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 (a) to be granted differential in wage rates in
 favor of the southern territories.

 (b) to fix a minimum wrge for semi-skilled workers at i
 371- ner hour.

 (c) to permit learners fo r a period of ten weeks at a
 minimum wage of 2V- per hour, not to exceed 15 percent
 of the entire number of employees.

The Virginia Art Goods Studios, Inc. in support of their petition
claim that the mmnuf(.cturers of Ladies' 'andbag9 in the northern .rtates1
have skilled labor who work witn a "speed which can be equalled only
by eou*lly skilled experienced labor".

Fifty percent of tho h'rndba.g industry is located outside the metro-
*olitan area of N7ew York in which no experienced help is available,
a.nd the manufacturers obtain their workers in the same manner as does
the Virginia Art Goods Studios, Inc. In the metropolitan area of New
York, in which experienced help is "v,.il,-.ble, the wages paid such
help is from two to three times r. ore than p-.id the inexperienced help.

The Virginia Art Goods Studios, Inc. claim that they are pioneers in
their locality.

The records show this firm .: been established over eight years, and
that during the past five ye-rs, they have enjoyed a large volume of
business in the industry, em'loying at times as many as 168 workers.
These workers have all had s:',me training by this time, and are avail-
able mostly at the minimum. v. :_-e rate. The question whether the labor
in Lynchburg, Virginia, c-an ccr,,prre with northern workers in volume
in speed of production, is not :leteri.;inble, since the kind and quality
of work varies in x':.ch factory, and l".ck of production frequently the
result of inefficiency in factory mana.gements as has been disclosed
through investigation made in other industries in which similar
claims have been made.

The statement of the Virginia Art Goods Studios, Inc. that "the prac- i
ticel r nd inevitable result is tha,-.t the Virginia Art Goods Studios,
Inc. cannot successfully corr-ete with other manufacturers whose out-
_ut per capital of employees is so much greater"--tl-is merely expresses
their opinion. .

The loss sust-ined by the Virginia Art Goods Studios, Inc. during the It
ye-.r 1933 m-.y h.-ve been due to : dozen or mere causes, and to have
this Company claim that such losses resulted from increased labor costBs
is merely ex)ressin,, a convenient conclusion. Any increase in labor :
costs mig?.t :a.ve been included in tie cost of their product, or they .
may have offset this increase by taking the difference out of the
value of materials, if they fail to do so, they cannot justly attribute
it to increased labor costs.



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