To Rehabilitate and Stabilize Labor Conditions in the Textile Industry of the United States

TO REHABILITATE AND STABILIZE LABOR CONDITIONS IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES

MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1936

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR,

Washington, D. C.

The subcommittee this day met at 10:30 a. m., in the caucus room, House Office Building, Hon. Kent E. Keller (chairman) presiding. (The committee had under consideration H. R. 9072, which is as follows:)

[H. R. 9072, 74th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL Torehabilitate and stabilize labor conditions inthetextile industry of the United States; to prevent unemployment, to regulate child labor, and to provide minimum wages, maximum hours, and other conditions of employment in said industry; to safeguard and promote the general welfare; and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

FINDINGS AND POLICY

SECTION 1. (a) The Congress of the United States as a matter of legislative determination hereby finds the following facts:

(1) The production of textile products in the United States and their distribution throughout the United States and foreign countries is affected with a national public interest.

(2) The flow of raw cotton, wool, silk, and other raw materials and supplies from certain States and from foreign countries to textile mills located primarily in the eastern seaboard and Southern States, the manufacture of such materials into various textile products, and the sale, transportation, and distribution of such textile products throughout all the States of the United States and numerous foreign countries constitute a continuous stream or current of commerce among the several States and between the States and foreign countries.

(3) In recent years this flow of interstate and foreign commerce in textile products has substantially declined in value and amount, has been subject to severe price instability, has been diverted in large quantities from certain States to other States and from certain mills to other mills by reason of unfair competition in wage rates and other conditions of employment, has been interrupted and greatly burdened by strikes and other forms of industrial unrest, and has otherwise been disorganized and depressed.

(4) Such effects upon interstate and foreign commerce in textile products have been caused directly and primarily by the instability of wage rates and other labor costs in the production of said products, by excessive competition in lowering such wage rates and other labor costs, by over-expansion and excess capacity of the productive equipment in the industry, and by denial of the rights of employees to organize and bargain collectively.

(5) Interstate and foreign commerce in textile products will be substantially and directly fostered, protected, regulated, stabilized, and otherwise promoted, and its flow directed, by the establishment of minimum wages, maximum hours, and other conditions of employment in mills whose products flow in such commerce, by control of excess production in such mills, and by the guarantee of the right of employees in such mills to organize and bargain collectively.

(6) (a) The production of textile products which flow in interstate and foreign commerce is frequently so intermingled and connected with and related to the production of similar products which do not themselves flow in such commerce that regulation of the former products cannot be rendered effective without regulation also of the latter products. Furthermore, regulation of textile products which flow in interstate and foreign commerce in numerous instances places such products at a serious competitive disadvantage with textile products which do not flow in such commerce, and thus directly and substantially affects, burdens, reduces, and otherwise obstructs the flow of textile products in interstate and foreign commerce, unless the same regulations are imposed upon textile products which do not themselves flow in such commerce as upon products which do flow directly in such commerce.

(b) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States, and among the purposes of this Act, to foster, protect, advance, and regulate the stream of commerce among the States and with foreign countries by the establishment of minimum wages, and maximum hours, by the regulation of child labor, work assignments, and other working conditions, by guaranteeing the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively, by the control of excess production, and by other means set forth in this Act.

SEC. 2. (a) The Congress of the United States as a matter of legislative determination hereby finds the following facts:

(1) Under present unregulated conditions, wages below a decent standard of health and comfort, excessive hours, child labor, overburdensome work assignments, other unhealthy and demoralizing conditions of work, the denial of the right of self-organization and collective bargaining, and excess production prevail in the textile industry, cause wide-spread unemployment and heavy financial expense to the Government of the United States, and constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals, welfare, and comfort of the citizens of the United States. (2) Competitive conditions in commerce among the States in textile products prevent effective correction of such evils through local or State regulation and make necessary for their correction the exercise of the powers vested in the Congress of the United States.

(b) It is hereby declared that the existence of the evils in the textile industry as set forth in sections 1 and 2 of this Act is contrary to the public interest and to the policy of Congress, that it is the policy of Congress to remove these evils by this Act, and that it is among the purposes of this Act

(1) to deny the use of the channels of interstate commerce for the perpetuation and accentuation of such evils; and

(2) to deny the use of the mails, the benefits of Government purchases, contracts, loans, and grants, and the privilege of registration of securities to any person producing textile products under said conditions or contrary to the standards set forth in this Act.

SEC. 3. As used herein

DEFINITIONS

(1) The term "textile industry" shall include, but without limitation(A) The manufacture or manufacture and sale of the following products, whether composed of cotton, wool, silk, rayon, hair, jute, or any other artificial or natural fiber, or combination thereof:

(a) Woven or knitted fabrics in the piece;

(b) Yarn, thread, twin, cord, cordage, or similar products;

(d) Felt, felt products, batts, pads, wadding, welts, bindings, or similar products;

(e) Surgical dressings, sanitary napkins, or similar products;

(f) Lace, lace curtains, trimmings, braids and braided fabrics; woven,

knitted, or braided elastic fabrics; bias tape or similar products;

(g) Pyroxylin coated leather cloth and lacquered fabrics, window-shade cloth, book cloth, impregnated fabrics for book binding, table oilcloth, or similar products;

(h) Hosiery and similar products;

(i) Knitted outerwear or underwear apparel or similar products;

(i) Any other textile product.

(B) The sorting, dyeing, bleaching, mercerizing, weighting, printing, finishing, throwing, or other processing of any of the foregoing fibers or products: Provided, That it shall not include the ginning of cotton.

(2) The term "textile product" shall include any product of the textile industry.

(3) The term "person" shall include one or more individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, or the legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers thereof.

(4) The term "employer" shall include any person employing labor in the conduct of any branch of the textile industry, and any person acting in the interest of an employer either directly or indirectly.

(5) The term "employee" shall include any individual employed in any branch of the textile industry and shall include any proprietor, his family, or relatives doing production work. The term "employee", unless otherwise indicated by the context, shall not be limited to employees of a particular employer and shall include any individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any change in work assignment, or any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice (as defined in the National Labor Relations Act approved July 5, 1935), and who has not thereafter obtained any regular and substantially equivalent employment.

(6) The term "representative" shall include any individual or labor organization.

(7) The term "interstate commerce" shall mean trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication among the several States, or between the District of Columbia or any Territory of the United States and any State or other Territory, or between any foreign country and any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, or within the District of Columbia, or between points in the same State but through any other State or any Territory or the District of Columbia or any foreign country.

(8) The term "Commission" shall mean the National Textile Commission, created by section 4 of this Act.

(9) The term "label or stamp" shall mean a label or stamp issued, authorized, or approved by the Commission.

(10) The term "licensee" shall mean a person who is licensed by the Commission under the provisions of this Act.

NATIONAL TEXTILE COMMISSION

SEC. 4. (a) There is hereby created a commission, to be known as the "National Textile Commission", which shall be composed of seven members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of the first seven members appointed, two shall serve for one year, one for two years, two for three years, one for four years, and one for five years; but their successors shall serve for terms of five years each, except that any individual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member whom he shall succeed. Each member of the Commission shall receive a salary of $10,000 a year, shall be eligible for reappointment, and shall not actively engage in any other business, vocation, or employment. Any member of the Commission may be removed by the President, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause.

(b) A vacancy in the Commission shall not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all the powers of the Commission, and four members of the Commission shall, at all times, constitute a quorum. The Commission shall have an official seal which shall be judicially noticed.

(c) The Commission shall, at the close of each calendar year, make a report in writing to the President for submission to Congress, prescribing in detail its activities and operations during the year, and the names, salaries, and duties of all employees and officers in the employ or under the supervision of the Commission, and render an accounting of all moneys it has disbursed.

SEC. 5. (a) The Commission shall have power to establish agencies, divisions, and bureaus. It shall appoint, without regard to the provisions of the civilservice rules or of the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, a secretary and such attorneys, special experts, consultants, examiners, clerks, and other employees, as it may from time to time find necessary or appropriate for the proper performance of its duties and for the execution of the provisions of this Act; attorneys appointed by the Commission may, at the discretion of the Commission, appear for and represent the Commission in any case in court.

(b) The Commission is authorized to accept and utilize such voluntary and uncompensated services and to assign such funds to other governmental agencies or bureaus for the carrying on of special studies and assisting the Commission in other functions, as it may from time to time find necessary or appropriate. (c) The Commission shall establish divisions for the cotton, silk, wool, hosiery, and for such other branches of the textile industry as it may deem necessary or

appropriate. The Commission may delegate any of its functions or powers under this Act to any such divisions, or to any such agencies, bureaus, officers, or employees as it may establish or appoint; but the final decision upon all contested matters shall remain with the Commission.

(d) All expenses of the Commission, including all necessary traveling and subsistence expenses, incurred by members or employees of the Commission under its orders, shall be allowed and paid on the presentation of itemized vouchers therefor approved by the Commission or by any individual it designates for that purpose. SEC. 6. The principal office of the Commission shall be in the District of Columbia, but it may meet and exercise any or all of its powers at any other place in the United States, its Territories, or possessions. The Commission may, by one or more of its members or by such agents or agencies as it may designate, prosecute any inquiry necessary to its functions in any part of the United States. A member who participates in such an inquiry shall not be disqualified from subsequently participating in a decision of the Commission in the same case.

SEC. 7. The Commission shall have authority from time to time to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act, and to alter, amend, or rescind such rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations shall be effective upon publication in the manner which the Commission shall prescribe.

SEC. 8. (a) The Commission is authorized and directed to administer this Act and shall exercise such specific powers as are herein contained.

(b) The Commission shall have power to gather, compile, and publish information concerning, and to investigate from time to time the organization, business, conduct, practices, and management of any person engaged in the textile industry. (c) The Commission shall enforce compliance by all licensees with all the terms and conditions of their respective licenses.

SEC. 9. (a) No textile product shall be eligible for purchase, sale, shipment, transportation, or delivery in interstate commerce which has been manufactured, processed, or produced by any person not licensed for such purposes by the Commission and which does not bear a label or stamp; and it is hereby declared unlawful for any person to buy, sell, ship, transport deliver, receive, or possess any such product in the course of interstate commerce, or otherwise to engage in or carry on interstate commerce in such products.

(b) For the purpose of this Act, a person shall be deemed to be engaged in interstate commerce, if such person holds control through stock ownership, a voting trust or trusts, a holding company or companies, or any other direct or indirect means, of or over another person engaged in interstate commerce.

SEC. 10. Whenever the manufacture, processing, and/or production of textile products not eligible for entrance into interstate commerce under the provisions of this Act is carried on in the same plant or establishment or is otherwise intermingled or connected with, or related to, the manufacture, processing, and/or production of textile products eligible for entrance into interstate commerce, so as directly and substantially to interfere with, prevent, impede, or obstruct effective regulation of the latter products, the Commission after appropriate investigation and inquiry shall order that the manufacture, processing, and/or production of the products not eligible for entrance into interstate commerce be carried on only in accordance with the provisions of the license applicable to the manufacture, processing, and/or production of the products eligible for entrance into interstate commerce; thereafter such manufacture, processing, and/or production of such textile products shall be subject to the provisions of this Act and such manufacture, processing, and/or production without a license shall be a violation of this Act.

SEC. 11. Whenever the Commission, after appropriate investigation and inquiry, shall find that textile products not eligible for entrance into interstate commerce are being manufactured, processed, and/or produced by persons not licensed by the Commission under standards substantially inferior to those prescribed in this Act and in such manner as directly and substantially to affect, impede, burden, reduce, or obstruct interstate commerce in textile products, the Commission shall order that thereafter such textile products be manufactured, processed, and/or produced only by persons licensed by the Commission in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as licensees who manufacture, process, and/or produce similar textile products for interstate commerce; thereafter such manufacture, processing, and/or production of such textile products, shall be subject to the provisions of this Act, and such manufacture, processing, and or production without a license shall be a violation of this Act.

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