Corrected Registry No. 1741-1-08 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

TRANSIT INDUSTRY 

AS APPROVED ON SEPTEMBER 18, 1933 

JIY 

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 

........ J .,, .. 

'100 "" ----

U. DEPO9'T0RY 

'-•-- ----- 1. Executive Order of President Roosevelt 

2. Report of Administrator 

3. Report of Deputy Administrator 

4. Text of Code 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

W ASHINGTO~ : 1933 

For •le b:, the Superintendent or Documents, Wash~ton, D.C. • • • • - • - • Price 5 cc.u&s 
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EXECUTIVE ORDER 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY 

An application having been duly made, pursuant to and in full 

compliance with the provisions of Title I of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933, for my approval of a Coda 

of Fair Competition for the Transit Industry, and hearings having 

been held thereon and the Administrator having rendered his report 

containing an analysis of the said Code of Fair Competition together with his recommendations and findings with respect thereto, 

and the Administrator having found that the 5aid Code of Fair 

Competition complies in all respects with the pertinent provisions 

of Title I of said Act and that the requirements of clauses (1) 

and (2) of Subsection (a) of Section 3 of the said Act have been met. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of 

the United States, pursuant to the authority vested in me by Title I 

of the National Industrial Recovery Act,. approved June 16, 1933, 

and otherwise, do adopt the findings anct a pp rove the report and 

recommendations of the Administrator and do order that the said 

Code of Fair Competition be and it is hereby approved, subject to 

the following conditions: 

(1) In approving the Code of Fair Competition for the Transit 

Industry, it is to be understood that paragraph 2 of Article VII, 

refers to all labor agreements arrived at by collective bargaining 

and that as to the language of this paragraph, the approval shall 

be construed to mean that existing labor contracts between members 

of the industry and employees may be continued in effect to their 

various expiration dates, unless modified by mutual agreement, but 

are not incorporated as a part of the Code. "\Vhere the provisions 

of any such expiring contracts include extensions or renewals thereof 

hy arbitration or otherwise, such provisions may have the same force 

and effect as other provisions of such contracts, but in the process 

of extension or renewal of any such contracts, as provided by their 

terms and conditions, no working hours shall be set up which are 

in excess of the maximum allowed in this Code, and the minimum 

wage provisions shall not be less than those provided in this Code. 

(2) The American Transit Association shall as soon as possible 

after the effective date of this Code amend its Constitution and Bylaws wherever it may be necessary so that in the judgment of the 

.Administrator there will be no inequitable restrictions imposed on 

membership in the Association. 

Approval recommended : 

HuoH S. JoHNSON. 

Administrator. 

THE ,v HITE HousE, 

September 18. 1933. 

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. 

132u6°-133-106-33 cm> 
The PRESIDENT, 

SEPTEMBER 15, 1933. 

The White House. 

MY DEAR Mn. PREsmENT: I have the honor to submit and recommend for your apptQval the Code of Fair Competition for the 

Transit Industry. 

The following exhibits are included or attached-: 

(1) Final Cotle Submitted. . (2) Notice of Hearing. 

(3) Statement of Procedure. 

( 4) Transcript of the Records. 

(-5) Statistical Analysis of the Division of Economic Research and 

Planning. 

( 6) Report of Deputy. 

An analysis of the provisions of the Code has been made by the 

Administration. I find that the Code co~plies with the requirements of Clauses 1 and 2, Subsection (a) of Section 3 of the National 

Industrial Act. 

I am, my dear Mr. President, 

Very sincerely yours, 

(Signed) 

(IV) 

HUGH S. JOHNSON, 

.Administrator. 
SEPTE:\IBER 15, 1933. 

To: General Hugh S. Johnson, Administrator. 

From: Malcolm Muir, Deputy Administrator. 

Subject: Report on Code of Fair Competition for Transit Industry. 

This is a report of the hearing_on the Code of Fair Competition 

for the Transit Industry of the United States, conducted in ,v a.shington on the 29th of August 1933 in accordance with the provisions 

of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

Reports by the following are included or attached: 

1. Industrial Advisory Board. 

2. Consumer's Advisory Board. 

3. Labor Advisory Board. 

4. Legal Division. 

5. Division of Economic Research and Planning. 

This Code has the approval of the Industrial, Consumeri9, and 

Labor Advisory Boards, and of the Legal Division and the Division 

of Economic Planning. 

Approval of the Code by the Legal Division is based on the condition that Paragraph 2 of Article VI I be called specifically to the 

Administrator's attention, and that the proposed Executive Order 

include, as it does, a condition that existing labor contracts are not 

incorporated as part of the Code. This paragraph ( Article II-2) 

states in substance that companies under the Code and representatives 

of labor agree to adhere to existing labor contracts. Inasmuch as 

both labor and industry have approved the provision, the Deputy 

Administrator joins with the Labor Advisor in strongly recommending that it be retained. 

LABOR PROVISIONS 

Maximum working hours are established according to classes of 

employees, ranging from 40 hours per week for general office employees up to 48 hours per week for the workers directly engaged in 

the servicing and operation of transportation vehicles. To care for 

requirements peculiar to the Transit Industry, the Code permits the 

maximum hours to be averaged over a six-month period, also for an 

allowance ( above the 48-hour maximum) of not more than six hours 

per week in the time worked by the operating class of employees. 

The minimum wage is to be not less than 40 cents per hour for 

workers on an hourly rate. If the hourly rate was less than 40 cents 

an hour on July 15, 1929, the rate under the Code may be lower, but 

not less than 30 cents an hour. For salaried office workers a minimum is provided of from $15.00 to $12.00 per week, varying with 

population. Employment of persons under 16 years of age is 

prohibited. 

(V) 
VI 

ECONOMIC EFFECT OF CODE 

Under the recommended Code, the Transit Industry will reemploy 

7,250 additional workers, according to an estimate made by the 

Division of Economic Research and Planning. This will increase 

the annual pay roll of the industry by some $11,000,000, or about 

31⁄2%. The actual number of additional workers may be somewhat 

less than the 7,250 mentioned, in proportion to the number of workers 

coming under existing labor contracts that permit a work week in 

excess of the maximum f resented in the Code. 

The income account o the transit industry, representing an inve t- ment of more than four billion dollars, with an additional billion 

dollars invested in the manufacturing and distribution of eleetrieal 

energy, shows a net loss of about $6,110,000 in 1932, as against a net 

income of about $81,570,000 in 1929. Because of this financial situation it is believed that the burden of increased wages, which the 

industry seemed willing to assume under the Code, is all that can 

be fairly expected at the present time. 

FINDINGS 

The Deputy Administrator finds that: 

(a) The Code as recommended complies in all respects with the 

pertinent provisions of Title I of the Act, including without limitation, subsection (a) of Section 7, and subsection (b) of Section 10 

thereof. and that 

(b) The American Transit Association, the applicant group, is 

truly representative of the Transit Industry, although its Constitution and bylaws might possibly be used to prevent members of the 

Industry from becoming members of the Association. Because of 

this situation it is believed that the a.pproval of the Code should be 

subject to the condition, as incorporated in the proposed Executive 

Order, that the American Transit Association amend its bylaws so . that any inequitable conditions will be eliminated. 

( c) The Code as recommended is not designed to promote monopolies or to eliminate or oppress small enterprises and will not operate to discriminate against them, and will tend to effectuate the policy 

of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

It is recommended, therefore, that this Code be immediately 

approved. 

Respeetfully submitted. 

MALCOLM Mura, 

De'f)'Uty AdminJstrator • 

• 
CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE TRANSIT 

INDUSTRY 

ARTICLE I-PURPOSES 

To effectuate the policies of Title I of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act, the following provisions are submitted by the American Transit Association on behalf of and for the Transit Industry, 

and upon approval by the President shall be the standard of fair 

competition for this Industry. 

To the end that the Transit Industry may do its part in national 

economic recovery and carry out the purposes set forth above, the 

proponents of this Code represent that it is necessary that this Code 

reflect some of the fundamental natural differences between this 

Industry and production and distribution industries, which are as 

follows: 

1. The Transit Industry generally is unable to pass on to the consumer increased costs resulting from its effort to carry out the purposes of the National Industrial Recovery Act, because (a) its 

rates are controlled by State regulatory authority or municipal 

franchise and (b) even if increased fares were permitted, they are 

now, with few exceptions, at the upper economic limit and further 

increases would not produce increased revenue. 

2. Wage rates of transit labor have been reduced less than in 

most other industries, having been decreased an average of less than 

10 percent from the peak levels of 1929-30. Freedom from seasonal 

fluctuation in employment sustains annual employee earnings, and 

voluntary spreading of work has kept unemployment to a minimum. 

3. The operating units within this Industry in general are not 

in competition with each other, and when such competition exists 

it is, with very few exceptions, subject to full regulation by state 

authority or municipal franchise. But though regulated as to competition within the Industry, mass transportation is subject to keen 

competition from automobiles operating for hire as taxicabs, service 

cars, or on a share-expense basis with little or no control by public 

regulatory bodies. 

ARTICLE II-DEFINITIONS 

(A) The term" Transit Industry", as used herein, shall mean and 

include: 

1. Electric railways and trolley bus lines transporting passengers 

by electric car or trolley bus; provided that electric railways engaged 

in both intrastate and interstate commerce may operate either the 

intrastate or interstate portions of their business, or both, under this 

Code unless prevented by Federal law. 

2. Automotive buses transporting passengers solely within State 

lines, except when engaged in interstate commerce. 

(1) 
2 

3. Automotive buses transporting passengers 1n interstate commerce or in both intrastate and interstate commerce where such 

operations are conducted entirely within a single metropolitan area 

or within a group of municipalities when the transportation service 

is essentially urban or suburban in character. 

4. The performance of all service and the transaction of all business incident to the operation of the foregoing facilities. 

{a} No new bus route or bus line or extensions to existing bus 

routes or lines shall be established in interstate commerce without 

also complying with the licensing and rate provisions of any Code 

of Fair Competition adopted for the :Motor Bus Industry relating 

thereto; 

(b) The agency set up by the provisions of Article VI, A-4 hereof, 

shall have jurisdiction to hear and finally decide all disputes in 

regard to a specific route or line being or not being engaged in 

interstate commerce beyond the limitations provided for in paragraph 3 of this Article. 

(B) The term "employee", as used herein, includes any person 

engaged in any phase of the Transit Industry, irrespective of the 

method of payment of his compensation or of the nature of his 

interest otherwise, in said Industry. 

(C) The term "person", as used herein, includes, but shall not 

be limited to, natural persons, trusts, trustees, receivers, trustees in 

bankruptcy, partnerships, associations, private corporations, an<l 

municipal corporations and other governmental agencies to the fulJ 

extent permitted by law. 

(D) The term" member of the Industry", as used herein, includes 

all employers of the aforesaid employees and any person operating 

a vehicle in the Transit Industry on his own behalf, irrespective of 

whether he be an employer. 

(E) The term "effective date", as used herein, means the fourteenth day after this Code shall have been approved by the President 

of the United States. 

(F) Population for the purposes of this Code shall be determined 

by reference to the 1930 Federal Census. 

ARTICLE III-MAXIMUM ,v ORIUNG HouRs 

On and after the effective date the following employees in the 

Transit Industry shall not work or be permitted to work in exce3s 

of the following hours in any one week except as hereinafter set 

forth, or as otherwise provided in existing labor agreements: 

Hours per wee'k 

A. General office employees_________________________________ 40 

B. General shop employees_______________________________ 44 

C. Car house and garage service employees, maintenance, 

track, line, power house, and substation department employees ____________________________________________ 48 

D. Trainmen, bus operators, ticket agents, and related transportation groups______________________________________ 48 

With an allowance not to exceed 6 hours per week, 

as hereinafter set forth. The Transit Industry recognizes the desirability of an eight-hour clay and 48-hour 

week, but many of the companies cannot now ask 

their men to accept the reduction in their wages resulting from such a reduction in hours and it is impossible 

for the Industry to assume the burden of an increasa 
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ln the hourly rates of pay 1:o off set such r€duction. 

The Indus.try is required. to provide practically continuous serv.ice, and a greater part of it for an 18-hoor 

period or more each day; its vehicles must be dispatched 

from car houses or garages sing1y and not in groups 

leaving at the same instant, and their return is made in 

a simila.-rly irregu1ar mshion, according to the varying 

demands for service. In dividing the work among this 

class of employees, notwithstanding the fact that every 

effort may be made to equalize the number of honrs 

worked, substantial variations in length of runs ( day's 

work for this class of employees) cannot be avoided. 

Therefore employees in this class may work on a graduated schedule of hours, provided that no such employee 

shall be allowed to work 'in excess of said 48 hours by 

more than 6 hours per week. This provision of maximum 

hours shall be considered as fully complied with if the 

average number of hours per week for any individual 

measured over a six-months' period shall fall within 

the prescribed maximum. This maximum shall be 

reached by not more than 10 percent of the total number 

of such employees. Members of the Industry shall not 

increase the present hours of labor for train.men and 

bus operators now prevailing except as may be agreed 

upon in connection with existing or new agreements ; 

provided, however, that this shall not prevent increasing 

hours for such trainmen and bus operators as are not 

receivh:~g a reasonable amount of work, but in no event 

shall the hours of labor be increased beyond those 

prescribed in this Code. 

The maximum-hour provisions of this Code shall not apply to 

.emergency crews or during the period of emergencies such as snowstorms, floods, fires., or other causes beyond the control of the member 

of the Industry. 

The following classes of employees shall be exempt from. the provisions of this Article and of Article IV of this Code : 

(a) Management., executive,. and supervisory employees receiving 

$85.-00 or more per week; 

(b) Janitors, watchmen, crossing flagmen and gatemen, and those 

employees who are commonly termed "worker-pension" employees. 

This class shall not exceed 5 percent of the total number of employees 

of the member of the Industry. 

ARTICLE IV-MrNIMu~r CoMPENSATION 

The minimum-wage rates except as otherwise provided in existing 

labor agreements, shall be as follows: · For employees paid on a weekly or a monthly basis, not less than 

$15.00 per week in any city of over 500,000 population, or in the 

immediate trade area of such city; nor less than $14.50 per _week in 

any city of between 250,0Q0 and 500,000 population, or in the immediate trade area of such city; nor less than $14.00 per week in any 

city of between 2,500 and 250,000 population, or in the immediate 

trade area of such city~ and in towns of less than 2,500 population 

not less than $12.00 per week. 

The minimum wage for employees compensated on a weekly or 

monthly basis who work less than full time shall be the pro rata 

amount of the minima specified above. 
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For employees paid on an hourly rate, not less than 40 cents per 

hour unless the hourly rate for the same class of work on July 15, 

1929, was less than 40 cents per hour, in which latter case not less 

than the hourly rate on July 15, 1929, and in no event le~s than 

30 cents per hour. 

"\iVhere piecework, cooperative or profit-sharing rates exist, the 

total wages paid per week to any employee so working,. divided by 

the number of hours actually worked per week by sucn employee, 

shall be equal to at least the minimum hourly wages prescribed in this 

Article. 

Office boys and girls and messengers, under 21 years of age, and 

apprentices shall be paid not less than 80 percent of the minimum 

wages prescribed in this Code; provided, however, that the number 

of such employees shall not exceed 5 percent of the total number 

of employees of the member of the Industry. 

ARTICLE V-CHILD LABOR 

No person under 16 years of age shall be employed in the Transit 

Industry. 

ARTICLE VI-ADMINISTRATION 

To further effectuate the :.policies of the Act, a Code Authority is 

hereby set up to cooperate with the Administrator in the administration of this Code. 

{A) 1. The Code Authority shall consist of seven (7) voting 

members. Not more than three (3) nonvoting additional representatives may be appointed by the Administrator. One of such voting 

members shall at all times be the President of the American Transit 

Association, and one shall be the Managing-Director of said Association. 

2. The remaining five members shall be elected by a vote of members of the Industry and shall represent the various interests in the 

Industry. 

The selection of such candidates and the inethod of electing such 

members shall be subject to approval by the Administrat~r. At 

least two (2) of said voting members shall be representatives of 

labor, and at least one (1) may be a representative of a member of 

the Industry not holding n1embership in the American Transit 

Association. 

3. Any trade or industrial association participating in the selection 

or activities of the Code Authority shall impose no inequitable 

restrictions on admission to membership therein, and shall evidence 

compliance with this provision in any n1anner required by the 

Administrator. 

4. The Code Authority shall1 as soon as possible after the approval 

of this Code, appoint two (2) individuals who shall jointly with two 

(2) individuals appointed by the Motor Bus Code Authority hear and 

finally determine any question that may be referred to it by the 

Transit Code Authority as to whether any individual bus operation defined in Article II, paragraph A-3, of this Code shall be 

included under this Code. In case the joint board fails or refuses to 
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decide within ten (10) days any question submitted, the matter shall 

be referred to the Administrator for final disposition. 

5. An appeal from any action by the Code Authority affecting the 

rights of any person subject to this Code may be taken to the 

Administrator. 

(B) The Code Authority shall have the following duties and 

powers to the extent permitted by the National Industrial Recovery 

Act and subject to review by the Administrator: 

1. To administer the provisions of this Code, secure adherence 

thereto, hear complaints, and otherwise carry out for the Transit 

Industry the purposes of the Act as herein set forth. 

2. To require reports from the members of the Industry with 

respect to wages, hours of labor, conditions of employment, number 

of employees, and other matters pertinent to the purposes of this 

Code, in order that the President may be kept informed with respect 

to the observance thereof. 

3. Equitably to proportion and collect from time to time the cost 

of establishing and maintaining the Code Authority from such members of the Industry who fully participate in the Code by exercising the right to vote and/or to use the N.R.A. insignia. Only 

such members who participate in the expense of establishing and 

m.aintaining the Code Authority shall be permitted publicly to 

evidence their participation by displaying the N.R.A. insignia. 

The Code Authority, subject to review by the Administrator, shall 

authorize the use of the N.R.A. insignia to members of the Industry 

according to the provisions of this paragraph. 

4. After ~nsulting the Industry, to make recommendations to the 

Administrator for the revision, modification, or alteration of this 

Code from time to time. 

(C) Whereas it is deemed unfair competition by the Transit Industry for any type of transportation carrying passengers for hire 

in areas served by members of this Industry to pay substantially 

lower wages or to permit substantially longer working hours than 

those established by this Industry in this Code, the Code Authority 

is hereby empo~ered to assist in the securing of stay orders and 

exemptions from the Administrator in respect of any area affected 

by unfair competition of a competing industry, to confer with Code 

Authorities of competing industries, t9 file petitions for the modification of or complaints under the Codes of competing industries, and 

otherwise to take such steps as may be necessary or proper to place 

the Transit Industry on a basis of fair _competition. 

ARTICLE VII -GENERAL 

1. (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 employee and no one seeking employment shall be required 

as a condition of employment to join any company union or to refrain from joining, organizing, or assisting a labor organization of 

his own choosing ; and 
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i 111 1111111rn~111~~1'fli111111111 i111m '1111~11111111 1 

3 1262 08851 7791 

( c) Employers shall comply with the maximum hours of labor 

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

or prescribed by the President, as provided herein. 

2. Many of the street railway and bus companies which come 

under the provh,ions of this Code have working agreements with 

their employees through American Federation of Labor Unions, 

which provide the wages, hours of labor and working conditions, and 

further provide for arbitration in all disputes of any kind that cannot be mutually adjusted, practically all of which agreements also 

provide for renewals through mediation and arbitration. I t is 

understood and agreed to by the companies under this Code that all 

labor agreements will be Ii ved up to and carried out, and this provision is agreed to by representatives of the employees. The employees of some of the companies that come under this Code have 

local associations, organizations,_ or other plans of collective bargaining. However, it is clearly understood that if either the employees 

under the American Federation of Labor Unions or under the aforesaid local associations, organizations, or other plans want to change 

their form of organization under the provisions of section 7 (a) of 

the National Industrial Recovery Act, they are at liberty to do so as 

that section provides. 

3. This Code and all the provisions thereof are expressly made 

subject to the right of the President, in accordance with the provisions of Subsection (b) of Section 10 of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act, from time to time to cancel or modify any order, 

approval, license, rule, or regulation issued under Title I of said Act. 

4. Within each state, members of the Industry shall comply with 

any laws of such state imposing more stringent requirements, regulating the age of employees, wages, hours of work or health, fire, or 

general working conditions, than under this Code. 

5. If this Code or any provision thereof, because of peculi~r 

circumstances, will create great and unavoidable hardship to any 

member of the Industry, such member in a petition approved by 

the Code Authority may apply for a stay of this Code or such 

provision thereof, pending a summary investigation by the National 

Recovery Administration, if such member of the Industry agrees 

in such petition to abide by the decision oi such investigation. The 

refusal of any such approval shall be subject to review by the 

Administrator. 

6. In the case of any member of the Industry also employing 

labor in any other industry, the provisions of this Code shall apply 

to and affect only that part of such member's business which is 

included in the Transit Industry. 

7. This Code shall terminate whenever Title I of the National 

Industrial Recovery Act ceases to be in effect, but not later than 

June 15th, 1935. 

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