Montana labor news., 1939-03-16
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I UNTAIN STATES
)0WER COMPANY
CHECKED BY NLRB
Offices Posted, Back Wages
Paid, Revision Contract
Ordered.

KALISPELL.-Coming as a sur
prise, welcome to some, unwelcome
to others, was the recent news that
the Kalispell division of the Noun
tain States Power Company had been
taken to task by the National Labor
Relations Board for violation of sew
eral sections of the National Labor
Relations Act, the charges being
filed with the Denver office of the
board by Kalispell Local Union No.
768 of the international Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers on February l.
Early in January of this year, Lo-
cal 1853 received a written complaint
from one of its members concerning
the unusual layoff of several en-
ployees in the construction and
maintenance department of the Pow
er Company in Kalispell, the COM
plant also outlining grievances about
various working conditions and
threats against employees for union
activities. The complaint being re-
ceived in proper form, committee
composed of Power Company en-
ployees, Roy Kohler, James Duffy
and Ray Mcdonnell, was designated
to interview the company officials.
On January 10, the committee met
at the Kalispell office of the Power
Company with division manager H.
NJ Edmonds and auditor M. M.
Rawlings and endeavored to gain
satisfactory adjustment of the COM
plant. The results of the interview,
in the opinion of the committee,
offered no solution to the problem,
in spite of the fact that the union
had a contract with the company
especially designed to take care Of
working conditions and disputes in
"a democratic manner.
Being bluntly told at this inter
view by Manager Edmonds that eff
you don't like it you know what you
can do" the committee Immediately
commenced the assembling of de-
tailed information required in pre-
pairing a charge for consideration by
the National Labor Relations Board.
A meeting of all employees con-
cerned was held January is, def
mite plan of action outlined, and the
assistance of Perry Melton, secre-
tary of the Central Trades and La
Dor Council was asked by the COM
mittee, in preparing the case.
The following week an endeavor
was made to gather essential in
formation, several meetings of en-
ployees were held, and at the regu-
lar meeting of Local 1853 Monday,
January %, the preliminary written
report of the committee was accept
ed and the committee was directed
to proceed with full authority to act.
The remaining days of January were
spent in detailed study of all avail
able information and on February l
the formal charge, with more than
twenty supporting sworn sffidavits,
was mailed to the twenty second re-
gional office of the NLRB at Denver,
Colo. Notice of receipt of the charge
and a letter complimenting the
preparation of the case was received
from NLRB regional attorney
Charles A. Graham on February 6.
About two weeks later, Investiga-
tor J. w. Kelly arrived in Kalispell
and following week of investiga-
ton and conferences with Power
Company officials and employees a
three-way agreement between the
company, the union and the NLRB
covering terms of a settlement was
drawn up. Terms of the settlement,
part of which have been complied
with to date, include posting of
notices throughout the Kalispell divi-
sion, informing employees of their
rights under the National Labor Re-
lations Act, and specifically guaran-
teeing that no interference with
those rights by any supervisory en-
ployee will be allowed. Under terms
of the agreement over $4,000 has
been paid to eleven employees as
partial compensation for the un-
usually long layoff this winter, there
being evidence to support the charge
that the early layoff was used to
discourage union activities.
1t is significant to ncte the thor
ough preparation of the case in that
one man openly discharged in June,
1886, for encouraging the formation
of local union of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
was paid some $260-the difference
between his actual earnings since
Continued on Page g.