The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1960-09-16
State Printers Told About
Prolonged Portland Fight


Printing trades union mem
bers are sticking together as
one in the 10-month old strike
lockout at the plants of the
Portland OREGONIAN and the
OREGON JOURNAL, dele
gates to the 31st annual meet
ing of Montana Typographical
Conference held last weekend
in Kalispell, were told by Rene Val
entine. Valentine is co-ordinator of
the printing crafts defense against
the union-busting activities of ORE
CONAN owner Samuel Newhouse,
New York City financier.
Valentine, longtime member of
the International Typographical I'm
ion and a member of the staff of the
international. said that the Portland
affair was not just another labor
management dispute. 1t is, he said, a
highly-financed deliberately planned
campaign by Newhouse with double
purpose: 1. To break the back of the
printing trades unions in Portland,
2. To destroy the OREGON JOUR-
NAL, which does not have the fl
nances to withstand long dispute
and then successfully compete with
Newhouse's OREGONIAN.
STRIKE-BREAKERS RECRUITED
MONTHS AHEAD OF STRIKE
Although the dispute didn't actu-
ally break out until November, 1859
when the Stereotypers struck follow
ing prolonged and fruitless negotia-
tions. Valentine stated, it was known
as far back as June 1859 that New
house was planning his "open shop
foray and just waiting for an excuse
to get started. As early as June, pro-
fessional strikebreakers Gratis" to
the printing trades) were being re-
cruited for immediate dispatching to
Portland. and strikebreakers in var
ious southern states were openly |
talking about moving to Portland in
the fall.
That Newhouse. and his for-the-
moment ally, the JOURNAL manage
ment had carefully planned their
campaign became ap-
parent the first day of the strike when
a consolidated daily came off the
presses without interruption.
Importation of professional strike
breakers first developed more than
thirty years ago in the printing trades
IN an Albany, N. Y, dispute, the
union leader pointed out. In recent
years "scab-herding" has taken on
greatly increased emphasis with more
md more publishers refusing to bar
gain in good faith with the unions
If their employers; substituting in ,
stead trained crews of strikebreakers
provided by agencies specializing in
he field.
printing trades unions, realizing i.
low availability of professional strike
breakers are destroying collective !
disrupting community life
md in many instances bringing highly /
elements such as known :
,unmen, ex-cons, etc., into the COM
nunity, are now seeking state legis-
alton to bar importation of strike
'reakers and to prohibit third parties
rom serving as recruitment agencies.
heir legislative proposal is patterned !.
fter the Pennsylvania 'fanti-rat" act
f the late thirties which declares
UGH activities to be against public =
olicy and provides criminal penalties !,
or its violation. This proposal was
in the legislative policy
nd program of Montana State ALL l
10 at its convention last June Il
DITOR). L
fEW DAILY COMING
Valentine also reviewed how the a
rinting crafts-Printers, Freshmen, c,
hoto Engravers, Newspaper Guilds
EN-, Bindery Workers, Mailers and 6,
tereotypers- in cooperation n,
18th the general labor movement in q,
combined to publish news M
aper of general information. THE
ODTT AATn DEDnDTED TIL -. III