Montana labor news. [volume], March 10, 1938, Image 1

About Montana labor news. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 19??-1951

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
Montana Labor News
The American standard of
living must be mâintained
in order that American in
stitutions may not be sub
ject to perils of discontent.
There can be no prosperity
without justly high wages.
Earnings of working people
are the basis and index of
progress in any community.
-î- PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTERESTS OF ORGANIZED LABOR
BUTTE, MONTANA, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1938
Vol. XIV
No. 2
TRADES COUNCIL TO
START AT 7 O'CLOCK
ON MARCH 11TH
The next meeting of the Silver
Bow Trades and Labor Council will
start at 7 o'clock instead of 8 o'clock.
Union delegates will be in session
just one hour, then the Council will
adjourn and the meeting be thrown
up for the nomination of trustees
of School District No, 1 on the In
dependent ticket. The public is
cordially invited to attend the mass
meeting.
A communication was received
from the National Wool Growers
Association of Salt Lake City deny
ing all connection with the arrest
of A. A. Evans, secretary of the
Sheepshearers Union, in Arizona.
This organization stated that the
greater part of its organization was
composed of state groups and not
very many individual members.
The Trades and Labor Council
has been unable to find out all the
particulars of the arrest of Evans
except that he was trying to or
ganize some of the sheepshearers in
that district. The general antag
onism of the wool growers to the
union is well known. It might be
that the wool growers had no direct
connection with the incident. The
Central Labor Council in Phoenix,
Arizona, is protesting the arrest and
prosecution of Evans and several
other members of his union.
The unions in Butte will continue
to send in protests and to do all they
can to defend these members of
organized labor.
A strongly worded letter was re
ceived from Louisville, Kentucky,
bitterly condemning Seagram's Dis
tillery of that city. The Trades
Council went on record as support
ing the appeal of the A. F. of L. and
the Distillery Workers Union to
place a boycott against the company.
Delegates to the Silver Bow
Trades and Labor Council are in
favor of supporting the Teachers
Union in their request for a length
ening of the school term from nine
months to 9*4 months and the School
Board will be notified of such action
by the Silver Bow Trades and Labor
Council.
The Paul F. Beich Candy Com
pany settled their trouble with the
unions and is now asking members
of organized labor to support them.
Helena unions are complaining
against the proposal to use convict
labor to construct a new state build
ing at Deer Lodge in which license
plates will be manufactured. The
Helena organizations are requesting
the other unions to support them,
(Continued to Page 6)
Unions Urge People
To Buy Beich Candy
BAKERY & CONFECTIONERY
WORKERS
Silver Bow Trades and Labor
Council;
Local 342 of the Bakery and Con
fectionery Workers International
Union of America wish to announce
that we reached a satisfactory agree
ment with the Paul F. Beich Candy
Company of Bloomington, Illinois,
and returned to our former jobs on
February 3, 1938.
In as much as we had appealed to
you in regard to the recent contro
versy asking you to notify the Paul
F. Beich Candy Company to reach
an early settlement or you would
instruct your membership and their
jobbers not to purchase their prod
ucts, we are asking that you notify
your membership and their jobbers
that the Beich Candy Company be
put back on the fair list again.
Due to the fact that we were on
strike for 8 weeks we are of the
opinion that all the publicity this
matter can be given will be very
helpful in restoring the sale of the
Beich products which will mean an
early return of all our members to
their former jobs.
Thanking you for your support
which we found to be very effective,
we wish to remain,
Fraternally yours,
LOCAL 342.
NOTICE OF MEETING
Chairman John Donavan of
the Independent School Ticket
requests all members of his
committee to meet at the
Engineers office, Carpenters
Union hall, Sunday, March 13,
at 3 p. m.
Members of the committee
are as follows: John Donovan,
James Leary, Leonard Ripper,
Frank Sullivan, Peter John
son, Tim Barrington and John
Vickers.
AT OHIO C. 1.0. CONVENTION
- j
Four regional directors who participated acitvely in the formation of
the Ohio Industrial Council at the convention recently held in Colum
bus, Left to right, seated: Pres. John Owens of District 6, United
Mine Workers, who was elected president of the council; August
Scholle, Toledo glass worker who 1 -'s the C. I. O. in northwest
Ohio; standing: Cleveland Regiona 3 ector Lee Hall; Cincinnati
Regional Director Paul Fuller, wlv 5' i serves as president of the
Federation of Flat Glass Workers, £ (Federated Pictures)
INDEPENDENTS WILL //MINATE TWO
SCHOOL TRUS i AT MASS MEETING
TOWNSEND FORCES
OUT FOR H. R. 4199
The largest and most enthusiastic
crowd of the winter season attended
a social meeting of Butte Townsend
Club No. 1 Friday evening at the
Y. M. C. A. A noticeable feature
of the meeting was the large num
ber of young men and women in
attendance; their pertinent questions
gave evidence of the fact that they
are awakening to the need of some
permanent recovery plan that will
prevent recurrent depressions, and
are studying the Townsend plan as
set forth in H. R. 4199 now before
Congress.
Visitors from Great Falls, Boze
man, Livingston, Manhattan, Twin
Bridges, Dillon and Whitehall were
present, with the Bozeman delega
tion in charge of the educational
part of the program. E. M. Westad
gave a brief outline of the Town
send plan; W. Barnum urged the
need of extending club activities;
J. M. Dunbar furnished a pertinent
"hayseed" view of the farmers need
for the plan; Professor L. L. Bu
chanan and F. Redfield spoke on
phases not touched on by the other
speakers; H. B, Landoe, county at
torney of Gallatin County, who was
the principal speaker for the Boze
man folks, concluded his fine talk
with this statement: "To my mind
there has been no other remedy
offered that could solve our eco
nomic problem, and until there is a
better one put forward I am for
the Townsend plan as expressed in
H. R, 4199, now held up by the Ways
and Means Committee."
Park Lea brought news of the
activities of many congressmen who
are trying to get H. R. 4199 out of
committee; Mrs. H. N. Kennedy
spoke of the Townsend plan from
the women's angle; F. Murray told
of conditions in Cascade County;
Miss M. Shea of Anaconda and
Frank Heffernan furnished musical
numbers, and the social committee
served refreshments; M. J, Mulhol
land welcomed all visitors and an
nounced that Club No. 1 meets
every Friday evening at the Y. M.
C. A. at 8 o'clock.
CASCADE ASSEMBLY
HAS BUSY SESSION
Talks About Unfair Firms;
Compliments Library.
The Cascade Assembly of unions
endorsed both James Talbot and
Hugh Lyman for the position of city
firemen. Talbot is a member of the
Electrical Workers and had already
been endorsed by that organization.
Lyman belongs to the Mill and
Smeltermen's Union, and had been
endorsed by his union. In order to
be fair and impartial, the delegates
voted to endorse both men.
At the request of the Teamsters
organization, the H. & M. Transfer
Company was declared unfair.
A letter of thanks was sent to
the Board of Fair Commissioners
for the action of the board in per
mitting the use of the North Mon
tana fair grounds to the unions for
their celebrations.
Mr. Newton Holcomb, manager of
the Social Security field offices,
promised that he would attend a
meeting of the Cascade Assembly
on March 11 and explain the social
security program to the delegates.
(Continued on Page 6)
iLarge Crowd Anticipated at
Carpenters Hall March 15.
The meeting of the Silver Bow
Trades and Labor Council next
Tuesday evening, March 15th, will
be turned into a nominating mass
meeting for trustees of School Dis
trict No. 1. John Donovan, a mem
ber of the Electricians Union, will
serve as chairman. Mr. Donovan
was elected to serve in this capacity
a year ago and was reappointed by
Chairman Davis of the Council two
weeks ago. Other members of the
committee are James Leary, Leon
ard Ripper, Frank Sullivan, Peter
Johnson, Tim Harrington and John
Vickers.
At the present time there are two
Independent members on the board,
namely, Mr. Frank Murray and Mr.
A. Lehwalder. Mr. Murray's term
expires in April. The Citizens now
have five members on the board.
It is very necessary that the unions
increase their representation and
that the people get out and vote to
re-elect the two Independent mem
bers whoever they may be. It is
not good for the district that one
party continue to have an over
whelming majority on the board.
This has been demonstrated many
times.
School election will take place the
first Saturday in April.
Officers of Bus Drivers
In Butte on Business
Matt Murray from Seattle is in
Butte in the interest of the Amalga
mated Association of Street and
Electric Railway Employees and
Motor Coach Operators of America.
He was ordered to report here by
First Vice-president Edward Mc
Morrow, at Detroit. Mr. W. D.
Mahon is president of the Amalga
mated Association, but has been
very ill for some time and his duties
have been largely taken over by
Mr. McMorrow.
The Amalgamated Association has
jurisdiction over all passenger
transportation except taxis. Their
jurisdiction includes city bus lines,
intrastate and interstate bus trans
portation. At one time the Amalga
mated Association had locals in Mis
soula, Butte, Helena, and Great
Falls. A great change has come
over the transportation picture, not
only in the Northwest, but all over
the country and where formerly all
the transportation men belonged to
the railroads, many of them are now
included in the Amalgamated. The
Washington Motor Coach and the
Greyhound drivers are members of
the Amalgamated. The men work
ing for the Washington Motor Coach
system have their headquarters at
Portland, although some of the men
drive into Butte. The men working
for the Greyhound company have
their union headquarters at Minne
apolis. Recently the Minneapolis
organization has effected affiliation
with the Silver Bow Trades and La
bor Council.
MONAGHAN REGISTERS
When 12 saloon keepers in Mead
erville, Butte suburb, found they
had paid too much for their retail
liquor vending licenses, they re
tained Joseph Monaghan, former
Butte congressman, to recover their
money. The fee charged was ex
cessive, in that Meaderville is an
unincorporated village of less than
2,000 residents. They paid the regu
lar city fee. Two liquor dealers in
"Black Eagle" near Great Falls,
joined with the Butte group. This
week the Liquor Control Board paid
back to the liquor dealers $4,600,
Proposed Relief Law
And Pension Act Is
Considered by Group
A proposed law intended to meet
national relief needs and establish
an old age pension of $50 a month
was discussed at the bimonthly
meeting of the Social Security Union
at Carpenters hall. Copies of the
bill were ordered sent to Pres.
Roosevelt and Sec. Morgenthau of
the treasury.
Under the act Congress would
authorize the treasury to issue $10,
000,000 of legal tender notes, with
no metallic base and no date of re
demption. The treasury would start
taking up the notes Jan. 1, 1945,
from a $50,000,000 annual sinking
fund.
Pensions would go to persons hav
ing reached the age of 65. Under a
PWA setup 15 days of work a month
at $5 a day would be provided for
relief, $15 of this to be deducted to
amortize homes built under the re
lief work housing plan.
The following letters were sent to
The President and Secretary Mor
genthau by the Social Security
Union:
Dear Mr. President;
The Social Security Union of
Great Falls, Mont., has drafted a
bill which we are mailing to Secre
tary Morgenthau. When he receives
the same we have asked him to take
it to the White House and discuss
the plan with you.
Social Security Union.
Great Falls, Montana,
March 7th, 1938,
Sec. Morgenthau,
United States Treasurer,
Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:
We realize on July 1st, 1938, the
Works Progress Association termi
nates, and a new plan must pass
Congress to take its place to provide
for permanent unemployment and
relief. We have had the wrong
economic philosophy by recovery
from the top down instead of from
the bottom up. Let the big indus
tries, railroads, banks and en
trenched wealth go to the dogs. They
will find their own level—water
always does. Start on the bottom,
give every able-bodied man out of
work a job on public works at not
less than twenty days a month at
$5.00 a day. That will be recovery
on a permanent basis, from the bot
tom up—the only scientific way. To
hell with entrenched wealth. Roose
velt saved them from receivers and
put them on their feet solvently.
Then they knifed him and tried to
throw the whole program over
board, and just before January 1st,
1939, they will do the same thing
again. Don't worry about en
trenched wealth, they won't starve,
when they smell profits they will
come on the dead run to get on the
band wagon.
Standard purchasing power of
ninety million has got all the en
trenched wealth in the world
skinned a mile for stabilization and
permanent recovery. We have had
deflation on and off for seven years
and go from bad to worse, a mild
ten per cent inflation. This plan
will give us what we need. It will
put business, pep and purchasing
power into the national blood stream.
What is the use of pouring billions
into swaying, tottering, over-capi
talized, over-watered Benedict Ar
nold institutions. Build recovery
from the bottom up—the standard
masses. Then we will have real
economic security.
Respectfully yours,
A. L. Sutherland.
ENGINEER GETS JOB
WITH EASTERN FIRM
The unions will be pleased to
hear that John O'Brien, a member
of the Engineers Union and who
served with distinction in the 1933
session of the legislature, has been
added to the sales force of the Cal
I:
.
'i
JOHN O'BRIEN
vert Distilleries Corporation, of Re
lay, Maryland. Mr, O'Brien's duties
with the company will be connected
with sales throughout the state of
Montana. He will work under the
direction of Mr. James Brett, the
local manager for Calvert in Mon
tana. Calvert has been noted for
the fine quality liquors.
Stage Executive Is
Visiting in Butte
Mr. O. M. Jacobson, international
organizer for the Stage Employees
and Operators Union is visiting in
Butte. While here he attended the
ar. ual banquet of the organization.
Twenty-five men attended the
banquet. The committee on ar
rangements was Eddy Curran, Char
ley Malloy and Henry Young. En
tertainment was provided by Gib
Cooney at the piano and Dennis
Sullivan, local soloist. Earl Wiles
was master of ceremonies.
Mr. Jacobson has been a frequent
visitor in Butte in the interest of
his organization and is well known,
especially among members of the
Theatrical Union. He has been con
nected with his international office
for the past nine years and is em
ployed in the general capacity of
settling difficulties, assisting in
wage negotiations, organizing new
unions and doing other essential
work required by his union. His
home is at Tacoma, Washington.
lewis Gives Full
To New Wagner Bill
Would Prevent Federal Busi
ness Going to Labor Act
Violators.
WASHINGTON (UNS)— Full sup
port for the Wagner bill (S. 3390)
requiring compliance with the Na
tional Labor Relations Act—is inn
holders of government contracts was
expressed in a letter written last
week by John L. Lewis to Senator
Robert F. Wagner, sponsor of the
bill.
"I am convinced that legislation of
this character—requiring benficiar
ies of government contracts, loans
or grants to comply with the Na
tional Labor Relations Act—ic im
perative to implement the policy of
the United States as set forth in the
National Labor Relations Act and
to secure full enforcement of the
Jaw," Lewis said.
"Organized labor now sees certain
large corporations, like Bethlehem
Steel, Weirton Steel and the Elec
tric Boat Company, dominated by
men like Grace, Girdler and Weir,
enjoying very profitable contracts
from the United States government
while they brazenly flout the pro
visions of the National Labor Rela
tions Act.
"Agencies such as the Metropoli
tan Water Boards of South Cali
fornia obtain hundreds of millions
of dollars from the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation, and then prac
tice the most vicious anti-labor
policies.
"These wholesale violations of a
basic federal law by reactionary
corporate interests are supported by
federal funds. The measure which
you have introduced would end this
intolerable situation."
SUGAR UNIONS SHOW
STRANGE CONDITIONS
Superfluous Federal Labor Or
ganizations; Imported Car
penters Employed on Building.
This year the Holly Sugar Com
pany constructed a sugar factory at
Hardin, Montana. Carpenters were
imported into Hardin from every
where to work on the building and
paid the magnificent sum of eighty
cents an hour while the carpenters'
scale is one dollar per hour—the
Billings scale, as Hardin is within
the Billings jurisdiction.
The wages of common labor were
reduced from sixty cents per hour
to forty cents per hour; the latter
wage was paid men wheeling con
crete.
Sixty cents per hour has
been the wage scale for laborers
for a few years in Hardin.
During the month of September
the employees of the Holly sugar
factories at Hardin and Sidney,
Montana, were organized into the
Federal Labor Unions by some per
son from Kansas City, although
Federal Labor Unions were already
in existence in Hardin and Sidney
for over four years. Charters were
granted these new unions at Har
din and Sidney over the protest of
the Federal Labor Unions of Hardin
and Sidney on the grounds that the
newly organized unions were only
company unions. The president of
the Montana State Federation of
Labor also protested against the
chartering of these new unions and
recommended that the new unions
should be merged with the existing
union as this would prevent the
company dominating the sugar fac
tory unions,
The last convention of the Mon
tana Federation of Labor decided
to keep Holly Sugar on the unfair
list until it settled with Organized
Labor in Montana.
C. 1.0. Asks Congrses
To Provide Jobs
For 3,500,000
At Least $600,000,000 Needed at
Once for WPA, Says League.
WASHINGTON (UNS) — Appro
priation of at least $600,000,000 tç
provide WPA jobs up to the end
of the current fiscal year was de
manded last week by both the
Committee for Industrial Organiza
tion and Labor's Non-Partisan
League.
In communications to the House
Appropriations Committee and the
members of the Senate and House,
both Director John Brophy of the
C. I. O. and E, L. Oliver, executive
vice president of the League, point
ed out that the $250,000,000 WPA
deficiency appropriation asked by
Pres. Roosevelt was woefully in
adequate to provide work for the
unemployed.
"At least 3,500,000 jobs are need
ed to cope with the present un
employment," Brophy said.
"It will take at least this many
jobs to fulfill the administration's
declared policy that it will not per
mit any needy American who can
and is willing to work to starve be
cause the federal government does
not provide work. Already in many
states and cities the plight of Amer
ican unemployed is desperate."
League Letter to Congress
Oliver, in a letter to all members
of Congress, pointed out thaj al
though 3,000,000 workers have lost
their jobs in the past three months,
according to the administration's
own figures, it is proposed to put
only 500,000 of them on WPA.
"On the basis of the Census of
Unemployment, there were 10,800,
000 able-bodied jobless, between the
ages of 15 and 70, as of November
15, 1937," he said. "Since then there
has been an increase of at least
3,000,000 in persons unemployed.
This gives us a total of more than
13,000,000 out of work today."
HOCHMAN URGES
7-POINT A. F. L
(. 1.0. PEACE PLAN
By Federated Press
NEW YORK. —(FP)-A 7-point
program for A. F. L.-C. I. O. peace
was suggested by Julius Hochman,
a vice president of the Inti. Ladies
Garment Workers Union and man
ager of the dressmakers' joint board,
in a talk before a conference of
teachers in workers' education here.
It embraced:
1. Elimination of Class B mem
bership in A. F. of L. unions, with
issuance of new charters to any
groups subjected to discriminatory
rulings.
2. Industrial union charters to the
original C. I. O. unions and to those
subsequently chartered by the C.
I. O. "which clearly have the sup
port of the bulk of the organized
workers in their respective indus
tries."
3. An arbitration board, repre
sentative of A. F. of L. and C. I. O.
to make final jurisdictional deci
sions in industries where both
groups have substantial member
ship and where the unions them
selves are unable to agree within
three months.
4. Joint conventions, after juris
dictional disputes are settled, to
elect administrations representative
of the entire membership.
5. Abolition of executive council's
powers to suspend or expel national
and international unions between
conventions.
6. All C. I. O. unions to enter
A. F. of L. together after all differ
ences have been composed.
7. A convention to elect represent
ative officers immediately following
entrance of C. I. O. affiliates into
the A. F. of L.
Hochman pledged continued sup
port to the C. I. O,, but insisted that
it is imperative that the C. I. O.
have a peace program, both because
peace is desirable and so that die
hard A. F. of L. elements will not
be able to shift the blame. He fa
vored continuance of peace efforts
with peace-seekers in the A. F. of L.
A. F. OF L. CHARTERS BUTTE
CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL
It has been announced by officers
of the Butte Central Labor Council
that they have received an A. F. of
L. charter for a central council in
Silver Bow County, from Wm.
Green, president of the A. F. of L.
The present officers of the body
are, F. W. Krabler, president; H. H.
Smith, vice president; T. Ryan,
treasurer; H. C, Holland, secretary,
and J. T. Sullivan, warden.
Regular meetings are held every
Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock at the
M. & M. hall over the M. & M. cigar
store.
Pecan Strikers Appeal
To Workers for Help
Record of Police Beatings, Ar
rest and Persecution; Workers
Live on Beans.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas. — Over
5,000 of ^America's poorest paid
workers, the pecan shelters of San
Antonio, today appealed to organ
ized labor and labor's friends in
America to send funds to help them
win their strike—now entering its
fifth week.
These workers are striking in
protest of a wage cut amounting to
about 20 per cent, which would
bring their average wages down to
$2 or less per week. Before the
wage cut, their pay averaged less
than $2.50 per week for from 60 to
80 hours of work. Pay envelopes
with amounts as small as 74 cents
for a full week's work have been
seen by union leaders, and photo
graphs of these envelopes have been
displayed in "Focus" magazine—a
new picture magazine with national
circulation.
During the strike police and the
corrupt city administration have
denied the workers the right to
picket, have beaten them, have lined
up men, women, children and moth
ers with babies in their arms, on
private property, and then without
warning shot tear gas into their
midst. Police have beaten, clubbed,
and kicked workers, both men and
women. One 66-year-old man was
knocked down at the city jail and
kicked by a policeman. Over 700
arrests have been made. Scores of
people have been kept in jail for
days without being charged with
any offense. Ten and twelve strikers
have been placed in cells built to
hold not more than four prisoners.
Police have threatened to set up
concentration camps if picketing
continues.
In the face of such terrorism, and
with a total relief fund of less than
$700 during the entire strike, the
strike is going stronger today than
the day it began. Last Sunday a
mass meeting of 8,000, the largest
thus far held, denounced a proposed
company union meeting being held
elsewhere at the same time which
was attended by not more than 200
people, mostly henchmen of the
racketeering city machine.
All these strikers are asking is a
diet of tortillas and beans and they
will be able to hold out indefinite
ly. People who have not been here
in San Antonio and seen at first
hand the misery and hopeless pov
erty under which these people have
been forced to live will probably
have a hard time understanding how
it is possible for five or more of
these workers and their families to
live on little more than a dollar's
worth of food per week. That is
the incredibly small amount which
the strike committee has announced
will be sufficient to feed the strikers
The Pecan Shellers' Union, local
No. 172, has asked that local unions
and individuals throughout the
country send funds in as large
amounts as possible to them imme
diately. These funds are desperate
ly needed.
Send funds to Pecan Workers'
Emergency Relief Committee, J.
Austin Beasley, Secretary-Treasur
er, Box 1861, San Antonio, Texas.
Mr. Beasley is international organ
izer for the United Cannery, Agri
cultural, Packing, Allied Workers of
America and is in charge of the San
Antonio strike.
OHIO S LABOR'S NON-PARTI
SAN LEAGUE WILL MOVE TO
CLEAN STATE GOVERNMENT
CLEVELAND—(FP)—While state
legislators shouted for impeachment
of Martin L. Davey, red-baiting,
anti-labor governor of Ohio, Labor's
Non-Partisan League here prepared
for a county convention on March
13 to clean out corrupt and anti
democratic government in this state.
Elmer Maloy, former C. I. O. or
ganizer and present labor mayor of
Duquesne, Pa., will be principal
speaker. The convention precedes
the first state convention of the
league by one week.
Cries for impeachment arose in
the legislature as the governor was
pushed further into a corner by
increasing revelations of widespread
graft in his administration. At the
recent Ohio convention of the C. I.
O., labor spokesmen demanded his
impeachment while the convention
passed a resolution demanding con
tinuation of the graft investigation
of his administration.
A meeting of the International
Labor Defense will be held
Sunday, March 13, at 8 p. m.,
at Carpenters Union Hall.
Public is cordially invited to
attend.
KYLE PUJH
Local Representative