The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-04-10
Transfers Organize
Joint Council;
Install Officers

lA44O WILL ~ ~
The officers elected were: p j. Con
| nors, Butte, president; AL Finn, Hell
ena, vice president; Austin Thomp
son, Great Falls, financial secretary
Frank Young, Billings, recording sec
Rotary; trustees, John Mogus, Ana
conda, ]. r. O'Connell, Bozeman, ant
Pete Barren, Missoula. These are tn,
men who will conduct the affairs o
$500 organized truck drivers In the
state of Montana for the next year.
According to the reports OF the dele
gates the Transfers have made goot
progress in organizing in the past sew
eral years in spite of all the opposi
ton put up by some of the employers
They have been successful in many
places In getting more wages and in
improving working conditions for their
members
Part of the men working for the
stae highway In the state of Montana
are organized. All efforts have been
made by the Transfers unions to get
all men coming under their jurisdic-
ton to join the Transfers union in
this state.
! We were successful In 1887 In get
ting 10 percent increase for all men
working for the state highway COM
mission.
Recently we had case where men
had been laid off we believe because
they joined the Transfers union at
Kalispell. Through the efforts of the
state joint council of Transfers we
we're able to get a meeting with the
co-ordinator of the state highway COM
mission and have those men REIN
stated and placed back on the job.
We also found several places where
state highway engineers were violat-
ing the eight-hour law by having men
drive back and forth on their own
time In some cases this was having
the men work nine and ten hours a
day. We took this matter up with
the attorney general and Mr.. McKin-
non and were successful in having an
order sent out instructing all the en-
gineers to work men not over eight
hours in any one day. This was quite
gain for all the men working for
the highway commission as mainten-
ance men and we believe that the I'M
organized men should see the benefits
that has already been brought to them
through the efforts of the Transfers
In this state and join their organiza
ton.
There is something else now that is
bothering the Transfers unions on the
stae highway and we have slight
suspicion that the engineers on the
highway are starting the new organi-
cations to try and head off the work
being done by the Transfers. Re-
Gently new union which is the coun-
ty, city and municipal employees was
organized in Kalispell.
We believe that the highway en-
gineers in Kalispell were responsible
for organizing this union. We do not
mean the Steam and Operating Engi-
neers, but the supervisors. This union
was organized Immediately after we
took up the violation of the eight-hour
law. This union wanted to work and |
said that they were going to work |
eight hours and half. 1t was posted |
on the bulletin board. Then after we
notified the attorney general, the or
der was sent out to all the engineers
that they had to work eight hours,
barn to barn. 1t seems strange that
this new union would come into exist
ence and the men who worked from
five to fifty miles out of Kalispell
could be gotten together when it was
impossible for any legiti-
mate union to get those men to a
meeting to organize them.
The meeting was held in the state
highway building This is why we
have reasons to believe that this new
union was organized in order to pre-
rent the Transfers from getting other
lnorganized drivers working out of
Kalispell We are investigating this
natter. II we get the facts, we will
AXE this matter up with the state
highway commission. We are asking
he maintenance men who are unor-
,anized and are working for the state
highway and If they expect to receive
,etter wages and conditions, to get
nto the Transfers union where they
,elong An organization that has got
en- already the 10 percent increase
md the eight hour barn to barn con-
lition.
At the meeting OF the state joint
council action was taken that will
peed up the organization of the Team
tiers in the next couple Of years. The
Meeting held at Bozeman was one of
he best meetings ever held by the
reamsters in the state of Montana.
There were Is local executive boards
resent at this meeting. There were
bout 95 representatives who attended
he meeting The reports there showed
We have $500 members in the state
( Montana. Practically all Of the
arge trucking companies are under
ontract The efforts of the Team
tiers for the next few months will be
D get a statewide contract on all
obstruction work. II