Document Eg27EvjdMoqXe3O1L2J9Y22V

WV1 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING T. February 8, 1934. acting of the Executive Committee of the Lead Ination was held on Thursday, February 8, 1934, in the Board Room of the National Lead Company, New York, N. Y. , Chairman Secretary. Representing Eagle-Picher Lead Company American Metal Co. Ltd. American Smelting <& Refining Co. American Smelting <& Refining Co, National Lead Company Reynolds Metals Co. St. Joseph Lead Co. United Metals Selling Co. -a President R. K. Roosevelt presided. 3-Minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting of read and approved, as corrected. Chairman requested a report from the Committee appointed to study the relationship of Article of the Code to Operations Wherein Other Metals m the proposed draft of the Lead Code, with re- Sopper Code. Mr. Walker stated that the copper t yet decided whether or not they were prepared l article in question and that Mr. McCarthy had zested modification which he desired to present Committee. The Secretary was requested to 'sed change as follows: If any member of the industry is also a memindustry, provisions of this Code can apply ^mnrtion of its business which is a part of the Where there is any question as to whether lead =aduction from the operations which do or which ^==~ead, sine, copper, gold, silver or other materials every such event, the question as to which Code rtion shall govern the hours of labor, wages and relating to such operations of any such member shall be referred to a Coordination Committee, min Committee shall be composed of two members to tie appointed by each of the Code Authorities for such in dustries as may be involved in each-particular question. In the event suoh Committee is unable to reach a majority con clusion, then either the Committee shall elect an additional impartial member or upon their failure so to agree on such additional impartial member, the Administrator then may ap point such additional impartial committee member. Any mem ber of the industry, the operations of which may raise such a question, shall file a statement of fact with the Code Authority for its industry, and such statement shall contain a statement of its preference as to the Code it would prefer to have such operations be governed by, and such preference shall be granted unless such Coordination Committee shall find that the granting thereof would be unfair in view of the rights of others or that it would have a tendency con trary to the effectuation of the policies of the Act, provi ded that, the operations of any member in the same State pro ducing and/or milling, smelting or refining, or treating copperbearing materials, and materials bearing zinc, lead and/or other mineral products, except coal, shall be governed by the provi sions relating to hours, wages and labor conditions contained, in the code for the industry covering the major portion of such operations which major portion shall be the branch of the opera tions engaging the larger number of employes. Section 3. Within ten (10) days after the effective date of this Code, any member of this industry may file Such a state ment of fact and preference as to being governed by any of such other Codes which may at that time be in effect. Thereafter, upon any such other Code becoming effective, such statement may then be filed; provided, however, that until any such statement is filed and decision is made thereon by such Coordination Com mittee, such operation of such member of this industry shall be governed by the provisions of this Code. Section 4. From'time to time thereafter, if conditions change, members of this industry shall be entitled to file such statements of fact and preference as to change of & portion of their operations from the jurisdiction of one Code to the juris diction of another, and in such event they shall be handled in the same manner as provided for above. After discussion it was regularly moved and seconded that the original Article II as included in the proposed draft of the Lead Code dated February 6, be adopted and that the Code of Fair Competition for the Lead Industries be approved for sub mission to Washington. Motion carried. L I Ao?* 5 7 The Secretary was requested to read a letter he had prepared at the solicitation of the Eeputy Administrator, which would serve as an introduction to the Lead Code and .rhat it was expected to accomplish with respect to the pro gram of the National Recovery Administration. The letter was approved, as follows: February 5, 1954. Hr. <Valter A. Janssen Eeputy Administrator national Recovery Administration hashing >n, E. C. .ear -r. Janssen? .).. The Proposed Code of Fair Competition for the Lead Industries e: , 7^ * oC ^ k-' -- -- VO . w' cj ^7' U- J ^1 t * ** - ^ * o -. v * ** L+ OC* ^ y* -- C. CU O J from mine to finished product, the most important exceptions being lead-covered cable and storage batteries. All the lead industries included in the Code have suffers? fc* -- - . \a *ul the depre' -sws-ion,9 particularly the mining industry, which ha: '' CLr y u .:"* the -rnicuet oo-f pig lead in the United ?r rying it in 1952 t-o c=. 1lower level than has been observed for at least fifty years, namely 2.652 per lb., Lew 'fork. huge stocks of ur.solc lead have been accumulated dur- ( mg he depression and now amount t: f year's supply'at pre- I 2 toiit, rate of concur ur.roaccumulations mre *. , h. -- hie evidence : ^ - r ^ sacrifices mi: s efforts and great finannfc companies have made to keep their employe? lining companies have keenly realized their responsi bilities in sharing work among their employees and relieving suffering in the mining camps, especially where mines are the only source of employment. The lead mines never cut wages to the extent justified by the extraordinarily low price obtained for lead in 1352 and 1355 and after the enactment of the Li.I.E.A., spread work still further, making wage increases which they hoped would be justified by the development of the Administration's Recovery' Program. The mining industry, as a result of a distressed lead market, is working approximately 46 per cent of its 1923 rate of production and there is no prospect of any increase in this rate unless the price of lead should advance. In 1929 the member mining companies in the Lead Indus tries Association employed 8,450 persons. In 1935, despite the low rate of production, they were engaging 5,500 employees, a number which was increased to 5,650 after the P.E.A. program was put into effect. LIA025c a The adoption of the present Code will insure the main tenance of a wage that will sustain the purchasing power in the lead mining camps at the highest rate possible without causing mines to shut down. The smelting industry has also suffered greatly from the depression, but, as soon as the Presidents Recovery Pro gram was begun, steps were taken under the P.R.A., pending the adoption of the Lead Code, to increase wages some 12 per cent end to spread employment even further than it already has been done. Our records show that employment in the pri mary smelters were increased about 15 per cent, and this for an industry running at about one-third of capacity. In other words, employment was increased during P.R.A. arrangements from ,=39 to 2,34 employees. As smelting charges are gener ally transferred back to the miner, it has been important to establish a maximum rate of wrages possible without so increas ing smelting charges as to discourage further the mining of lead and to cause more mines to abandon operations. Manufactaring groups, having been able to run longer hours than either the miners or smelters, have had a relatively greater opportunity in cutting hours to increase employment, hence it is estimated that employment has been increased 1 per cent in our manufacturing plants, or from 2,970 to 2,300 em ployees. At the same time, there has been an increase in wages, which vary from 10 to 20 per cent. altogether it is estimated that Code wage increases will cost the members of the Lead Industries Association submitting the Code, a million and a half dollars per year. It is also to be noted that fair trade practice rules for the Lead Pigments Division will help to eliminate destructive competitive practices, mainly by shedding more light on the busi ness actually done from cay to day by-factors in the industry. Trade practice rules for the Metallic Lead Products Eivision and Foil Division, establish a standard of conduct in the trade which should help to lift the general practices in those Divi sions to a higher level. Very truly yours, LEAD INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION Secretary