J 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

CURTAIN CLEANING 

INDUSTRY 

AS SUBMITTED ON AUGUST 29, 1933 

REGISTRY No. 1714-33 

The Code for the Curtain Cleaning 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 

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W DO quR PART 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON: 1933 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. - - - - - - - - Price 5 cents 

V 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION-CURTAIN CLEANING 

INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 

ARTICLE I-PURPOSE 

In order to remove obstructions to the free flow of interstate and 

foreign commerce, to provide for the general welfare by promoting 

the organization of industry through the cooperative action of trade 

groups, to eliminate unfair competitive practices, to induce and 

maintain united action of labor and management under adequate 

Governmental sanctions and supervision, to aid in increasing the 

consumption of industrial and agricultural products through increased purchasing power, to reduce and relieve unemployment and 

protect against unemployment, to improve the standards and otherwise to rehabilitate our industry, this "Code of Fair Competition" 

is hereby set up under and by virtue of the authority of Title I, 

Section I, 73rd Congress, 1st Session, approved June 16th, 1933, and 

known as the " National Industrial Recovery Act." 

And the signatories hereto, 1nembers of the National Curtain 

C~eane_rs Association of America, in full and complete knowledge 

and understanding of the purposes set forth above, do hereby agree 

that the provisions of this Code, and all Rules and Regulations 

herein, and all such Regulations as may be by law issued relative 

thereto, shall constitute the Code of Fair Trade Practices by which 

this industry shall be guided in the conduct, management, and operation of the industrial plants and businesses constituting this industry. It is further understood and agreed that this Code when approved by the President of the United States or his Administrator, 

and all Rules herein, shall have the force and effect of law; that 

violations of this Code are to be vigorously prosecuted under the 

provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act; and that the 

signatories hereto pledge their aid and assistance in enforcing in this 

industry the Rules, Regulations, AgTeements, and Policies herein 

set forth. 

ARTICLE II-PARTICIPATION 

It is hereby understood and agreed that any person, firm, corporation, group, or association signing this Code become a member in 

the National Curtain Cleaners Association of America; and it is 

further understood and agreed that any person, firm, corporation, 

group, or association, not signatory hereto, upon application shall be 

admitted to membership in the National Curtain Cleaners Association of America: Provided, however, That any person, firm, corporation, group, or association engaged in the Curtain Cleaning industry shall agree to accept his 'or its share of the cost and responsibility 

jncidental to the operation of the said Association in like manner 

and on such terms or basis as applied to all members thereof. 

8911-33 (1) 
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ARTICLE III-DrvrsroNs OF INDUSTRY 

For the purpose of more perfect administration of this general 

Code the Curtain Cleaning industry shall be divided into subdivisions as set forth below : 

North, South, East, We8t, and Oent?-al Divisions.-Followino- are 

the states that constitute each division: b 

Northern Division.-Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Minnesota. 

Southern Division.-Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, North 

Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, 

Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. 

Eastern Division.-N ew York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsy 1-

vania, Rhode Island, Maryland, Maine, and Delaware. 

Wes tern Division.-Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, 

Utah, and California. 

Oenfral Division.-Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. 

Each Division shall designate its own administrative agency to 

cooperate with the Association executives in the working out of 

plans and policies, and in the enforcement of this Code, particularly 

with respect to those plans, policies, and enforcements peculiar to 

the particular division for whom said administrative agencies are 

accepted. Each particular division of the Curtain Cleaning industry shall, without interference from the Association at large or from 

any other divisions of the Curtain Cleaning industry, have the right 

to set up such Subsidiary Code of Ethics, Rules, and Regulations 

as may be necessary to that particular division of the Curtain 

Cleaning industry: Provided, however, That nothing in Subsidiary Codes shall interfere with, obstruct, or contravene the general Code herein set up, and 1nore particularly shall not contravene, 

obstruct, or impair the provisions of this Code as to minin1um wages, 

maximum hours, and other conditions of employment: And' Provided further, That all such Subsidiary Codes for any division of 

the Curtain Cleaning industry shall contain such provisions as may 

be required by law. 

ARTICLE IV-1fANDATORY PROVISION 

It is hereby understood and agreed that in the Curtain Cleaning 

industry, the following basic principles shall apply: 

(1) Employees shall have the right to oro·anize and bargain collectively through repr entatives of their own hoo ing, and shall 

be free from the interferenc , r . traint, or o r ion of employers 

of labor, or their agents, in the desio-nation of u h representatives 

or in self-organiza 10n or in oth r concerted a tiviti for the purp . e of 11 tiv bargainino- or th r mutual aid or pr t tion. 

(2) mploy e and no on s ekino- mpl ym nt shall b requir . l as a nditi n of empl yment to j in any mpany union 

or to r frain from j jning, organizing, r a si ting a labor organizati n of his wn choosincr. 
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(3) Employers shall comply with the maximum hours of labor, 

minimum rates of pay, and other conditions of employment, as 

prescribed by this Code subsequent to the approval by the President 

of the United States or his Administrator. 

(4) Nothing in this Code shall be construed to authorize any 

oppression or discrimination against small enterprises, except as 

may be necessary, under the approval of the President of the United 

States or his Administrator, to effectuate the purposes and policies 

of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

( 5) The President of the United States 1nay from time to time 

cancel or modify any Order, Approval, License, Rule, or Regulation 

contained herein or issued in connection herewith, as provided by 

law. 

( 6) Nothing in this Code shall be construed to interfere with the 

operation of the Act entitled "An Act to relieve the existing national 

-economic e1nergency by increasing agricultural purchasing power, 

to raise revenue for extraordinary expenses incurred by reason of 

such emergency, to provide emergency relief with respect to agricultural indebtedness, to provide for the orderly liquidation of jointstock land banks, and for other purposes", approved May 12, 1933, 

and known as the "Agricultural Adjustment Act." 

When approved, this Code shall be the standard of fair competition 

for the Curtain Cleaning industry or any subdivision of the Curtain 

'Cleaning industry, except as hereinbefore provided for. 

ARTICLE V-LABOR PROVISIONS 

Employees in the Curtain Cleaning industry shall be classified as 

follows: 

(a) Apprentices. 

(b) Semiskilled. 

( c) Skilled or Experienced. 

( d) Office Help. 

But no labor provisions of this Code as set up for this industry shall 

apply to executives, subordinate officials, departental heads, executive-office staffs and clerical forces, division foremen, superintendents, 

or others, receiving $35.00 or more per week, not physically engaged 

in the actual work of production, processing, or finishing. 

The following maximum hours for all classes of labor, and the 

exceptions thereto, are hereby set up and agreed to as a standard 

for this industry: The maximum working hours per week shall be 

forty ( 40) hours, excepting for a six weeks' period before the two 

principal holiday rush periods, i.e., six weeks before New Year's and 

six weeks before Easter. During these two periods, due to insufficient 

experienced help in our industry, we ask for the privilege of fifty-six 

( 56) hours per week if we find it necessary in order to get production 

out to the consumer. We ask this only in the event it is impossible 

to work otherwise-that is, with additional added operators and 

extra shifts in the actual work of production, processing, or finishing. 

The minimum wages for each class of labor is hereby fixed as a 

standard for this industry: 

(a) Apprentices, 25¢ per hour. 

(b) Semiskilled, 30¢ per hour. 

(c) Skilled or experienced, 40¢ per hour. 

( d) Office help, $15.00 per week. 
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ARTICLE VI-CosT Accou NTING PRon IONS 

Under the direction of Association executives, each division of 

the Curtain Cleaning industry shall proceed at once to set up for 

that division a standard method of Minimum cost accounting, which 

shall be used by all curtain cleaners within that di vision for the purpose of this section of this Code. 

And it shall be an unfair method of competition for any curtain 

cleaner in any such division to cut below the minimum cost as determined for that division by the said cost-accounting system. In any 

cost-accounting systein set up for any division the following basic 

principles must be adhered to: 

The total overhead e.xpenses, which includes everything, i.e., rent, 

wages, supplies, advertising, bad accounts, losses, taxes, depreciations, delivery service, office expenses, gas, light, heat, telephone, interest on investment, and any other minor items, adding thereto a 

reasonable profit, and then dividing this by the actual production 

of cleaning, you find a basic minimum cost of cleaning per pair of 

curtains. 

ARTICLE VII-INDUSTRY REGULATIONS 

(A) Marketing Oode.-The following Marketing Code, applying 

to all divisions of this industry and to which any division supplemental Code must correspond basically, is hereby agreed to as the 

standard for this industry: 

Three standard classifications of curtain cleaning are hereto set 

up, viz, Standard Size, Standard Materials, and Standard Styles, and 

in order to be fair to the users of our service in all di visions of this 

industry, the minimum cost prices of cleaning must be regulated ac- cording to the three above classifications, to be figured on the costaccounting system in Article VI of this Code. 

(B) Ethical Provisions.-The following Ethical Provisions are 

hereby set up and agreed to as the standard for this industry, and 

failure to comply with those things herein required or the practice 

of those thing condemned, shall be construed as a violation of this 

Code. 

1. No Cleaner shall in any way speak of his competitors in a way 

as to cause a defamation of his character or that of his work. 

2. No Cleaner shall make any price discrimination, whatsoever, 

from the standard schedule as set forth by his division, by allowing discounts, free work, no charge, unfair allowances, wrong classifications, false invoicing, or contracts that would not r epre ent an 

actual ba ic cost as per chedule. 

3. o Cleaner hall make misleading tatem nts or mi representation in a lv rti ino-. 

4. o Cl aner hall make false, untrue, or deceptive cla ification · ·oncernino- ize , mat rials, or styles. 

5. · 1 aner hall make all wan · of r t r bat r fund · er dit., or · mmi ,.ion , whether in the form of mon y or oth r i , 

in or<l r to tain work. 

o Cic.,an 3 1' • hall nti mpl r ). fr m th mpl of ·omp •ti or . . 
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7. No Cleaner . ·hall make any contracts that will in any way 

grant protection to the cu tomer against price increa es . 

. Every leaner mu t endeavor to render, to the best of his 

ability, a quality of work and service that will be a credit to his 

bu ines as well as that of the entire curtain-cleaning indu try. 

Each divi ion of the indu. try may in its Supplemental Code 

adopt such additional Trade Practice Rules a may be necessary to 

the proper conduct of that particular division: Provided, however, 

That nothing herein, or in any Subdivision Code, hall be con trued 

to promote monopolies or monopolistic practices. 

ARTICLE "\TIII-PRoorrc TION Co TROL 

Recognizing the inadequacy of this Code to effectuate for this 

industry the policy and purpose of the National Indu trial Recovery 

Act, and for the purpo e of more effectively carrying out the purposes of that Act, there is hereby set up for this industry the 

following Control-of-Production Provisions: 

The Administrative Agencies of each of the five divisions of the 

curtain-cleaning industry shall have the right to decide the necessity 

for additional plants or retail outlets in the curtain-cleaning industry. 

ARTICLE IX-SPECIAL PROVISION ..) 

In this industry it is hereby agreed that, in order more perfectly 

to effectuate the policy of the National Industrial Recovery Act, 

the following Special Provisions shall apply to all persons, firms, or 

corporations engaged in the curtain-cleaning industry: 

1. No Child Labor, under 16 years of age, to be used. 

2. If anyone is found to be guilty of violating any provisions of 

this Code, the charge shall be made in writing, setting forth the true 

facts of the case, to the Ad1ninistrative Agency of that particular division, who will hold a fair and just hearing and report the outcome 

to the National Administrator of the Association, who will then act 

according to the prescribed rules and regulations of the National 

Industrial Recovery Act. 

ARTICLE X-SIGN ATORIES 

To all which the undersigned, representatives of the curtain cleaning industry in the United States, hereby agree as the Standard 

Code of Trade Practice and Competition for this industry. 

FRED. J. MAYBACH, 

THE NATION AL CURTAIN CLEANERS 

AssocIATION OF AMERICA, 

GEORGE R. MATHIEU, President. 

CHAS. F. KuNTz, 2nd Vice Pres. 

MRs. F. A. BENNETT, Treaswrer. 

1st Vice Pres. MRS. B. 0. HIGBEE, 

Secretary. 

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UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 

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