• Registry No. 1713—2—09 NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION PROPOSED CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE FURNITURE WAREHOUSE SHIPPING AND MOVING INDUSTRY AS SUBMITTED ON AUGUST 31, 1933 WE DO OUR PART UNIV. OF FLUB. ADD „ U.S. DEPOSJJOffY The'Code for the Furniture Warehouse, Shipping, and Moving Industry in its present form merely reflects the proposal of the above-mentioned industry, and none of the provisions contained therein are to be regarded as having received the approval of the National Recovery Administration as applying to this industry UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1933 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. -------- Price 5 cents Submitted by NATIONAL FURNITURE WAREHOUSEMEN'S ASSOCIATION (ID CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE INDUSTRY ENGAGED IN THE STORING, PACKING, SHIPPING, AND MOVING (LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE) OF USED HOUSEHOLD GOODS, PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL FURNITURE WAREHOUSEMEN'S ASSOCIATION Article I — Purpose This code is set up for the purpose of increasing employment, establishing fair and adequate wages, effecting necessary reduction of hours, improving standards of labor, and eliminating unfair trade practices, to the end that this unit of Industry contribute its part toward establishing that balance of industries which is necessary to the restoration and maintenance of the highest practical degree of public welfare. It is the declared purpose of this group of Industry and of the adherents of this code to bring, insofar as may be practicable, the rates of minimum wages paid within this section of industry to such levels as are necessary for the creation and maintenance of the high- est practicable standard of living; to restore the income of enter- prises within the industry to levels which will make possible the payment of such wages and avoid the further depletion and destruc- tion of capital assets ; and from time to time revise the rates of wages as will currently reflect the equitable adjustment to variations in the cost of living. Article II — Participation This Code of Fair Competition, and any other subsequent revision or addition to it, shall apply to any person, firm, or corporation in the United States that is engaged in the business of storing, packing, shipping, and moving (local or long distance) of used Household Goods. This obligation applies to all persons, firms, or corporations engaged in handling used Household Goods for which it receives compensation in the form of a fee or other consideration. Article III — Monopolies This Code of Fair Competition is not designed to promote monopo- lies or to eliminate or oppress small enterprises, and will not operate to discriminate against them, and will tend to effectuate the policy set forth in title one of the' National Industrial Recovery Act. Article IV ADMINISTRATION A For the purpose of administering this Code of Fair Competition for those engaged in Storing, Packing, Shipping, and Moving (local 9702—33 (1) and long distance) of used Household Goods, the United States shall be divided into regions as follows : Region No. 1. — Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Region No. 2. — The Metropolitan district of Greater New York. Region No. 8. — New York and New Jersey, not including the New York Metropolitan district, and Pennsylvania. Region No. 4 — Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia. Region No. 5. — North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Region No. 6. — West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Region No. 7 — Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, not including the Upper Peninsula, Illinois, except the Metropolitan district of Chicago. Region No. 8 — The Metropolitan district of Chicago from Gary, Indiana, to Waukegan, including Kankakee, Illinois, and the area east of the Fox River. Region No. 9. — Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Region No. 10. — Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. Region No. 11. — Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Region No. 12. — Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota. Region No. 13. — Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Region No. lJf. — Arizona, Utah, California, and Hawaiian Islands. ADMINISTRATION B The operation of this Code of Fair Competition shall be admin- istered by a General Industry Control Board whose members shall consist of the officers and directors of the National Furniture Ware- housemen's Association and other person or persons who in the judgement of the President shall be invited to become members of the Board in order to make same truly representative of the industry. The President of the National Furniture Warehousemen's Associa- tion shall be its Chairman and shall convene Board at such time and place as he may elect for the purpose of organization. There shall be organized in each region Industry Control Boards by the General Industry Control Board and under rules laid down by the General Industry Control Board for the purpose of the administration of this Code. ADMINISTRATION C The General Industry Control Board, with the cooperation of the Local Industry Control Boards, shall have the authority to require from each and every firm, corporation, or individual in this industry any reports or other information necessary for the enforcement of this Code. Each firm, corporation, or individual shall keep records and books of accounts in such form as may in the judgment of the General Industry Control Board be necessary for the proper administration of this Code. Article V — Labor Code All firms, corporations, or individuals shall subscribe to the fol- lowing provisions as provided by the National Industrial Recovery Act, viz : a. Employees in this industry shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. b. No employee in this industry and no one seeking employment therein shall be required as a condition of employment to join any company union or to refrain from joining a labor organization of his own choosing. c. Employers of labor in this industry agree to comply with the maximum hours of labor, minimum rates of pay, and other working conditions approved or prescribed by the President of the United States. Note. — This portion of the code is not completed but will await information from the subscribers to the code as to their ideas on the maximum hours and minimum wages, which figures will be consolidated, and members of the regions will be advised as to the results of the information gathered by the code com- mittee. For purpose of uniformity we are attaching a form, which please fill tnit and return, together with comments on the balance of the code. Article VI — Trade Practices and Rules of Conduct Signatories to this Code shall under no circumstances whatsoever misrepresent to the public their facilities. The handling of Household Goods is a business fiduciary in char- acter and is built upon trust and confidence and any breach of faith will be considered a violation of this Code. Misrepresentation does not necessarily have to be misstatement •of facts, but to state the facts that an inference is drawn contrary to what is expressly stated. No secret agreements shall be entered into contrary to the tariff provisions of this Code. No price that is deceptive or misleading may be advertised or quoted. Quotations must be made in writing whenever possible to avoid misunderstanding. Complaints for loss and damage must be investigated and disposed of promptly. In disposing of unclaimed household goods in storage, strict com- pliance with the law is necessary. Unfair statements about com- petitors, not based on facts, are prohibited. The different services as provided in the tariffs filed are separate and distinct, and all customers should be treated alike and no dis- crimination shown. Article VII — Tariffs Each firm, corporation, or individual in this industry shall file, severally or jointly, a tariff of rates and charges within thirty days after the date of the approval of this Code by the President of the United States or his representative, with the Secretary of the Gen- eral Industry Control Board, and a copy of same shall be filed with the Regional Industry Control Board. The rates and charges set forth in such tariffs shall be based upon the fair average cost, plus a reasonable profit. The term cost shall be construed to embrace all costs of operation as determined by standard accounting practices, including such items as labor, administrative and selling expense, interest on invest- ment, depreciation, obsolescence, insurance, taxes, rent, and other expenses incident to the business. Each tariff shall name the specific rate or basis of contract rate to be charged for each service listed. No such tariff shall be effective until approved by the General Industry Control Board in the form and manner to be provided, and no firm, corporation, or individual pajty to this Code shall quote or charge a rate except specifically provided for in such tariff unless approved by the General Industry Control Board. Article VIII This Code may be amended only when approved by the President of the United States or his legally constituted representative and upon approval of two thirds of the General Industry Control Board. Questions which may occur in discussion of tentative draft of a Code of Fair Competition and the answers according to judgment of the Code Committee : No. 1. Question. Is the proposed code a National Furniture Ware- housemen's Association code? Answer. No. The code will, when approved by the government be the code of all firms, corporations, or individuals engaged in stor- ing, packing, shipping, and moving (local or long distance) of used Household Goods in -the United States. Even though some handle other classes of commodities, the han- dling of used Household Goods is a distinct and different class of service and should have treatment as a single unit in a Code of Fair Competition. The National Furniture Warehousemen's Association is the largest organized factor in the industry, therefore, in accordance with the National Industrial Recovery Act takes leadership without prejudice as between members and nonmembers. No. 2. Question. What expenses are involved in connection with this Code of Fair Competition? Answer. Preliminary expenses in preparing the code will be ab- sorbed by the National Furniture Warehousemen's Association. Ex- penses in connection with the administration of the code in the dif- ferent regions will be charged to the regions, but no expense in a region will be incurred by the General Industry Control Board without the consent of the region. In other words, the policing of this law will be left to the local and regional units and the expense will be controlled to a large extent by the methods employed in the administration and policing of the law. Suggestions will come from the General Industry Control Board on this subject. No. 3. Question. Will administration of the code be handled by the National or Regional groups? Answer. It is the distinct judgment of the Board of Directors of the National Furniture Warehousemen's Association and the Code Committee that administration of the Code must be handled entirely by the local Regional Industry Control Boards, and that the General Industry Control Board will deal only with questions of general policy, with matters of arbitration and will be the recognized agency for contact with the Federal Government (National Industrial Recovery Administration). No. 4. Question. Is it necessary for each regional group to have a code of its own? Answer. No. Each region will be expected to administer the code after it has been adopted in its final form and is approved by the President of the United States. No. 5. Question. Is it necessary to belong to the National Furni- ture Warehousemen's Association to participate in the Code? Answer. No. It is contemplated that those engaged in the local moving of household goods and those engaged in the long-distance moving of household goods shall be parties to the Code. Of course it would be advisable for as many who can qualify to become members of the National Furniture Warehousemen's Asso- ciation to strengthen the entire set-up, and members of the National Furniture Warehousemen's Association are urged to secure the necessary applications promptly. No. 6. Question. Supposing a firm refuses to participate and sub- scribe to the rules laid down? Answer. The law specifically states what noncooperators will be subject to, and also provides for those who subscribe to the code and fail to live up to it. Read these provisions of the law as they are important. No. 7. Question. What machinery will be set up to see that every- body lives up to the Code ? Answer. After the General Industry Control Board is organized and the Regional Industry Control Board is organized a regular pro- cedure will be adopted setting up the necessary forms to see that the Code is being lived up to in every detail. No. 8. Question. Are maximum hours of employment and mini- mum pay to be standardized throughout the country? Answer. No; they will be standardized as far as possible within the regions, as in laying out the regions it was aimed to put into the different regions, cities and states where the working conditions were similar. Rates of pay must bear reasonable relation to living costs in the districts involved, and the spirit of the law which anticipates the employment of more people should be carefully considered. No. 9. Question. What rate will govern on tariffs? Answer. It is aimed to have the rate at point of origin of business govern. In other words, point from where business moves. No. 10. Question. Why is it advisable for those handling used Household Goods to organize under a Code of Fair Competition nationally ? Answer. The character of service rendered, the clientage served, and the equipment, both in warehouses and motor vans, are distinctly different from other types of service. Its operators require special experience and the methods employed are personal and not commer- cial. Warehousemen and cartage operators in many cases handle suc- cessfully both used furniture and merchandise in different depart- ments and in such circumstances should allocate all used Household Goods operations under this Code. o UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 3 1262 08851 7916