NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

CODE OF FAIR C·O·MPETITION 

FOR THE 

STEEL POSTURE CHAIR 

INDUSTRY 

AS SUBMITTED ON AUGUST 29, 1933 

REGISTRY No. 1122-11 

The Code for the Steel Posture Chair Industry 

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

industry, and none of the provisions contained th rein are 

to be regarded as having received the approval of 

the National Recovery Administration 

as applying to this industry 

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u.s. OE,.08fro,.y 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1933 

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

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CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE STEEL POSTURE 

CHAIR INDUSTRY 

ARTICLE 1-PURPOSE 

This Code is set up :for the purpose o:f increasing employment, 

establishing :fair and adequate wages, effecting reduction o:f hours, 

improving standards o:f labor, and eliminating un:fair trade practices and competition, to the end o:f rehabilitating the Steel Posture 

Chair Industry and enabling it to do its part toward establishing 

that balance o:f industries which is necessary to the restoration and 

maintenance o:f the highest practical degree o:f public wel:fare. 

It is the declared purpose o:f the Steel Posture Chair Industry 

and adherents to this Code to bring, inso:far as may be practicable, 

the rates o:f wages paid within the Steel Posture Chair Industry to 

such levels as are necessary :for the creation and maintenance o:f 

the highest practical standard o:f living; to restore the income o:f 

enterprises within the industry to levels which will make possible 

the payment o:f such wages and avoid the :further depletion and 

destruction o:f capital assets. 

ARTICLE 2-pARTICIPATION 

Participation in this Code, and any subsequent rev1s10n o:f or 

addition to the Code, shall be extended to any person, partnership, 

or corporation in the Steel Posture Chair Industry who accepts his 

share o:f the cost and responsibility, as well as the benefit, o:f such 

participation by becoming a member o:f the Steel Posture Chair 

Manufacturers & Distributors Association or any affiliated organization. No initiation or entrance :fee shall be charged but there 

shall be assessments levied :for expenses incurred on an equal basis 

on all members o:f this association, provided no less than sixty percent o:f the membership approve the amount o:f such expenses and 

assessments. 

ARTICLE 3-CLASSIFICATION 

For the purpose o:f the administration o:f this Code, the Steel 

Posture Chair Industry shall be construed to mean the manufacturers o:f steel Posture chairs and stools and sales organizations distributing steel posture chairs and stools to other persons, partnerships or corporations :for resale. 

ARTICLE 4-ExECUTIVE COMMI'ITEE 

The steel posture chair manufacturers and sales organizations 

have always operated on a basis that has been considered by them 

8918--33 (1) 
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to be fair and have alway maintained a high tandard of labor and 

wage conditions in the industry; therefore, they believe that members of the Association can carry out the operation of this Code 

within themselves in a manner that will comply strictly with the 

requirements as outlined by the National Indu trial Recovery Act. 

The Steel Posture Chair Industry shall set up an Executive Committee consisting of three. members who will serve for a period of six 

months without compensation. At the expiration of the six-month 

period, the Executive Committee will, within it elf, appoint three 

other members of the. Association as an Executive Committee to 

serve the subsequent six-month period. 

ARTICLE 5-DuTIES OF THE ExECUTIVE CoMMITTEE 

The Executive Committee immediately upon selection shall, from 

their number, designate. a Pre.siuent, Secretary and Treasurer. The 

duties of the Executive Committee shall be to secure strict adherence 

to the conditions of the Code, to hear and adjust complaints, to consider proposals for amendments thereof and exceptions thereto, and 

otherwise to carry out within the Association the provisions of the 

National Industrial Recovery Act as set forth in this Code, keeping 

at all times the purposes of the Code and the. benefit of the Steel 

Posture Chair Industry foremost in mind. 

ARTICLE 6--METHOD OF PROCEDURE AND PENALTY IN THE EVENT OF 

NON COMPLIANCE 

In the event of noncompliance with any part or parts of this Code 

by any member or members of this Association, the. following procedure will be in order: 

(a) The member having a knowledge of such noncompliance will 

promptly report in writing to each officer of the Executive Committee at his regular business office, stating all known facts in the complaint. 

(b) The Executive Committee will immediately report the complaint of noncompliance to the member against whom the charge is 

made, keeping, so far as possible, the name. of the complainant confidential. 

(c) The member against who.m the complaint is made. will 

promptly make a detailed report and defense. in writing to each 

officer of the Executive Committee at his regular business office. 

(d) Upon receipt of complaint and answer, the Treasurer and 

Secretary of 'the · Executive Committee will forward their recommendation in the form of a decision to the President of the Executive 

Committee who will make his own decision from the facts at hand; 

the majority determining whether the complaint is justified. 

(e) In the event that the complaint is made by or against any 

n1ember of the Executive Committee, the decision of this member 

shall not be required, but the remaining two members of the Executive Cimmittee will designate another member of the Association 

whose decision will have the same bearing upon the matter as that 

of the .Executive Committee member not entitled to act in this 

particular instance. 
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(f) In the event that a member is found guilty of non-compliance 

with Section (b) of Article 9 of this Code, the sum of $50.00, or, 

where a sale is concerned, an amount equal to the full amount of the 

invoice price of the merchandise sold, whichever is greater, shall 

be paid into the treasury of the Association. 

(g) When a complaint has been made by a member and found to 

be unjustified by the Executive Committee, the party making such 

unjustified complaint shall immediately pay into the treasury of the 

Association, the sum of $25.00. 

(h) In the event of a second act of noncompliance of any member, 

or in the event of failure to comply with any part of this Code, or 

upon failure to pay the amount assessed within thirty days, or 

upon expiration of time given by the Board of Directors in writing, 

the act of non-compliance will be promptly reported by the Executive Committee to the administrators of the National Industrial 

Recovery Act with a request for their action. 

(i) When the President of the United States deems it no longer 

necessary to carry on this Code, whatever money or monies remain 

in the treasury of the Association shall be distributed among the 

members of the Association in proportion to the time that they 

have been members and have contributed through assessments to 

the upkeep. 

ARTICLE 7-LABOR AND CoMPENSATION FOR LABOR 

The labor code established by the Steel Posture Chair Indu try, 

upon approval of the Executive Committee of the Steel Posture 

Chair Industry, shall be binding upon all members of the posture 

chair: . industry. The labor code shall contain the following 

prOVlSlOnS : 

(a) Employees in the Steel Posture Chair Industry shall haTe the 

right to organize and bargain collectively through representative · 

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 in the Steel Posture Chair 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 the Steel Posture Chair Industry agree 

to comply with the maximum hours of labor, minimum rates of pay, 

and other working conditions approved or prescr] bed by the 

President. 

(d) No member of this Organization shall employ any person 

under sixteen years of age. 

(e) Due to certain specialized operations in £rubricating steel 

po ture chairs, members of this Association may employ apprentices 

or learners at a minimum wage scale of 30¢ per hour with the minimum weekly wage, explained under section (i) of this article 7, 

applying; provided, however, that at no time more than one apprentice is employed for each five skilled workmen. 
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(f) The members of this Association will not work any accounting, clerical, office, service, or sales employees (except outside salesmen) for more than forty hours in any one week. 

(g) The members of this Association will not employ any factory 

or mechanical worker or artisan more than a maximum week of 

forty hours and shall not employ any worker more than eight hours 

in any one day. 

(h) The maximum hours fixed in the foregoing paragraphs (f) 

and (g) shall not apply to employees in a managerial or executive 

capacity who now receive more than $35.00 per week. 

(i) Members of this Association will not pay any of the classes of 

employees mentioned for either factory, mechanical, artistic, or office 

work less than $14.50 per week. 

(j) The members of this Association will not pay any factory or 

mechanical worker or artisan less than 40¢ per hour and agree that 

t~is paragraph establishes a guaranteed minimum rate of pay 

regardless of whether the employee is compensated on a basis of a 

time rate or on piece-work perforn1ance. 

(k) The members of this Association will not reduce the compensation for employment now in excess of the minimum wages 

hereby agreed to, notwithstanding that the hours worked may be 

hereby reduced. 

ARTICLE 8-CONTRACTS 

The members of this Association will, where contracts have been 

entered into prior to June 16th, 1933, at a fixed price for delivery 

during the term of this Code, make an appropriate adjustment of 

said fixed price to meet any increase in cost caused by the seller 

having signed the President's Reemployment Agreement or having 

become bound by any Code of Fair Competition approved by the 

President. 

ARTICLE 9-INDUSTRY REGULATIONS 

The members of this Association will not use any subterfuge to 

frustrate the spirit and intent of this agreement which is, among 

other things, to raise to a higher level the American standard of 

living. 

(a) The members of this Association will not increase the price 

of any merchandise sold after the date that this Code becomes effective over the price on July 1st, 1933, by more than is made necessary 

by actual increases in production, replacements, or invoice costs of 

1nerchandise or by taxes or other costs resulting from action taken 

pursuant to the Agricultural Adjustment Act since July 1st, 1933, 

and in setting such price increases to give full weight to probable 

increases in sales volume and to refrain from taking profiteering 

advantage of the consuming public. 

(b) The members of this association agree not to sell merchandise 

to any person, partnership, or corporation below cost of production, 

thereby avoiding further depletion and destruction of capital assets. 

(c) In case any member or members have a stock of merchandise 

that has been obsolete for a period of at least six months, they may, 

at their own option, dispose of such merchandise at a price that will 
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enable them to turn this merchandise into cash quickly and thereby 

increase their liquid capital assets. 

(d) All comanunications to the administrators of the National 

Industrial Recovery Act con~erning the approval or amendment of 

this Code, or any of the provisions or any matters relating thereto, 

shall be through the Exocutive Committee of the Association. 

(e) The members of this Association will support and patronize 

to their fullest extent establishments which have also signed a Code 

approved by the President or who have signed the President's Reemployment Agreement (authorized by Section 4a, National Industrial 

Recovery Act) and are listed as members of the NRA. 

(f) The members of this Association will cooperate to the fullest 

extent with the President and those appointed by him in carrying 

to a successful end the policies and principles as outlined by the 

National Industrial Recovery Act. 

This Code, upon approval by the President of the United States, 

shall become effoctive upon all members of the Steel Posture Chair 

Manufacturers and Distributors Association and affiliated organizations within ten days after the approval. 

All members of the Steel Posture Chair Manufacturers and Distributors Association hereby place their faith in the acts of the 

President of the United States, and agree to cooperate to the fullest 

extent in his endeavor on a Nation-wide plan to raise wages, create 

employment, thereby increasing pur~hasing power, restoring general 

business, and through this method bring our industry onto a profitable basis. 

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UNIVERSITY OF FLOR IDA 

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