Montana labor news., 1945-11-01
News Of The Silver Bow
Trades & Labor Council

The President of the United States
addressed the Silver Bow Trades and
Labor Council last Tuesday, over the
radio of course. Keen disappointment
was expressed by some of the delegates
after he had finished his talk There
has been for some time a lingering
doubt as to whether Truman would fol-
low in the footsteps of Roosevelt but
he certainly didn't show it last Tuesday.
He said in his address that he favored
an economic policy whereby business
and capital would return to the old COM
petitive system, in other words, that gov
ernment controls would be relinquished.
How the President can hope to bring
prosperity to the nation and to the
workers and still permit the savagery
and chaos under unlimited competition
is beyond the understanding of the
working people Truman is a sad dis
appointment
*
The council went on record as dis
approving the institution Of proposed
rule by the Board Of School Trustees
which would reduce the retirement age
Of the teachers from 20 to 65 years. At
the present time, and for some time
past, the teachers have been receiving
a pension and when a teachers reaches
the age Of 20, She must retire. The
school board proposes to make it COM
pulsory to retire at the age of 65. The
council is not in favor Of it at this
time, especially under the inadequate
amount allowed for the pension. Secre-
tary Waters was instructed to notify the
Board Of Trustees.
The delegates voted to instruct Waters
to send letters to Montana congress
sional delegation, Governor Of the State
of Montana, Mayor of Butte, and the
Board of Aldermen, and the Board of
County Commissioners, stating that the
trades council had gone on record for
the establishment Of a Missouri Val
ley Authority by the national Congress,
and requesting that all the persons TO
whom the letter shall be addressed
should also support it.
The miners delegate stated that the
union had suffered heavy losses in
membership, and consequently desire
reduction in the number of delegates
authorized to attend the trades council.
This request was granted. 1t was re-
ported by the miners that the union has
probably not more than 2500 members
at present, this is the lowest it has been
in years. At one time the union had
nearly 5000 members, so it was said.
The vote on the proposal submitted to
the union recently, in regard to higher
wages, showed that 23O0 had cast bal
lots. The voting is compulsory.
Mr. McLeneghan from the Miners is
probably the oldest member of the
Miners Union No. in continuous
membership During all OF the time
that the Miners Union lay dormant
from 1914 to 1884, Mr. McLeneghan still
retained his membership and paid dues.
The charter Of the Miners Union was
never relinquished and in the reorgani-
cation after the passage Of "a under
tke MIRA in 1888 it automatically be-
gan to function
= +
A repert was made OF Navy Day last
week, when a committee was appointed to
attend the Navy Day banquet at the
Finlen Hotel Saturday, October 27. Ad-
miral Hoover spoke at the dinner. Ad-
miral Hoover is brother of Mr..
Hoover, general counsel of the Ana
conda Copper Mining Company. Mr..
Corettc, also Of the legal department Of
the Anaconda Copper Mining Company,
was postmaster and did fine job.
Admiral Hoover stated that a large
navy was essential as guarantee to
peace. He said that at the peak Of the
strength Of the navy, there were three
million men and about three hundred
thousand officers.