Montana labor news., 1935-10-03
Unions Secure Prevailing Pay


In the issue of September u Of the Eye Opener appeared
an article with the subtitle, Mayor Hauswirth's Program
Endorsed Then followed the main text of the article be-
ginning "A prevailing wage rate as asked for and fought for
by Mayor Hauswrth on Montana projects under the WA
has been announced by Ray Hart, state administrator. For
several months the mayor Of this city advocated the prevail
ing wage but IN order to secure any projects whatever for the
Butte district, was compelled to rush in projects to get under
the time limit or this community would have had no projects
under the PWA."
OF all the brazen assumptions that have been made by the
present mayor, not only since he has been mayor, but for some
time back, this one caps the climax. Either Mr.. Hauswirth
or the Eye Opener or both Of them have taken credit upon
themselves for the election of certain men to office or for
other matters, which they felt was in the interests Of the
people, whether he or his paper contributed materially to that
result or not tgotism possibly is virtue II not carried to an
extreme and if bounded with truth and reason, but the prac-
tie of saying 81 did it in order to secure praise and personal
recognition for political and material aggrandlzement at the
expense of the people should be exposed. Since the inception
of the Eye Opener it has pretended to be a liberal paper and
at times has been pretended to represent labor principles.
Since the present mayor assumed office, he has had consid-
cradle trouble with the labor unions. He even went SO far as
to deliver a vicious attack on the Trades and Labor Council
some weeks ago, stating that the labor unions were trying to
dictate the policies of the city administration, when an adj
iustment of pay was asked for one of the unions. How diff
ferent is the present administration from that Of Mayor
Duncan?
During the Socialist administration Of the affairs of Butte,
the wages of the city employees were Immediately raised.
Under Hauswirth, in one instance, they have been reduced,
and in another case he fought against raising the pay to the
level that was formerly enjoyed by these employees, but the
made no offer to make his own salary less than 1t had ever
been under any other administration. It is money that is the
essential element that interests the present mayor and not
the welfare of the working people.
Labor Unions Secured Prevailing Rate.
The Silver Bow Trades and Labor Council, together with its
AFFILIATED unions, were the principal instruments in securing
the prevailing rate Of pay for the people Of Montana. The
unions would tolerate no compromise on this measure. they
intended to resist the institution Of the security earnings wage
by the Government even if they faced starvation. The Silver
Bow Trades and Labor Council sent out letters to every State
Federation of Labor in the United States asking them to as
sit in opposing the institution of the Government wage rates.
They appealed to the American Federation Of Labor and its
Executive Board. They protested to all the local, state and
national Government agencies Inc unions OF Butte struck
on the job by refusing to permit men even to enter the forest
at these rates. To the Butte Building Trades Council the
subject was one charged with dynamite and any suggestions
to modify the antagonsim of this organization to the propOs-
ed wages met with instant and severe rebuke. The Montana
State Federation OF Labor and the Central Labor Councils IN
all the cities of Montana contributed to the victory. Now
let us see what the attitude of the Mayor was on this sub
Ject. He vacllated from one end to the other. He straddled
the fence until smoked out. The City Council of Anaconda
endorsed the prevailing rate and the Mayor sent in a request
to Mr.. Hopkins that the prevailing rate of pay be paid in that
city. Mayor Hauswirth was asked to do the same thing. He
refused. A second time, the matter Of getting the city adj
ministraton to go in favor OF the prevailing rate OF pay was
There can be only one Interpretation upon this matter and
that is that insofar as Mayor Hauswirth IS concerned he
doesn't care whether the prevailing rate Of pay is paid or
whether the scab rate OF pay IS paid, as long as the city OF
Butte doesn't have to pay any of it. 1t is the height OF i'm
pudence and deceit for him to come out in his paper, the Eye
Opener, and claim credit for having done anything to secure
the prevailing rate Of pay for this communicative the rec
ords show that if he did anything at all it was to oppose the
establishment OF the prevailing rate OF pay. Many shrewd
individuals live by claiming that they are responsible for
any act or event, especially if it happens to be in their favor
and by disclaiming any connection with it if it happens to be
against them. This type Of Individual is usually called an
opportunist. The unions of Silver Bow County will not soon
forget the part Mr.. Hauswirth played in the game of attain
ing the prevailing rate of pay, nor will they soon forget the
attitude Of the present Mayor toward the unions, nor his
penchant in seeking to capitalize on anything that takes
place in the community. Granted that the Eye Opener has
attacked the Montana Power Company in days gone by, and
has done some good regarding arousing the people to the fact
that they were being robbed by the rates, but the Montana
Labor News was fighting the Montana Power Company and
the railroads and the telephone companies and all other pub
lie utilities long before the Eye Opener ever opened its eye
and before Hauswirth blossomed out into a radical and while
he was making his profit in the coal business, sacrificing the
coal miners by selling scab coal.
The Silver Bow County Commissioners, Mr.. OBrien, Mr..
Merkle, and Mr.. Batani, officially went on record favoring
the payment of the prevailing rate of pay on projects spons-
ored by Silver Bow County. They did not seek to hide their
sentiments, but came right out in the open.
There is no procedure that a man or woman can take who
pretends to be radical that will so effectively show that in
dividuaps true colors as being placed in some political office.
Many men who have pledged undying loyalty to the unions
and the working people in general have been shown up when
they were elected by these same people to office. Perhaps
it is fortunate that Mr.. Hauswirth was elected mayor of the
city of Butte. If he had not been he could have gone on
spouting about his devotions to the common people and his
hatred to the corporations and no one would have been the
wiser. 1t is perhaps fortunate also that the exposure of his
true nature came in this office and not in a larger one where
he may have done more injury to the people and to the
unions.
The Butte Building Trades Council, severity took to task
Buttes Mayor for his attempt to derive unmerlted honor in
the last issue of the Eye Opener. The allegations made in
this paper according to the Council were false and misleading.