Montana labor news., 1937-10-07
SECRETARY OF STATE
Go EXPRESSES VIEWS
OF LABOR PROBLEMS
Urges Cooperation Between Fed
Grated Groups; Suggests More
Solidarity.

organization OF the millions Oh wage
earners still unorganized in spite of
the rapid growth of the labor unions
in the last year, is the foremost issue
before all active union men and
women.
Here in Montana this issue is now
before the labor movement of the
A. F. of L. and c. L. o.
unions-in very clear form. How
much better it would have been, for
instance, if by working together, the
State Federation of Labor and the
State C. 1. o. Council could have
been able to say that the Great West
ern refinery in Billings had been
induced by united labor action to
recognize not only a comparatively
small number of refinery workers
but a powerful union composed of
all the sugar beet workers in the
Yellowstone Valley.
Great Western sugar has to be fair
to all types of labor employed in
order to get the generous govern
ment sugar subsidy recently voted
by Congress. It also has to be fair
to organized labor in order to fill
government contracts for the Army,
Navy, CCC camps and other big
profitable government contracts.
Both A. F. of L. and c. I. o. unions
are in the field in this great section
of the agricultural industry. There
has been misunderstanding already
as a result of failure to work to-
gether against the Sugar Trust and
there has been friction over the in
depreciation of the agreement signed
with the Great Western Sugar Re-
finery.
Such misunderstanding acting as
a drag of the progress of the organ
lied labor movement, can be avoided
and the whole movement strength
ened by consultation of officials and
active members of the labor move
ment, by open discussion leading to
agreement on organization cam
paigns and so on.
The Employers Association and
the officers of the big corporations,
with their corrupt political servants,
are very busy now in Montana.
They know that the state labor move
ment is confronted with a lot of
hard work in the organization of the
oil fields and refineries, the flour
milling industry, the logging and
sawmill industry, and in the agri-
cultural industry-still the first in
dustry of this state in spite of years
of drouth and dust storms.
The thousands of wage earners in
these important industries can be
organized successfully and favorable
wage and working agreements Sc
cured only by joint action of all Sec
tons of the organized labor move
ment-by joint action, united sup
port Of organization drives and pub
Lefty in all issues of the labor press.
The Montana Labor News, the
Miners Voice and other state labor
papers should receive far more sup
port and get much wider circles of
readers than at present. My opin-
ion is that the labor movement
should consider very seriously the
establishment of a statewide labor
p~aper-either spreading out some of
the papers now being published, or
if their editors think the project too
ambitious for their resources, putting
out another paper with the support
of the farmers organizations which
could have a still wider appeal.
Another question that is of the
greatest concern to all unions, both
c. 1. o. unions like the Mine, Mill
and Smelter Workers and the unions
affiliated with the A. F. of L. is that
of securing a favorable contract with
the Anaconda Copper Mining Com
pany when the present one expires
next year.
If the A. c. M. follows the ex-
ample of the other large corporations
in the country, and from their stand
point it would be foolish not to, il
will get busy trying to take advan-
tage of the present division in the
ranks of labor. 1t will try to widen
division on question of policy and to
drive a wedge between the industrial
unions and the craft unions so that
it Ear deal with each group separate
ly and weaken both of them.
Around $4,000 men are now en-
ployed in mines, mills and smeletrs
in Montana and this is a serious
problem already for miners, smelter-
men and mechanics. Whole COM
munities depend upon the wages
paid in this industry and have q
direct interest in working conditions
Dissension and division among the
unions in this industry would have
damaging effect not only on the
wage earners and their families but
on thousands of others who depend
on this industry for their livelihood
The united action in the case OF
Professor Keeney, summarily dis
charged from the state librarians
post in the University of Montana
the support for him and the wide
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