Since you are talking about Ford, it's worth pointing out that autoworkers in the US are still doing very well... even better since they recently renegotiated their contracts at strike-point.
I am guessing that in 1960 they were doing relatively well compared to other factory workers also.
A quick google search says Ford assembly line worker salaries range from $20-38 an hour, with the typical wage of $28 per hour. It’s not a terrible salary, but I wouldn’t necessary say they they’re doing “very well”.
If we’re going off of OP’s math, the average autoworker only has a fifth of the purchasing power that autoworkers had in the 1960’s.
>”For decades, the UAW tugged wages upward. In 1960, a UAW member made 16 percent more than the average American manufacturing worker. By 2006, the figure was 74 percent. Today, new hires in the UAW make about 20 percent less than the average.”
Hourly wages tell only part of the story here. Their benefit package, particularly their pensions, is very generous compared to that of most other hourly workers. Indeed compared to that of many non-hourly workers also, since most people now get only 401ks.
I am guessing that in 1960 they were doing relatively well compared to other factory workers also.