The Western Federation of Miners was formed in Butte, Montana, in June 1893. It became the major union in the non-ferrous metals industry in the West. The WFM briefly affiliated with the American Federation of Labor in 1896-1897, but withdrew due to conflicts of philosophy concern industrial vs. trade unionism and radicalism. The WFM re-affiliated with the AFL in 1911. Due to a variety of causes the union declined dramatically in the 1910s. In 1916 in recognition of the fact that many of the locals were smelter workers, the union reorganized as the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers. By 1933 there were only 6 active locals in the country. But due in part to federal protections of union organizing, the Mine-Mill grew rapidly in the early years of the New Deal.
One of the new unions organized was local 24 in Philipsburg. During the next few months miners working at the various mines around Philipsburg joined the union. Black Pine Silver Mines and Moorlight Mining Company signed contracts with the union during the 1930s; Taylor-Knapp Company followed in 1946; and the Trout Mining Co. in 1960. In June 1967 the Mine-Mill union merged into the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) as their local union #24. With the closing of Taylor-Knapp Company mines in 1968, the Philipsburg USWA local declined rapidly. By 1971 there were only 22 members compared to over 100 in 1969.
Records of Local 24, in Philipsburg, Montana, consist of outgoing correspondence (1955-1962); incoming correspondence (1967-1969); members' dues ledgers (1934-1956) and membership cards (1969-1971); constitution of United Steelworkers of America; Steelworkers District 38 manuals for local officers, local union's health coverage plan, and other records.
The collection was separated from the Taylor-Knapp company records (MC 373)
Arranged into six series: 1) Incoming Correspondence, 2) Outgoing Correspondence, 3) Financial Records, 4) Legal Documents, 5) Organizational Records, and 6) Miscellany.
Collection is open for research
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
[item description and date]. Name of Collection. Collection Number. [box and folder number]. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Archives. Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request.
Processed in 2012
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.