Registry No. 1616-78 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

PROPOSED 

CODE O·F FAIR C·O·MPETITION 

FOR THE 

WATER WELL DRILLERS 

INDUSTRY 

AS SUBMITTED ON AUGUST 30, 1933 

WE DO OUR PART 

The Code for the Water Well Drillers Industry 

in its present form merely reflects the proposal of the above-mentioned 

industry, and none of the provisions contained therei n 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. - - - - -

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--Price 5 cents 
SUBMITTED B'Y 

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF WATER WELL DRILLERS 

(II) 
INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY CODE AND CODE OF FAIR 

COMPETITION FOR THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF 

WATER WELL DRILLERS 

The .American Association of Water Well Drillers, a national 

trade association representative of water well drilling contractors 

throughout the United States for several years last past, pursuant 

to the purpose of the water well drilling contractors to cooperate 

with the President of the United States in effectuating the policy 

declared in Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, does 

hereby recommend and submit for approval pursuant to Section 3 

of said title the following Code of Fair Competition and plan for 

its administration for all work insofar as it pertains to water well 

drilling contractors. 

ARTicLE I-DECLARATION OF PoLICY 

In order to induce and maintain the united action of labor and 

management under adequate governmental or private sanctions and 

supervision, to eliminate unfair competitive practice and to advance 

the public interest, to reduce and relieve unemployment, to improve 

standards of labor and living and otherwise rehabilitate the water 

well drilling industry and effectuate the policies set forth in the 

National Indu trial Recovery Act, this code of fair competition 

governing the furnishing of water well drilling services by the water 

well drilling industry is adopted. 

ARTICLE II-DEFINITION oF "WATER WELL DRILLING CoNTRACTOR" 

\Vhen used in this code, the term " Water \V ell Drilling Contractor" is any per on, partnership, company, a sociation, corporation, 

or agency which contract to supervise, coordinate, and/ or execute 

the work of drilling boring, coring or construction of test holes 

and/or water wells other than for oil or gas in any way whatsoever. 

Any per on, firm, partner hip, agency company, as ociation, or corporation enaaged in the drilling, boring coring, or construction of 

test hole and/or water wells other than for oil or gas shall be subject 

to compliance with these articles and code, whether by formal contract 

or otherwise. 

ARTICLE III-TRADE AssoCIATION 

(a) This national trade association of water well drilling contractors affirms that it imposes no inequitable restrictions on admission to 

membership therein, and is truly representative as a national trade 

a ociation of the water well drilling industry. (b) This code will not promote monopolies or eliminate or oppress 

small enterprises and will not oper ate to discriminate against them, 

9112----NO. 1616-78----33 (1) 
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and will tend to effectuate the policy of said Title I. It is expressly 

recognized that the President of the United States may, as a condition of his. approval of this code, impose such conditions (including 

requirements for the making of reports and the keeping of accounts) 

as may be expedient in the furtherance of the public interest for the 

protection of consumers, competitors, employees, and others, and 

may provide such exceptions to and exceptions from the provisions of 

this code as the President of the United States in his discretion 

deems neces ary to effectuate the policy herein declared. 

ARTICLE IV-LABOR RELATIONS 

SECTION 1. Labor Oonditions.-In accordance with the requirements of the National Industrial Recovery Act: 

(a) Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and shall be 

free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of 

labor, or their agents, in the designation of such representatives or 

in self-organization or in other concerted activities for the purpose 

of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. 

(b) No en1ployee and no one seeking employment shall be required 

as a condition of employment to join any com.pany union or to refrain 

from joining, organizing, or assisting a labor organization of his 

own choosing. 

(c) Employees shall comply with the maximum hours of labor, 

minimum rates of pay, and other conditions of employment, approved or prescribed by the President. 

SEc. 2. Minimum Wages.-(a) A water-well drilling contractor 

shall pay wages not less than the minimum rates which shall be 

at the rate of thirty-five cents per hour up to two years' experience, 

and not less than at the rate of forty cents per hour for all men 

employed at this work having more than two years' experience, except 

the states of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 

West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, which shall be at the rate of thirty cents per hour up to 

two years' experience, and not less than at the rate of thirty-five 

cents per hour for all men employed at this work having more than 

two years' experience. 

(b) A water-well drilling contractor shall make payment of all 

wage as clue in lawful currency of the United States, or its equivalent in the for1n of bankable check. The water-well drilling contractor or his agents shall accept no rebates, directly or indirectly, 

on such wages, nor give anything of value or extend favors to any 

person for the purpose of influencing rates of wages or the working 

conditions of his employees. 

(c) A water well-drilling contractor shall not resort to the use of 

what i known to the trade as "piecework" or similar contractual 

relationship in his employment of labor, when tending to defeat the 

spirit and purpose of Section 7 A -3 of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

(d) No contract or agreement shall be made by a water well-drilling contractor with a subcontractor or other agency, which requires 

the services of mechanics or labor on the site of the work, unless the 

established minimum rates of wages are paid. 
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SEo. 3. 111 aximwm H mtrs.- (a) A water well-drilling contractor 

:shall not permit nor require any individual directly employed on 

.any water well-drilling boring, or well-con truction project to work 

more than a maximum of forty-eight hours a week and eight hours 

.a day except in cases of emergency requiring the protection of life or 

property, and in no case more than one hundred hour extra in any 

six months' period, except tho e in executive, admini trative, and 

:Supervisory positions, providing they are not engaged in the actual 

drilling operations and except a a lesser number of hours is re-

·quired by Title II of the National Recovery Act relating to public 

work and construction projects thereunder. 

Nothing herein shall be construed as preventing voluntary agreeJnent establishing a lesser n1aximum number of hours as provided 

in the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

ARTI LE V-TRADE PRACTI ES 

SECTION 1. Swb1nitting Bids.-(a) A water well drilling contractor, in submitting bids for the construction or improvement of 

·either public or private works, shall be governed by the following 

regulations nece ary to insure fair competition, since it is es ential 

that whenever contract are to be let by competitive bidding, terms 

·Of the competition shall be such as to insure parity of standing to 

.all bidders. 

(b) All bids shall be in writing signed by the bidder. 

(c) A water well drilling contractor shall not be required to accept the award of a contract after fifteen (15) days after the late 

·Of opening bids. 

(d) A water well drilling contractor shall not be held responsible 

or penalized for deficiencies in or omissions from the plans and/ or 

·pecifications prepared by others and upon which the contract is 

ba eel. · 

SEc. 2. Unfatir Practioes.-(a) A water well drilling contractor 

. ·hall not engage in the unfair practice known to the industry as 

' bid peddling " or any similar unfair practice. 

(b) A water well drilling contractor shall refuse to deal with 

.any person or persons who have not complied with the code of fair 

competition herein defined. 

(c) A water well drilling contractor hall not take advantage in 

nis bid of any special privileges, favors, or under tanding had with 

him by per ·on in control of the a ward. 'I' hi , however shall not 

prevent any uch competitor, even though not the lowest bidder, 

from taking , uch contract, providing the a ward is n1ade at his 

original comp titive bid price, nor shall it prevent any water well 

drilling contractor from accepting the award of such contract at any 

pri ·e where no competitive bids are taken. 

( c1) A water well drilling contractor shall not revise his bid 

.after bids have been opened in order to improve his position with 

the owner, except he be the low bidder. Bona fide error chscovered after the opening of bi 1 may be grounds for withdrawal 

of bid. 

(e) A water well drilling contractor shall not encourage or in-

·dnce the owner or his agent to reject bids and readvertise in order 

that he may revise his original offer. 
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(£) A water well drilling contractor shall nor bid upon a project 

which bids have previously been invited, received, and opened at 

any time within ninety days from the date of the previous opening 

of bids next thereafter, except there be substantial changes of the 

plans and specifications. 

(g) A water well drilling contractor shall not knowingly submit 

a bid nor accept a contract which does not include all direct and indirect costs, and he shall maintain and keep on file his original 

estimates supporting his bid or contract, for one year after completion. 

(h) It shall be an unfair trade practice to sell or offer to sell any 

or all services connected with the drilling, boring, coring, or construction of test holes and/or water wells other than for oil or gas~ 

which is less than the individual's, partnership's, firm's, or corporation's costs, as determined by the National Industrial Control Conlmittee's standard cost accounting system. 

(i) A water well drilling contractor shall not give or accept 

rebates, refunds, allowances, unearned discounts, or special services 

to or from subcontractors, material vendors, or others which are not 

extended under like terms and conditions to other purchasers of 

material or services of equal credit rating. 

(j) A water well drilling contractor shall not permit subcon- tractors or material vendors on a specific contract to finance or 

guarantee his accounts. 

(k) A water well drilling contractor shall not convey to any subcontractor or material vendor any substantial inform.ation prior 

to the a ward of the particular subcontract relating to the bid of any 

other subcontractor or material vendor who has made a bid to him 

or to any other water well drilling contractor, nor shall he mislead 

or deceive any subcontractor or material vendor as to the amounts 

and conditiops of other bids for the purpose of obtaining a lower 

bid. 

ARTICLE VI-WATER WELL DRILLING CoNTRACTORs 

SECTION 1. Qualifications.-A water well drilling contractor shall 

be properly qualified by experience, equip1nent, and tools to bid upon 

and properly execute the contract which he undertakes. 

SEc. 2. A·ccounting and R eports.-A water well drilling contractor 

shall maintain a system of making reports, and shall keep adequate 

accounts of all moneys received and disbursed as provided for 

and/or approved by the National Industrial Control Committee 

for Water Well Drilling Contractors. 

SEc. 3. Contractual Agreements.-The following bases of contractual agreements are recognized as fair trade practices : cost of 

the work plus a fee, unit price, lump sum to be made up from unit 

prices openly stated on bid form and in contract and to be arrived 

at on the basis of unit prices as follows: (a) price for drilling; (b) 

price for pipe; (c) price for screen; (d) price for pump; (e) price 

for motor or other power; (f) developing and testing per hour; 

(g) incidentals to be definitely priced separately; (h) guarantee for 

workmanship and materials for one year or less. 

SEc. 4. Payments.-A water well drilling contractor shall demand 

and insist upon receiving the contract payments as they become 

due in lawful money of the United States or its equivalent, as pro-
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vided by the contract, and he shall not waive his right to receive 

any part of such contract payments, nor shall he return to the owner 

or his agent any money or render him any service or give him anything of value not required by the contract. 

SEc. 5. Surety.-A prequalified water well drilling contractor who 

has met the necessary qualifications entitling him to the work, but 

who is unable, due to conditions beyond his control, to obtain the 

proper surety required by the contract may agree with the owner 

and the Regional Control Committee for Water Well Drilling Contractors upon a suretyship of some other nature. 

SEc. 6. Disputes.-When arbitration as a method of settling disputed matters is agreed upon, the rules of procedure as established 

by the American Arbitration Association shall govern, except as 

otherwise required by law. Payment shall not be withheld from the 

parties affected exceeding that sufficient to cover the amounts in 

dispute. 

SEc. 7. General Reqwirements.-A water well drilling contractor, 

i.n his relations with subcontractors, material vendors, and other 

shall require such parties to adhere to the principles enunciated by 

this code or fair competition. 

ARTICLE VII-CoRRELATING INTERESTS 

To effectuate the purposes and the policy of the National Industrial Recovery Act and this code of fair competition for water well 

drilling contractors it is essential and requisite that, in a water w~ll 

drilling contract, all interested parties and participants, or their 

agents, be obligated to adhere and conform to the basic principles 

regulating it. Therefore, all such persons shall have correlative 

responsibility to adhere and conform to the basic principles of the 

National Industrial Recovery Act and this code of fair competition 

for water well drilling contractors. 

ARTICLE VIII-RULES AND REGULATIONS 

SECTION 1. The President may from time to time cancel or modify 

any order, approval, license, rule, or regulation issued under this title 

SEc. 2. Administrative 0 ommittee.-(a) To effectuate the purpose 

of the Code and provide for administrative control within the industry, there shall be established a" National Industrial Control Committee for Water Well Drilling Contractors ", consisting of one 

member from each State, Terntory, or Possession that operates 

under the N.R.A. In addition to these members there may be three 

members selected by the N.R.A. who shall be advisory only and 

shall not vote. There shall be three officers, the President, Secretary 

of Committees, and the Secretary of the American Association of 

Water Well Drillers-the President of the American Association of 

Water Well Drillers as Chairman, the Secretary of Committees 

of the American Association of Water Well Drillers as Vice Chairman, the Secretary of the American Association of Water Well 

Drillers as Corresponding Secretary. 

(b) This National Industrial Control Committee shall be elected 

within three months after the approval and signing of this code by 

the President of the United States. The representatives from each 

State, Territory, or Possession shall each be selected by a truly repre- .sentative group of water well drilling contractors of their State, 
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Territory, or Possession and it shall be their individual duty to 

select their representative in time to comply with this act. This 

representative must be a drilling contractor who has been in the 

well contracting business for five years last past or longer. 

(c) To effectuate immediately the purpose of the Code and provide 

for immediate administrative control within the industry, there is 

established a " Temporary National I ndustrial Control Committee 

for Water Well Drilling Contractors", as elected by water well 

drilling contractors representing the American Association of Water 

Well Drillers, the different state associations, and nonmember groups. 

The temporary National Industrial Control Committee shall function as the Administrative Committee until the permanent National 

Industrial Control Committee is elected as herein provided. 

SEc. 3. Regional Oommittees.-The representative from the State, 

Territory, or Possession elected to the National I ndustrial Control 

Committee shall be Chairman of his State or Regional committee and 

it shall be his duty to see that there is a committee of four additional members elected from his district, making a committee of 

five in all. Two of these members are to be what is known as small 

drilling contractors and doing the smaller work, and two of the 

members are to be selected from what is known as large drilling 

contractors doing the heavier work, or more extensive contracting. 

SEc. 4. (a) N ation.al 0 ontrol 0 ommittee.-The National I ndus- trial Control Committee for Water Well Drilling Contractors shall 

have full authority to make all needful rules and regulations for the 

administration and enforcement of the provisions of this Code, shall 

recommend to the President any supplements or revisions to this 

Code that may be necessary, and upon its own initiative, shall make 

such inquiry and investigation and take such action as may be necessary under the operation of this Code. This committee shall have 

full authority to establish subordinate State, local, and regional 

committees and prescribe such duties, rules, and regulations as are 

deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this Code and the 

National Industrial Recovery Act. 

(b) Amendments or revisions may be proposed to the President 

by water well drilling contractors, acting through their national 

trade association, designated as the American Association of vV ater 

'IV ell Drillers. SEc. 5. Ad1ninistration Ewpense.- All water well drilling contractors, as defined, who wish to receive the benefits of this Code, 

shall bear their proportionate share of the expense of the preparation and administration of this code of air competition under such 

rules and regulations as may be approved by the P resident of the 

United States. SEc. 6. Effective Date.- (a) This Code shall be effective when 

approved by the President of the United States. (b) This Code shall be applicable only to all construction work 

undertaken pursuant to contracts entered into or otherwise commenced after such approval date. 

Respectfully submitted. 

AMERICAN AssoCIATION OF WATER WELL D RILLERS, 

By T. W. THORP, S ec'y of Committees. 

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