Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
John W. Swackhamer Papers, 1950-1955
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Swackhamer, John W., 1919-1955
- Title
- John W. Swackhamer Papers
- Dates
- 1950-1955 (inclusive)19501955
- Quantity
- 1.25 linear feet, (3 boxes)
- Collection Number
- Mss 087
- Summary
- John Swackhamer was a professor in the Economics Department at Montana State University (now the University of Montana--Missoula) who conducted an extensive study of the International Union of Mill, Mine, and Smelter Workers and their dispute with the United Steel Workers of America in the early 1950s.
- Repository
-
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
John Williams Swackhamer was born on March 23, 1919, in Easton, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. at Lafayette College in 1946, his M.A. at the State University of Iowa in 1947, attended the University of Zurich in 1947-1948, and earned his Ph.D. from the State University of Iowa in 1949. He became an Assistant Professor in the Economics Department at Montana State University (now The University of Montana-Missoula) in 1949. He published papers on American labor unions, and conducted an extensive study of the International Union of Mill, Mine and Smelter Workers (I.U.M.M.S.W., or Mine-Mill) and their dispute with the United Steel Workers of America in the early 1950s. In that conflict, The C.I.O. (Congress of Industrial Organizations) expelled the I.U.M.M.S.W. in 1950 for communistic policies. The Steel Workers exploited this through the press and radio as a means of increasing their membership. Both unions used propaganda to sway opinion. The result was a petition to the National Labor Relations Board to set up a special election to determine which union would represent these workers. The election took place in February of 1954 and Mine-Mill won the election as the representative union.
Swackhamer died in 1955.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of material Swackhamer produced and collected in the course of his study of the conflict between the International Union of Mill, Mine and Smelter Workers (I.U.M.M.S.W., or Mine-Mill) and the United Steel Workers of America. He had extensive contact with union workers in Butte, Montana; Great Falls, Montana; and in the Silver Valley of northern Idaho (including Wallace, Kellogg, and Mullan). The collection contains materials about the National Labor Relations Board hearing, the subsequent election, Swackhamer's writings about the conflict and about the question of Communism in unions, and samples of union propaganda and local and national union publications.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
Preferred Citation
[Name of document or photograph number], John W. Swackhamer Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | Correspondence
Swackhamer to unions, Harvard Press, National Labor Relations
Board, Rudolf Hanson
|
1953-1954 |
1/2 | Propaganda, Mine-Mill Union, Butte, Montana | 1951-1954 |
1/3 | Propaganda, U.S.A. C.I.O., Butte, Montana | undated |
1/4 | Conferences
Anaconda Council, Chicago; Minie-Mill Conference, Anaconda,
Montana
|
1950 |
1/5 | Court Papers
Mine-Mill before C.I.O. Trail Committee, statement and
rebuttal
|
1950 |
1/6 | Staff bulletins and memoranda, Mine-Mill | 1950-1954 |
1/7 | Nationwide P.R., Mine-Mill | 1950-1951 |
1/8 | National Labor Relations Board bulletins | 1953-1954 |
1/9 | Swackhamer's notecards | undated |
1/10 | Mine-Mill addresses on Radio KMON, Great Falls, Montana | 1951 |
1/11 | Swackhamer's writings on unions | undated |
2/1 | Swackhamer's writings on unions | undated |
2/2 | Clippings, Wallace and Kellogg, Idaho | 1951 |
2/3 | Clippings, Communism and unions | 1950-1955 |
2/4 | Clippings, Union representation election | 1954 |
2/5 | Clippings, Mine-Mill union | 1954-1955 |
2/6 | Miscellany
Poem on Bill Mason, essays on unions and communism, Bakers
Contract
|
1951 |
2/7 | National Labor Relations Board election notes, Mine-Mill election materials | 1954 |
2/8 |
Mine-Mill Bulletin
Montana Area I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1951 |
2/9 |
Mine-Mill Butte Miner
Butte Miner's Union No. 1, I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1954 |
2/10 |
The C.I.O. News
C.I.O.
|
1954 |
2/11 |
The Fight for Job Security
I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1954 |
2/12 | Miner's Voice, Butte, Montana | 1954 |
2/13 |
S.W.O.C., Voice of Great Falls
Smeltermen
S.W.O.C., USA-CIO
|
1951 |
2/14 |
Mine-Mill Smelterman
Anaconda Mill & Smeltermen's Union No. 117, Anaconda, Montana, I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1954 |
2/15 |
The Mine-Mill Union
I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1955 |
2/16 |
The Mine-Mill Union
I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1954 |
3/1 |
The Mine-Mill Union
I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1954 |
3/2 |
The Mine-Mill Union
I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1953 |
3/3 |
The Mine-Mill Union
I.U.M.M.S.W.
|
1952 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Labor unions and communism --United States
- Labor unions--Idaho -- Coeur d'Alene Mining District
- Labor unions--Montana -- Butte
- Labor unions--Montana -- Great Falls
Corporate Names
- United States.--National Labor Relations Board
- Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.)
- International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers
- United Steelworkers of America
- aUniversity of Montana-Missoula--Faculty