Starting in 1871, George Westinghouse gave his employees a half-day off on Saturday, the first step toward a five-day workweek. In 1908, he began a pension fund for workers; in 1913, paid vacations were initiated.

Samuel Gompers, the greatest labor leader in American history, noted that if all employers treated their employees like Westinghouse did, there would be no need for unions.

Westinghouse notably also regarded the work of women engineers (employees?) with respect equal to that given their male counterparts in his companies.

He originally built "The Castle," which houses today's Westinghouse Museum, as a community recreation hall for his Air Brake workers and their families. It had a library, a swimming pool, a bowling alley, and even a restaurant on the second floor.