Montana labor news., 1939-05-18
SMELTERMEN
REOPEN CONTRACTS

taneouSly IN Butte, Anaconda and
Great Falls on Tuesday, May 16, the
Montana miners and smelter work
ers decided to open their agreements
and negotiate for better wages, hours
and general conditions.
The vote was overwhelmingly in
favor of opening the agreements.
Butte miners were 1884 for opening
the contract, 1872 against; Anaconda
smeltermen voted 965 for opening,
80 against; the Great Falls mill and
smeltermen were 537 for, 98 against.
The combined vote was 1896 for
negotiating for better contracts and
LAO against opening the question
at this time. Officers of the three
locals are of the opinion that the
desire to open the agreements is
widespread because of the mine and
smelter workers determination to
restore their earnings to the level
held prior to December, 1888, when
IN the v of the wage and hour
law going in effect, the Anaconda
properties went from a AZ to a 40
hour week and wages dropped cor
respondingly.
The joint wages and hours COM
mittee, which is composed of over
thirty CLIO and A. F. of L. unions of
Butte, Anaconda and Great Falls,
at its recent meeting heard reports
from the craft unions of the three
cities who had already gone on
record to open agreements and noti-
fled the Internationals of their action.
Three of the unions represented on
the joint committee, the Butte Sta
tionary Engineers, the Mayflower
Miners and the Anaconda Lead
Burners have no %contractual rela-
tons with the Anaconda Copper
Mining Company at the present time.
These three locals were ready to
enter negotiations for an agreement
but waited until all of the unions
having members working for the
c. M. Co. officially opened con-
tracts. The unions intend to notify
the A. c. M. Co. they wish the agree
ments opened as soon as possible and
negotiations on proposed changes
started.
Members of the joint wages and
hours committee, mostly officers Of
the CLIO and A. F. of L. locals in
this community, in their recent con-
ference agreed to center on improv-
ing the living conditions of the mine
and smelter workers. They decided
on a 20 per cent flat increase in
wages for a work week not exceed
ing 40 hours as the central demand.
All of the Anaconda properties in
the state of Montana are at present
working a 40-hour week. The wages
since the December, 1888, cut, fig
ured at the rate of days pay are:
$5.25 per day, $26.25 per week, in
the Butte mines, and $4.75 per day,
per week in the Anaconda and
Great Falls smelters. The 20 per
cent increase would bring the wages
up to where they were prior to the
December, 1888, cut. Support to
local demands of the unions involved
was pledged by representatives of
the unions of the three cities.
The Butte Miners Union held a
special meeting last Sunday at which
local demands we're adopted. Eight
hour collar-to-collar was voted as
the chief demand of the Butte
miners; the other local demand being
a provision in the agreement recog-
mine committees. Determine
ton to obtain a better agreement
was expressed by both the officers
and rank and file members of the
organization.
The CLIO and the A.. F. of L. locals
of the three cities, brought together
by the Butte Miners Union last De-
cember when the workers %unsuccess-
fully opposed the wage cut, have
been working together in complete
harmony. Unless interfered with,
this unity is expected to bring i'm
portant gains to the workers in the
and smelters of the commu-
nifty.
The CLIO unions, all of whom are
locals Of the international Union of
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, are
assured of the support of their In
ternational heads. In a letter to the
joint wages and hours committee,
the International president of mine
and smelter workers. Reid Robinson,
pledged cooperation and support to
the Montana unions in their efforts
to obtain a decent living and work
ing condition.
BY VIM. Mason, Secretary Butte
Miners Union No. /.