Montana labor news., 1937-09-23
Unions Reaffirm Proposal That
Women Be Paid 72c an Hour.

Unions heaIIlfm fFOpOSdl 1nat
Women Be Paid 72c an Hour.
Guests and visitors of the Silver
Bow Trades and Labor Council last
Tuesday evening included Philip o.
Keeney, former librarian of the Uni
versity of Montana and over whose
dismissal the Federation of Labor
has instituted proceedings in the
District Court at Helena; William F.
Dunno, former resident of Butte and
former member of the Electricians
Union, now known throughout the
length and breadth of the land as a
fearless champion of social economic
rights Of the people, and Bruce
Steinmetz, president of the Cascade
County Trades and Labor Assembly.
The Montana Federation of Labor,
through President Graham, is now
compelling the State Board of Edu-
cation, including President Simmons
of the University of Montana, to
appear in Helena, Wednesday, Sep
TENDER %, to restore Phillip o. Kee-
ney to his previous position as Ii
brarian or show cause why they
had not done so.
Mr.. Keeney in his talk to the dele
gates of the Council, covered the
whole story of the formation of the
Teachers Union at Missoula, the Sc
curing Of names for the charter for
that organization, and of his notice
of dismissal shortly afterwards. The
unions feel and rightly so that Mr..
Keeney was dismissed because of his
union activities and also because of
his very liberal viewpoint upon the
conduct of the library and his pro
gressive ideas toward education in
general. The meeting of the State
Board of Education of April 18th
was explained by the speaker and
how the minutes were expunged in
order to conceal evidences of the
transaction of that meeting. Appar-
emily the State Board of Education,
with the exception of Miss Reardon
and Harry Freebourn, are ashamed
of what %transpired there. Mr.. Kee-
ney then said that it was felt that
at the July 18th meeting of the
Board of Education, some action
might have been taken to correct the
injustices melted to Mr.. Keeney and
Mr.. Rowe. The board however failed
to make any such changes and with
in the past ten days the Montana
Federation of Labor has seen fit to
hale the board and President Sim
mons into the district court at Hell
ena, principally on the grounds that
inasmuch as Professor Keeney had
permanent tenure for four years the
board violated its rules and the laws
under which it is supposed to func-
ton. The unions have a good case
here. The dismissal of Librarian
Phillip o. Keeney has become a ma
tional issue. It was denounced at
the meeting of the Federation of
Teachers at Madison, Wisconsin, and
the convention Of the Common
wealth Federation in Washington
and has been taken c~ognizance of by
the Association of University Pro-
fessors and other liberal bodies.
William Dunno followed Mr.. Kee-
ney and charged that the corporate
interests of Montana were respon-
sible for the whole suppression of
liberty in our chief educational in
stitutions.
Bruce Steinmetz in his address to
the Assembly thanked the delegates
for their help in the settlement of
the bakers strike in Great Falls.
The Musicians Union, according to
Earl Simmons, feels quite bitter to
Senator Wheeler for his attack upon
President Roosevelt on the Supreme
Court plan.
All elevator girls in Silver Bow
County are requested to comply with
the efforts of the organization COM
mittee of the Silver Bow Trades and