Registry No. 907-1-01 

NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION 

CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION 

FOR THE 

LUGGAGE AND 

FANCY LEATHER GOODS INDUSTRY 

AS APPROVED ON OCTOBER 3, 1933 

BY 

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 

'WE DO OUR PART 

I L 

A .. t " ,.. __ _ 

u.s. 

3. Code 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1933 

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(U) 
EXECUTIVE ORDER 

CoDE OF FAIR CoMPETITION-LuGGAGE AND FANCY LEATHER GooDs 

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 Code 

of Fair Competition for the Luggage and Fancy Leather Goods 

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 hi recommendations 

and findings with respect thereto, and the Administrator having 

found that the said 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 said Act have been met: 

NO,V, 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 18, 1933, and 

otherwise, do adopt and approve the report, recommendations, and 

findings of the Administrator and do order that the said Code of 

Fair Competition be and is hereby approved. 

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. 

THE WRITE HousE, 

October 3, 1933. 

Approval recommended : 

HuGH S. JoHNSON, 

Ad11~inistrator. 

(III) 

14248°----133-169----38 
I • 

The PRESIDENT, 

The White House, 

1V ashington, D.O. 

MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: This is a report of the hearing on the 

Code of. Fair Competition for the Luggage and Fancy Leather Goods 

Indu try in the United States, conducted in Wa hington on September 8, 1933, in accordance with the provi ions of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

The following exhibits are included and attached: 

( 1) Final Code submitted. 

(2) Notice of Hearing. 

(3) Statistical Analysis by Research and Planning Division. 

( 4) Transcript of the records. 

( 5) List of \Vitnes ·es. 

Provisions of this code as to wages and hours: 

ARTI LE III-Houns AND CoNDITroxs OF EMPLOYMENT 

1. No employee shall work more than 40 hours per week nor in 

exc ·s of 8 hours per day except : 

(a) :Manufacturer , executive and employers working in a trictly 

manao·erial or ~xecutive capacity, outside s.ale men, watchm_en, and 

emergency reparr crews. 

(b) Engineers, firem.en, shippino- force and driver may w rk 

not to exce cl 48 hour per week; e:x pt in em.erg ncy when all hours 

worked jn exce of 48 hour per week hall b con iclered o\ertime 

an l hall be paid for at not les than time and one-third. 

( ) Clerical and offic force shall not b required to work n1ore 

than 40 h urs in any one week except in em ro· n y wh n all hours 

worked in exces of 40 hours p r W'e ek l all be on ider cl OY rtime 

an l paid for at not l s than tim an l one thir l. 

AnTI LE IV-~1rNrl\Ie::\r \V AGE R.1 TE 

(IV) 
v 

3. On and after the effective date of this Code hourly rates and 

piece rates shall be so adjusted that earning opportunities at the 

shorter hour provided in this Code shall be at least equivalent to 

those obtaining under the longer hours heretofore prevailing. 4. There shall be no discrimination in wages by r eason of sex, and. where in any case women do substantially the same work, or 

perform substantially the same duties as men, they shall receive 

the same rate of wages. 

ECONOl\fiC EFFECT OF THE CODE 

This industry, including as it does, trunks and bags, brief cases, 

and various mall and fancy leather goods, is e sentially.a semiluxury 

industry involved in the manufacture of containers of various sorts. 

The greater part of the volume produced is either in low or medium 

quality products in which the proportion of labor to the final cost is 

relatively high. Furthermore, with the increase in the use of automobiles it has become easy to utilize simple cardboard containers, secured at little or no cost, in the back of the automobile in lieu of 

luggage. It is apparent, therefore, that any drastic increase in wages 

or shortening of hours which would result in a material price increase 

of the final product would probably result in a shrinkage in volume 

which would tend to offset the expected increases in employment. 

The actual wages set up seem to be as high as can be saf ely applied, 

and will raise average wage levels in this industry well above those 

prevailing in 1929. 

Due to the shrinka.ge of this -industry, many of the more skilled 

leather workers involved have, on the loss of employment, set up 

independent small shops in which they repair and actually produce 

a limited amount of luggage. The total from this source is sufficiently large to be important in the industry. The importance will 

be even greater if r estriction in hours and increase in wages is 

sufficient to raise the price excessively of goods produced in larger 

factories. The wage provisions of the code will immediately raise the wages 

an average of 35 percent for practically 90 percent of the unskilled 

labor in the industry. This will bring the minimum wage levels 

above those received by 75 percent of the unskilled workers in 

1929. It can be presumed that the existing differentials between 

skilled and unskilled labor will be maintained under the influence 

of higher rates for unskilled workers and the requirements in the 

code that pay will be at least equal to that prior to the approval of 

the code. Ninety percent of the wage earners ~f this industry are in 

the North and 10% in the South, of which approximately 84% are 

male and 16% female. Based on the foregoing distribution of 

workers, the weighted average minimum wage for the country will 

be 34.4 cents an hour, and the 8-percent geographical differential is 

well below the existing spread in the rates for unskilled labor in 

the industry. The female differential is smaller than in codes for 

most industries in which female labor is important. The proposed 

rate for female workers seems reasonable because of the existence 

of large groups of same avera.ging twelve to fifteen years younger 

than male employees in the industry now receiving from 15 cents to 
VI 

20 cents an hour. Members of the indu try were united in requesting 

this differential and testified to the current existence of a much wider 

spread. In view of the available information the requested differential is justified. 

vVithout putting too much credence in the rather inadequate statistical data available upon this industry, it seems that under the 

provisions of the code employment in the industry will approximate 

the 1929 average leYel. 

Due to the !act that the minimum wage scale will be rai ed to 

levels well above 1929, and the unfavorable reaction on demand for 

products of this industry if prices mount too rapidly, it does not 

see1n desirable to shorten the hours of labor any more than ha been 

proposed. 

FINDINGS 

The Administrator finds that: 

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

pertinent provisions of Tith~ I of the Act, includino-, without limitation, subsection (a) of Section 7 and subsection (b) of Section 10 

th€reof; and that 

(b) The applicant group imposes no inequitable restrictions on admission to me1nbership therein and is truly representative of the 

Luggage and Fancy Leather Industry; and that 

(c) The Code as recommended is not de igned to promote monopolies or to eliminate or oppr-ess small enterpri es and will n t operate 

to discriminate against them, and will tend to ffectuate the policy 

of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act. 

It is recommended, therefor-e, that this Code be immediately 

adopted. 

Respectfully submitted. 

HuGHS. JoHN oN, 

Adnvinistrator. 
CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE LUGGAGE AND 

FANCY LEATHER GOODS INDUSTRY_ 

ARTICLE I.-DEFINITION OF TERMS 

"Industry" as used herein includes all persons engaged in the 

manufacture of Brief Cases, Hand Luggage, Fancy and Small 

Leather Goods, Sample Cases and Sample Trunks, and Trnnks, -excluding such similar articles as may be covered by other specific 

codes. 

"E117/ployee" as used herein includes any person engaged in any 

phase of the Industry in any capacity in the nature of employee. 

irrespective of the method of payment of his compensation, 

"E1nployer" as used herein includes any one for who e benefit 

such an -employee is so engaged, or who are associated together for 

the purpose of producing goods under this Cod-e. _ 

"Effective Date" as used herein is defined to be 10 days after the 

approval of this Code by the President of the United States. 

ARTICLE II-LABOR PROVISIONS 

1. All employ-ers in the industry shall comply with the following 

provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act: 

(a) That employees shall have the right to organize and bargain 

collectively through repre~entatives of their own choosing, and shall 

be free from_ the interference, restraint, or coercion of em.ployers of 

labor, or their agents in the designation of such repre entatives or . 

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

of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection; 

(b) That 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; 

(c) Th_at employers shall comply with the maximum hours of 

l-abor, minimum rates of pay, and other conditions of employment 

approved or prescribed by the Pn::sident. 

2. On and after the effective date employers shall not employ any 

minor under the age of 16 years. 

ARTicLE III-HouRs AND CoNDmoNs oF El\fPLOYMENT 

1. No employee shall work more than 40 hours per week nor in 

excess of 8 hours per day except : 

(a) ~fanufacturers, executives and employers working in a strictly 

managerial or ~xecutive capacity, outside salesmen, watchmen, and 

emergency repa1r crews. 

{1) 
2 

(b) Engineers, firemen, shipping fo~ce, and drivers may work not 

to exceed 48 hours per week; except 1n emergency when all hours 

worked in excess of 48 hours per week shall be considered overtime 

and shall be paid for at not less than time and one third. 

(c) Clerical and office force shall not be required to work more 

than 40 hours in any one week except in emergency, when all hours 

worked in excess of 40 hour per week shall be consider ed overtime 

and paid for at not less than time and one third. 

ARTICLE IV-MINIMU M WAGE RATES 

1. The minimum ~Va ge of any employee in the industry in the 

States of Maryland, 'Vest Virginia, Virginia, ICentucky, Tennes ee, 

North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi.] 

Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, anct 

Arizona shall be 32lj2 cents per hour for male and 30 cents per hour 

for female; elsewhere, 35 cents per hour for male and 32lj2 cents per 

hour for female. 

(a ) Learners during a six weeks' period are excepted from the 

foregoing minimum wage and shall be paid not les than 80 percent 

of the minimum wage and shall be limited in number in any factory 

to 5 percent of the total number of employees in that factory. 

2. Pieceworkers shall be paid at rate which will guar antee the 

worker wages per hour "'hich are not less than the. minimum wage 

prescribed herein. 

3. On and after the effective date of this Code hourly rates and 

piece rates shall be so adju ted that earning opportunitjes at the 

shorter hours provided in this Code shall be at lea t equivalent to 

those obt aining under the longer hours heretofore prevailing. 

4. Ther e shall be no di crimination in wage by r eason of sex, and 

where in any case women do substantially the same work, or perform 

subst antially the same duties as men, they shall receive the ame rate 

. of wages. 

ARTICLE V-GEN ERAL PRO\'I SIONS 
3 

tions exempted from the provisions of this Code unless the identical 

functions were identically classified on June 15, 1933. 

5. Home work in any branch of this industry is hereby prohibited, 

nor shall any work be permitted by the employer to be performed 

in tenement houses, ba ements, or in any unsanitary building. 

6. 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. 

ARTICLE VI-INDUSTRY REGULATIONS 

1. The giving of secret rebates, .re:ftmds, special services, or privileges is unfair competition. 

2. The giving of any advertising allowance, directly or indirectly, 

which brings the price of any product below his cost of such product, 

is unfair competition. 

3. Willful or malicious clefan1ation of competitors or the disparagement of con1petitors' products, is unfair competition. 

4. Commercial bribe.ry in the form of gratuities to anyone or the 

offering of rewards or premiums to purchasers of products of this 

industt'y, is unfair competition. 

5. The misappropriation of a competitors' business by inducing 

breach of contracts, espionage, piracy of styles or designs, or imitation of trade names, is unfair competition. 

6. The substitution of inferior materials for those named in any 

contract without the purchasers' know ledge or permission, is unfair 

competition. 

7. Fraudulent and deceptive practices, including false or mi leading advertising, mislabeling, or misbranding, is unfair competition. 

8. It is unfair competition for any manufacturer to furnish merchandise to any mercantile establishment for demonstration purposes 

without an outright sale, or to furnish employees for demonstration 

or sales purposes; provided that this shall not prohibit the 1 ractice of manufacturers furnishing without charge to r etailers samples 

of materials, sample cross-section models showing construction of 

merchandise, and other samples of incompletely finished merchandise 

for display and demon, tration purposes. 

9. It is unfair competition for any manufacturer to place merchandise on any form of consignment, either directly or· indirectly. 

No ftu'ther merchandise shall be shipped on consignn1ent to existing 

consignment accounts and all consignment accounts must be terminated within a r easonable length of time. 

10. To sell any product of this industry below his cost of uch 

product is unfair competition. 

(a) For this purpose, cost is defined as the cost of materials, plus 

· direct labor, plus an adequate amount of all overhead and ale. expense as determind by cost accounting methods recognized in the 

industry (and approved by the Executive Code Committee constituted for the enforcement of tllis Code as provided in Article VIII), 

which cost methods mu t be approve l by the National Re overY, 

Administration. 
4 

11. It is unfair competition for a manufacturer to permit purcha ers of his products to supply part or all of the materials, includin cr fittings required for the manufacture thereof, without including 

in the determination of his cost of such product an adequate amount 

of all overhead and sales expen e as determined by cost accounting 

metho l provided for in Section 10 of this Article. 

12. The giving of any dic::count contrary to the following trade 

practices is unfair competition, except in contract for the export 

trade. 

(a) In the Brief Case, Hand Luggage, Sample Ca e, Sample 

Trunk and Trunk Division of the industry, terms shall not exc ed 

2%, 10 day , 30 days extra. (b) In the Fancy an l Small Leather Goo l Division of the industry, term shall not exceed 2%, 10 days, 60 day extra, with the 

privilege of giving E.O.M. (en l of month) luting. ~1anufacturers 

of Fancy and Small Leather Goods shall be permitted to accept one 

order to a customer, hipped after August 1, dated December 1, with 

maximum terms 3% E.O.M.: and good shippe l on or after the 

twenty-fifth of the month shall be consi lered as shipped on the fir t 

of the month. 

13. The sales of "drop lines" or "close-outs" in the cour e of 

a year in excess of 3% of the manufacturer's ales in the preceding 

calendar year in the Brief Case, H and Luggaae, Sample Ca e and 

Sample Trunk and Trunk Divi ion of the Indu try and the ale 

of "drop lines" or "close-outs" in the cour of a year, in xc s 

of 5% of the manufacturer' ales in the pr cedincr al n lar y ar 

in the Fancy and Small Leather Good Divi ion of the in lu try 

is unfair competition; provi led, that if any a lditional lrop lin '~ or ' clo e-out '' are offere l for ale, penni ion mu t fir t be obtained from the Executive Code Committee and notifi ation mu t 

be ent by the Executive Cod Committee to all member f the 

indu try, if permis ion for uch a sale is errant l. Dupli ate invoi s 

of all " lrop line or "close-out hipm nt hall be nt to the 

Executive Code Committee. 

ARTICLE VII-P RTI IP ATION 

ARTI LE III-

• th r 
5 

(b) The President and Vice President of the Fancy and Small 

Leather Goods Division of the National Luggage ancl Leather 

Goods Manufacturers Association.; 

(c) Three me.mbers to be selected by_ the Luggage and Leather 

Goods Manufacturers Association of New York, Inc. ; 

(d) Two members of the industry at large, a-ppointed by the 

President of the National Luggage and Leather Goods Manufacturers Association; and 

(e) Three nonvoting members to be appointed by the President; 

is set up to cooperate with the Administrator as a Planning and 

Fair Practice Agency for the industry. There shall be no inequitable 

restrictions as to mem.bership in the trade associations of this industry. . 

2. Such agency may from time to time present to the Administrator recommendations based on conditions in the industry as may 

develop from time to time, which will tend to effectuate the operation of the provisions of this Code and the policy of the National 

Industrial Recovery Act. 

3. Such Agency is also set up to cooperate with the Administrator 

in making investigations as to the functioning and observance of any 

provisions of this Code, at its own instance or on complaint by any 

person affected and to report the same to the Administrator. 

4. To provide necessary data for the Administrator of the N ational Industrial Recovery Act, the members of the industry shall 

furnish to the Executive Code Committee such information as it may 

require from time to time, but through such channels as to eliminate 

the identification of any individual manufacturer's confidential 

information. 

5. In addition to information required to be submitted to the Code 

Authority, there shall be furnished to Government agencies' such 

statistical information as the Administrator may deem necessary i'o1· 

the purposes recited in Section 3 (a) of the National Industrial 

Recovery · Act. 

6. No provision of this Code shall be interpreted or applied m 

such manner as to--

(a) Promote monopolies or monopolistic practices; 

(b) Permit or encourage unfair competition; 

(c) Eliminate or oppress small enterprises ; or 

(d) Discriminate against small enterprises. 

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

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

Recovery Act, from time to time to cancel or modify any order, a pproval, license, rule, or regulation issued under Title I of said Act 

and specifically, but without limitation, to the right of the President 

to cancel or modify his approval of this Code or any conditions 

imposed by him upon his approval thereof. 

8. Such of the provisions of this Code as are not required to be 

included therein by the National Industrial Recovery Act may, with 

the approval of the President, be modified or eliminated as changes 

in circumstances or experience may indicate. It is contemplated 
II I II 1/llllilm~l~lil/ii'fl fill frlilililil~l] i~l illlllllll 

3 1262 08850 4674 

6 

that from time to time supplementary provisiOns of this Code or 

additional codes will be submitted for the approval of the President 

to prevent unfair competition and other unfair destructive competitive practices, and to effectuate the other purposes and policies of 

Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act consistent with the 

provisions hereof. 

9. This Code shall become effective 10 days after its approval by 

the President. 

0