Montana labor news., 1937-08-26
Attempt 10 Whiiewash
State Board Fails al
Missoula Union Temple

Charges that the Teachers Union
in Missoula is not a regularly char
tered organization from the Ameri-
can Federation of Teachers, met with
a severe rebuke when the instrument
was produced in an exciting session
of the Missoula County Trades and
Labor Council last Thursday eve
ming. Enemies of the Teachers I'm
ion started the rumor alleging that
it was working without a charter.
Mr.. Wallace Brennan, a member of
the State Board of Education, APP
parently hoping that such was the
case, was foolish enough to make the
same allegation before the meeting.
Secretary Carl Christensen of the
Missoula Trades and Labor Council
then asked if the charter was in the
hall. Professor Atkinson, a member
of the Teachers Union, produced the
charter much to the discontinue of
Mr.. Brennan and others who are un-
friendly to the Teachers Union. The
regular meeting night of the Mis-
soula County Trades and Labor
Council was turned into a public
meeting at which a discussion of the
discharge of Librarian Philip o.
Keeney from the University staff
and the punishment melted out to
Professor Rowe took place. The
matter of whether the agitation for
withholding funds for the construc-
ton of a proposed chemistry build
ing should be carried on or not was
also on the list of subjects for de-
bate.
President S. A. Barrett called the
meeting to order. Mr. Roger Muir
ray of the Farmer Holiday Associa-
ton spoke in condemnation of the
action of the State Board of Educa-
ton and its treatment of MI. Keeney,
and defended the unions in their
battle against the reactionary atti-
tude of the University. Wallace
Brennan, in the time allowed to him,
attempted to justify the stand taken
by the Board of Education and the
stand taken by President Simmons
in the handling of university affairs.
However his case was badly shat
tered by President Graham of the
State Federation of Labor, Professor
Atkinson and Freeman of the Uni
versity and also by members of the
Missoula Trades and Labor Council,
but mostly by his own demonstra-
ton of almost complete lack of
knowledge of union principles and
manner of conducting the business
of labor unions.
After Mr.. Brennan had finished
his talk President James Graham
took the floor and showed conclu-
sively that if the Board of Educa-
ton had been fair in their attitude
toward their constituents and had
conducted their meetings in a legal
manner and had not secluded them
selves in executive session, denied
a hearing to representatives of labor,
the whole matter would never have
come to the sorry mess it is in now.
Mr.. Graham showed how organized
labor has been the main support of
the universities whenever millage
levies and bond issues were needed
and if it had not been for the coun-
ties where labor is organized, these
measures would have been defeated.
The president also pointed out that
the corporations which usually con-
troll political and educational affairs
of the state, have, at least showed
labor the courtesy of being heard.
But the State Board of Education, a
public board, taking a more despotic
stand, is the first and only one to
deny them this right. Mr.. Graham
also stated that inasmuch as the
board has taken the stand that il
will not grant a hearing in the Kee-
ney case, there is no other course
than to take the matter to court
and this action will be instituted
,,y,+L;p q rhort tiv,a