Actually, Ford was acting rationally as a businessman. He faced 300% turnover at some positions and couldn’t keep skilled labor. His workforce wouldn’t stay in high labor Detroit. Thus his wage increase was simply a reflection of a tight labor market for autoworkers. That’s simply the free market.
Furthermore, Ford believed that union leaders had a perverse incentive to foment perpetual socio-economic crisis as a way to maintain their own power. He fought unions.
I've never heard of this before. Could you cite a source?