Montana labor news., 1939-06-01
United Mine Workers
Win First Contract
Continued from Page y

was the situation that the admins
tration at Washington took hand
in the matter. From the Depart
ment of Labor came two of It's ace
conciliators under orders to assist
in working out solution for the
problem. Even Secretary of Labor
Perkins visited the conference and
lent her aid in the negotiations. But
even all of this federal intervention
failed to solve the riddle, until John
R. Steelman, director of the Bureau
of Cancellation of the Department of
Labor, offered a plan to the miners
and operators. He made it clear
that President Roosevelt would not
stand for further delay in reaching
an agreement. Therefore, he pro-
posed that if the conference was un-
able to negotiate a general agree
ment, those operators associations,
companies and individual operators
who were willing to make a con-
tract with the United Mine Workers
of America on a union shop basis
should do so at once and put their
mines in operation, and that those
associations, companies or operators
who were not willing to sign such
an agreement should continue nego-
tiations with the union This pro-
posal broke the ice, and in a few
days an agreement was reached by
the conference joint subcommittee.
Opposition to this procedure came
from some of the operators in south
ern fields, who were stiff-necked in
their opposition to union shop con-
tract. The four members of the
subcommittee representing the
United Mine Workers of America
signed the new agreement, and three
representatives Of the operators also
signed it. L. c. Gunter, who repre-
sented the southern operators, re-
fused to sign.
A final meeting of the entire
membership of the committees of
the United Mine Workers of Amer
lea and the operators of the Appa-
lachian area was held to receive the
report of the subcommittee and
vote upon its ratification. Sixteen
operators associations voted for
ratification, and six southern asso-
Citations voted against it, and with
drew from the conference. They
were the Big Sandy, the Hazard, the
Kanawha, the Southern Appala-
chian, the Harlan county and the
Virginia associations. Their with
drawal from the conference left the
remaining vote unanimous for ap-
proval, Walter L. Robson, Cleve-
land operator, chairman of the con-
ference, declared the agreement
ratified by unanimous vote. Imme-
diately the representatives of the
fifteen affirmative associations af-
fixed their signatures to the new
contract thus making it effective.
Several Individual companies,
members Of associations that with
drew from the conference, also
signed the agreement, thus causing
a big split in the ranks of the OBJ
jectors.
Bloody Harlan county again be-
came the center of interest after the
six southern associations had pulled
out of the conference. Harlan opera
tors announced their determination
to ditch the union and return to their
oldtime policy of non-union opera
ton, and Governor Chandler, of
Kentucky, announced that he would |
sent the Kentucky national guard to
Harlan county to give the non-union
operators protection. Chandler was
elected governor of Kentucky by |
the labor vote of that state, but he
has proved himself to be no friend of
labor 1t was even rumored in New
York that Chandler had made
political deal with the Harlan county
operators for their support for an
otheT term as governor, thus double
labor.
The new contract is a renewal of
the old contract, which expired on
March 81, in all of its terms and con-
1itions, together with the addition
If the union shop provision.