance,

profit-sharing Profit sharing is various incentive plans introduced by businesses that provide direct or indirect payments to employees that depend on company's profitability in addition to employees' regular salary and bonuses. In publicly traded companies thes ...

, and other program that were considered radical in their day. Swope increased sales and overall

efficiency (economics) In microeconomics, economic efficiency, depending on the context, is usually one of the following two related concepts: * Allocative or Pareto efficiency: any changes made to assist one person would harm another. * Productive efficiency: no addi ...

, earning high profits and market share and focused on employee training, retention, and loyalty. Before the passage of the

Wagner Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and ...

, Swope "had long supported labor legislation." He served as Chairman of

The Business Council The Business Council is an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...

in 1933.The Business Council, Official website, Background
Swope's other Roosevelt administration roles included member, Industrial Advisory Board of the National Recovery Administration (NRA) (1933); member, Bureau of Advertising and Planning of the Department of Commerce (1933); chairman, Coal Advisory Board (1933); member, National Labor Board (1933); member, President's Advisory Council on Economic Security (1934); and member, Advisory Council on Social Security (1937-1938). Swope was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in 1942, when he was chairman of the Committee to Study Budgets of Relief Appeals for Foreign Countries. For his work, he won the Hoover Medal. He died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1957. In 2005, Forbes Magazine ranked Swope as the 20th most influential businessman of all time.

Swope Plan

In September 1931, Swope presented a proposal for recovery. Under Swope plan, the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...

would supervise trade associations established for each industry. Trade associations would cover every company with at least 50 employees after three years. Associations would regulate output and set prices. Workers would receive life insurance, pensions, and unemployment insurance paid for in part by employers. The

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

and other conservative groups provided enthusiastic support. President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

, who strongly supported voluntary trade associations, denounced the plan for being compulsory, inefficient, and monopolistic. In an oral history interview,

Leon H. Keyserling Leon Hirsch Keyserling (January 11, 1908 – August 9, 1987) was an American economist and lawyer who served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1950 to 1953. During his tenure, he advised President Harry S. Truman on the econom ...

said the New Deal's

National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also ...

"started as a trade association act. The original draft of the act grew out of the so-called Gerard Swope plan for Recovery." When asked in November 1933 about an updated Swope Plan, President Roosevelt said, "Mr. Swope's plan is a very interesting theoretical suggestion in regard to some ultimate development of N.R.A."

Honors

Hoover Medal The Hoover Medal is an American engineering prize. It has been given since 1930 for "outstanding extra-career services by engineers to humanity". The prize is given jointly by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Institute of Min ...

, 1942 * Legion of Honor (France) * Order of the Rising Sun (Japan) * Honorary doctorates from

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

, Union, Colgate,

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

, and Washington University in St. LouisBook Rags, Gerard Swope Biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swope, Gerard 1872 births 1957 deaths Businesspeople from St. Louis American people of German-Jewish descent Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni American manufacturing businesspeople