Registry No. 1213-08 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

PROP·OSED CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

ELECTROPLATING, METAL POLISHING 

AND RUST PROOFING INDUSTRY 

AS SUBMITTED ON AUGUST 30, 1933 

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The Code for the Electroplating 

Metal Polishing, and Rust Proofing Industry 

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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 
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SUBMITTED BY 

THE MASTER ELEOTROPLATERS INSTITUTE 

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CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION SUBMITTED BY THE 

MASTER ELECTROPLATERS INSTITUTE OF THE UNITED 

STATES ON BEHALF OF THE ELECTROPLATING, METAL 

POLISHING, AND RUST PROOFING INDUSTRIES OF THE 

UNITED STATES 

To effectuate the policy of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act during the period of einergency mentioned in said Act, 

by reducing and relieving unemployment, improving of standards of 

labor, eliminating competitive practice destructive of the interest 

of the public, employees and employers, and for the purpose of otherwise promoting and rehabilitating industry, by increasing the con~ 

8Umption of industrial and agricultural products and increasing 

purchasing power and in other respects, the following provisions 

are established as a Code of Fair Competition for the electroplating, 

metal polishing, and rust proofing industries of the United States. 

ARTICLE I-DEFINITIONS 

1. The Master Electroplaters Institute is a voluntary trade asso~ 

ciation formed by representatives from the electroplating, Inetal 

polishing, and rust proofing industries of the United States. 

The term "Board of Governors" as used herein shall mean the 

Board of Governors of the Master Electroplaters Institute of the 

United States. 

The term" Member" as hereinafter used shall include any person, 

firm, partnership, corporation, or association engaged in the business 

of electroplating, me~al polishing, and rust proofing, or employing 

departments in its factory or business, where ~uch electroplating, 

metal polishing, or rust proofing is done either on a jobbing or contract or manufacturing basis. 

The term" Institute" as' hereinafter used shall refer to the Master 

Electroplaters Institute of the United States. 

Membership in the Master Electroplate:rs Institute of the United 

States is open to all persons, firms, partnerships, corporations, and/or 

associations engaged in the business of electroplating, metal polishing, and rust proofing who subscribe to its constitution and bylaws 

and accept his or its share of the costs and responsibilities of such 

institute and agree to adopt and abide by this Code or such Code 

governing such industry as may be final1y approved by the President 

of the United States. 

2 .. Th~s Code shall be in effect. commencing the first Monday followmg Its approval by the President of the United States. 

3. \iVith a view to keeping the Pre ident of the United ·states informed as to the observance or nonobservance of this Code of Fair 

9ompetition and as to whether appropriate step are being taken 

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to effectuate the provisions and purpose of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act, each member of this Institute shall furnish certified 

r eports to the Board of Governors of this Institute when and in 

such form as said Board shall prescribe, and, in the event any member shall fail, r efuse, or neglect to furnish any information required 

by the President of the United States, then the member shall permit authorized r epresentatives of the Board of Governors of this. 

Institute to make such examinations of the records of each member 

of this Institute as may, in its judgment, be necessary for the purpose of securing information required to effectuate the declared 

policies of the National Recovery Act. 

4. All complaints of unfair competition shall be presented in writing to the President of the Master Electroplaters Institute, and a 

ropy to the Secretary, and it shall be the President's duty to appoint 

as an arbitration committee one person from the complaining constituent member or members and one person from the alleged offending constituent member or members, and these two shall nominate a third person from among the constituent members to act 

on such committee. In the event of the two arbitrators first appointed 

f ailing to agree within forty-eight hours on the third person, then 

in that event they shall report that fact to the arbitration committee 

of the Board of Governors of the Institute, who shall act and then 

make their award in writing. 

An award, in writing, shall be filed with the Secretary of the 

Institute and shall be final, except for being overruled by the 

National Recovery Administration. Failure to comply with said 

award shall be punished as provided in the bylaws of the Institute. 

5. All communications and conferences with the President of the 

United States, or his agents, concerning the approval or amendment 

of this Code, or of any provisions thereof, shall be through the 

Board of Governors of the Institute. 

6. Any and all information, with respect to sales volume, costs and 

other details of operations as may be furnished by the members 

of this Institute to the properly constituted officers, committees, or 

representatives of this Institute, shall be considered confidental and 

shall not be supplied or made available to others, except to the 

duly appointed and constituted representatives of the President of 

the United States. 

ARTICLE II-WAGES, HoURs OF LABOR, AND RuLEs OF FAIR 

CoMPETITION 

1. The minimum wages of factory employees covered hereby shall 

be at the following hourly rates-to adult male factory employees: 

In cities having 500,000 population or over, 40 cents. 

In cities having 250,000 or over or less than 500,000, 371!2 cents. 

In cities or towns having less than 250,000 population, 3614 cents. 

To male factory employees over 16 and less than 21 years of age 

and to female factory employees in the respective localities above 

mentioned, a differential of 5 cents below the respective hourly rates 

above mentioned. 

2. Factory employees covered hereby (excluding supervisory staff 

•and all employees engaged in the preparation, care, and maintenance 
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·of plant, machinery, and facilities of and for production) shall work 

·not more than 48 hours in any one week, and not more than 40 hours 

per week averaged for any six months' period. 

3. Office and salaried employees covered hereby receiving less than ·$35.00 per week shall work not more than 48 hours in any one week, 

and not more than 40 hours per week averaged for any six months' 

:period. 

4. The minimum wages of office and salaried employees covered 

hereby shall not be less than the following weekly rates : 

In cities having 500,000 population or over, at the rate of $15.00 

:per week. 

In cities having 250,000 population or over, and less than 500,000 

_population, at the rate of $14.50 per week. 

In cities or towns having less than 250,000 population, at the rate 

of $14.00 per week. 

5. The Institute may fix by a suitable resolution of its Board of 

Governors, a minimum for certain approved experienced laborers, 

who are now receiving and will receive an hourly rate greater than 

the minimum established by this Code. 

6. Each member shall desist from price cutting and eliminate 

destructive trade practices to the end that the income of said member 

may be restored to levels that will avoid the further depletion 

·and/ or destruction of capital assets. 

7. Quality of products and workmanship are primary elements 

·entering into fair competition. It shall be the responsibility of the 

local or sectional group organized with the approval of the national 

institute to administer this code of fair competition and to determine a formula for quality when specifications are not submitted 

by the customer; also to set up the necessary organization to see that 

such formula or formulae are being properly followed and carried 

·out. 

8. Selling or offering for sale any product to purchasers or 

·prospective purchasers with the quality not stipulated in accordance 

with the preceding paragraph hereof, shall be deemed an unfair 

practice. 

9. Each member shall not reduce the compensation for employment now in excess of the minimum wages hereby agreed to (notwithstanding that the hours worked in such employment may be 

hereby reduced), and to increase the pay for such employment by 

·an equitable readjustment of all pay schedules. 

The foregoing shall be construed so that the policy governing the 

readjustment of wages of all employees in what may be termed the 

higher wage groups requires not a fixed rule but equitable readjustment in view of long-standing differentials in pay schedules; and 

have due regard for the fact that pay rolls are being heavily 

increased, and that employees will receive benefits from shorter 

hours, from the re-employment of other workers and from stabilized 

employment which should increase their yearly earnings. 

10. Each member agrees to support and patronize those establish-

,ments which also have signed a code of fair competition and are 

listed as members of N.R.A. 

11. Where, before June 16, 1933, any member had contracts to 

purchase goods at a fixed price for delivery, during the period of 
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thi · agreement, aid member will 1nake appropriate adjustment of 

said fixed price to meet any increased cost caused by the seller having 

become bound by any code of fair competition approved by the 

Pre ident of the United States, providing this shall not be interpreted a applying to th epurcha e of raw material or semifinished 

material to be u ed in the manufacture of goods, and/or goods 

sold in either export or dome tic markets under fixed price contracts 

which were in exi tence prior to August 1 1933 if the purchaser, 

under such contract , refu e to make appropriate adjustment. 

12. Each me1nber agrees not to employ any person under sixteen 

years of age, except that per ons between fourteen and ixteen 

n1ay be employed (but not in manufacturing or mechanical department ) for not to exceed three hours per day and those hours 

between 7: 00 A.~I. and 7: 00 P.NI. in uch work as will not interfere 

with hour of clay chool. 

13. No member shall ell any merchandise or perform any service 

below a reasonable co t. Reasonable co t shall mean the current 

market co t of raw materials and supplie plu a tandard allowance based on the member book of account, for the cost of power, 

heat, light water, ob ole cence, repairs, depreciation, and maintenance of building and equipment; plus the cost ratio of production to executive upervi ory and ngineering (both research and 

development) expense; plus office salaries and expenses; plus sales 

co t which shall include adverti ing, promotional distribution and 

delivery expense. Such overhead a rent taxes in urance, professional, and collection expen e hall be prorated and be con trued as 

part of the cost. 

14. A sati factory cost account systen1 shall be adopted by the 

Mater Electroplaters In titute to become effective upon approval 

and at a date et by the Board of Governors, and such systen1 shall 

be u eel by all member in allocating the item in the preceding 

paragraph in determining the cost of pecific articles. And, in the 

event of a member producing more than one article, each shall be 

considered separately in computing costs. 

15. N othino· in this Code shall prevent the selling of dropped 

lines, obsolete or surplus tock at less than cost. In the event of 

financial stress when it might become necessary to convert ome or 

all of the inventory into cash at acrifice prices to move the same, 

the member so embarra eel shall fir t report the contingency to the 

Board of Governors who, for a period of forty-eight hours, shall 

endeavor to find a 1narket for the same within the Institute before 

said inventory shall be offered publicly. 

16. Rebates or trade discounts and/ or delivery expense allowed 

from invoice price shall be deducted therefrom in determining the 

net selling price. 

17. No member may re ort to falsely imputing to any other member any dishonorable conduct inability to perform contract or 

questionable credit standing for the purpo e of deceiving or mi leading cu ton1er or prospective purchaser . 

18. No member may maliciou ly entice away the emploTee of any 

other member with the purpo e of hampering injuring or embarra -

sing aid member in its bu ines . 

19. In the pirit of granting to the employee of thi indu try the 

lei ure of week-ends, each member .·hall clo e hi plant from atur-
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day noon until Monday morning. Should there arise a necessity to 

fabricate on Saturday P.lVI. and Sundays, except because of the fault 

of the member or accident arising beyond his control, said member 

shall charge price and one half for products fabricated on said weekends; and the workers so employed to work from Saturday noon 

until Monday morning, shall be paid at the rate of time and one 

third for such employment. 

20. Any conduct which might be construed as bad faith and unbecoming of fair. dealing in general, shall be prohibited and subject, 

upon conviction thereof, to such penalties as may be prescribed in 

the bylaws of the Master Electroplaters Institute. 

ARTICLE III-LABOR 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 7 (A) of Title I of the 

National Industrial Recovery Act, the followina provisions are coneli tions of this Code: 

(A) That 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 employer of 

labor, or their agents, in the designation of uch repre entative or in 

self-organization or in other concerted activitie for the purpose of 

collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection; (B) that no 

employee and no one seeking employm.ent shall be required as a condition of employment to join any company union or to refrain from 

joining, organizing, or a sisting a labor organization of hi own 

choosing; and (C) that employers shall comply with the maximum 

hours of labor, minimum rates of pay, and other condition of employment, approved or prescribed by the President. 

In agreement with said provisions, the members of thi Institute 

propose to continue the open shop policy heretofore followed and 

under which unusually satisfactory and harmonious relation with 

employees have been maintained. 

The selection, retention, and advancement of employees will be 

on the basis of individual merit without regard to their affiliation or 

nonaffiliation with any labor or other organization. 

ARTICLE IV-GENERAL 

1. This Code may be amended or modified, subject to the approval 

of the President of the United States, by a majority of the members 

of this Institute present, by a viva voce vote, or by written ballot, at 

any regular meeting, or one called pursuant to notice for that expre s 

purpose. 

2. Each n1ember shall be held strictly accountable for any misfeasance or malfeasance of its officers or employees in not carrying out 

the spirit and letter of this Code, or of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

3. If any provision of this Code shall be unacceptable to the President ot the United States, it shall invalidate only that provision and 

the remainder of the Code shall remain in full force and virtue. 

4. This Code, or any provision thereof, shall be automatically 

cancelled to the extent necessary to conform to any action by the 
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President of the United States, pur uant to Section 10 (B) of 

N.I.R.A. 

5. This Code may be signed in counterparts and each copy thereof 

so igned shall be deemed an original constituting one instrument. 

Firm Name Signed Br Address City State 

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AMENDMENTS TO THE CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION OF THE MASTER 

ELECTROPLATERS INSTITUTE RECOMMENDED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE 

INDUSTRY OPERATING IN THE CHICAGO DISTRICT 

Substitute for Article I, Sections 3, 4, 5, and 6, the following 

sections 3, 3 (a), 4, 5, and 6: 

3. With a view to keeping the President of the United States 

informed as to the observance or nonobservance of this code of fair 

competition, and as to whether appropriate steps are being taken 

to effectuate the provisions and purposes of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act, each member of this Institute shall, except as hereinafter otherwise provided in section 3 (a) of this Article I, furnish 

certified reports to the Board of Governors of this Institute, when 

and in such form as the said Board shall prescribe. The Board of 

Governors shall, subject to the prm isions hereinafter contained in 

section 3 (a) of this Article I, have the power and authority to cooperate with the Administrator and other proper Government officials in the enforcement of the code and to do all things proper to 

enable this industry to function under this code and to effectuate 

the declared policies of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

3 (a). The members of the industry operating in any city having 

a population of more than 250,000, as shown by the 1930 Federal 

Census, and in the immediate trade area of any such city, shall have 

the right to elect a district code committee for their own di trict, 

consisting of uch number as the members in each such district shall 

determine. The said district code committee hall haYe full power 

and authority from time to time to require certifiE·d report from the 
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members of their respective districts in such :form as they shall pre- scribe, with a view to keeping the President o:f the United States 

informed as to the observance or nonobservance o:f this code and as 

to whether or not appropriate steps are being taken to effectuate 

the provisions and purposes o:f the National Industrial Recovery 

Act, and all such reports to district code committees in those districts in which such committees have been :formed shall be in lieu 

o:f the reports required to be made by section 3 o:f this Article I to 

the Board o:f Governors o:f the Master Electroplaters Institute. The 

said district code committees shall have the power and authority to 

cooperate with the administrator and other proper Government 

officials in the enforcement o:f the code within their respective districts and to do all things proper to enable this industry to :function 

under this code and to give effeot, within the said districts, to the 

rules, regulations, and conditions herein contained or promulgated 

hereunder. 

4. Whenever there shall have been established a district code 

committee as herein provided :for, all complaints o:f unfair competition or o:f violations o:f the code within such district shall be presented 

in writing to the district code committee, and said district code committee may in its discretion refer any or all o:f such complaints to 

the President o:f the Master Electroplaters Institute in the manner 

herein provided :for, or may determine :for itself the :facts with respect 

to any such complaint and take such action as it may deem advisable 

to enforce the provisions o:f this code within its district. A decision 

so made in writing by any district code committee shall be final, 

except :for being overruled by the National Industrial Recovery 

Administration. Failure to comply with any such decision shall be 

punished as provided :for in the rules and regulations adopted :for the 

conduct o:f such district code committee. All complaints o:f unfair 

competition not required to be filed with a district code committee 

shall be presented in writing to the President o:f the Master Electroplaters Institute and a copy to the Secretary, and it shall be the 

President's duty to appoint an arbitration committee, one person 

:from the complaining or constituent member or members and one 

person :from the alleged defendant constituent member or members, and these two shall nominate a third person :from among the constituent members to act on such committee. In the event o:f the two 

arbitrators first appointed :failing to agree within 48 hours on the 

third person, then in that event they shall report that fact to the 

arbitration committee o:f the Board o:f Governors o:f the Institute who 

shall act and thereupon make their award in writing. An award, in writing, shall be filed with the Secretary o:f the Institute and shall 

be final, except :for being overruled by the National Recovery 

Administration. Failure to comply with any such award shall be 

punished as provided in the bylaws o:f the Institute. 

In case any question shall arise under this code between any o£ 

t he said districts, or between a member within a district and one 

outside such district, the question or dispute shall be presented to 

the President o:f the Master Electroplaters Institute and disposed 

o:f by arbitration as hereinbefore in this section provided :for. 

5. All communications and conferences with the President of the 

United States, or his agents, concerning the approval or amendment 

o:f this Code, or o:f any provisions thereof, shall be through t he Board 
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of Governors of the In~titute provided that nothing herein shall be 

deemed to prevent the respective district code committees hereinbefore provided for from cooperating with the administrator or otl1er 

proper Government officials in the enforcement of this code within 

their respective districts. 

6. In order to assure confidential treatment of the individual 

figures all reports, data, and information which the said Board of 

Governors of the In titute and the said district code committees are 

empowered to collect or receive shall be collected or received by an 

agent appointed by aid Board of Governors or by said district code 

committee, a the ca e may be, not a member or connected with a 

member of the indu try. The agent so collecting or receiving any 

such reports, data, and information shall keep the same confidential 

except when required by the administrator for the proper enforcement of this code and except that all such reports, data, and information shall be fully available at all times to the duly appointed and 

con titutecl repre entative of the President of the United States. 

Sub titute for Article II section I, the following ection I : 

1. The minimum wages of factory employees covered hereby shall 

be at the following hourly rate -to adult male factory employees: 

In citie having 500,000 population or over or in the immediate 

trade area of such a city 40 cents per hour. 

In citie having 250,000 population or over or less than 500,000 

population or in the immediate trade area of such a city, 371/z cents 

per hour. 

In cities or town having less than 250,000 population, or in the 

immediate trade area of uch a city or town, 3614 cent per hour. 

To male factory employee over 16 and less than 21 years of age 

and to female factory employees in the respective localities above 

mentioned a differential of 10 cents below the respectiYe hourly rates 

above mentioned, provided that in no case shall the minimum wage 

be less than 30 cents per hour. 

Eliminate ection 5 and 9 of Article II. 

Substitute for Article IL sections 13 and 14, the following ections 

13 and 14: 

13. No member shall sell any merchandise or perfonn any service 

below a reasonable cost. A reasonable cost shall n1ean the current 

1narket co t of raw materials and supplies plu a standard allowance 

based on the member's books of account for the cost of power, heat,. 

light, water, obsole cence, repairs, depreciation, maintenance of buildings and equipn1ent, labor, and interest on bonds and other funded 

indebtedness· plus the cost ratio of production to executive, upervisory and engineering (both research and development) ex pen e; 

plus office salaries and expenses; plus sales co t expense which shall 

include advertising, promotional distribution, and delivery expen e. 

Such overhead as rent, taxes, insurance, professional, and collection 

expen es shall be prorated and be construed as part of the co t. 

14. A satisfactory cost account systmn shall be adopted by tl~e 

Ma ter Electroplaters Institute to become effective upon approval 

and at a date set by the Board of Governors, and such y ten1 shall 

be used by all members in allocating the items in the preceding paragraph in determining the cost of specific articles; provided, however, that such cost account sy tem shall not be binding upon the 
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members of the industry operating in any district having a district 

code committee until the same shall have likewise been accepted and 

adopted by such district code committee. In the event of a member 

producing more than one article each shall be considered separately 

in computing costs. 

Substitute for Article IV, Section I, the following Section I: 

1. This code may be amended or modified, subject to the approval 

of the President of the United States, by a majority of the members of this Institute present by a viva voce vote or by written ballot 

at any regular meeting, or one called pursuant to notice for that 

express purpose; provided, however, that no such amendment or 

modification of this code shall be binding upon any district herein 

provided for which shall not have approved the same by a majority 

vote of the members in such district or by the action of the district 

code committee in such district. 

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UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 

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