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Montana State AFL-CIO records, 1895-2000

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana State AFL-CIO
Title
Montana State AFL-CIO records
Dates
1895-2000 (inclusive)
Quantity
9.4 linear feet
Collection Number
MC 341 (collection)
Summary
Records (1895-2000) of the Montana State Federation of Labor and the Montana State AFL-CIO consist of correspondence, financial records, and convention materials, subject files, minutes, voting records, and clippings. There are subgroups for the Committee on Political Education (COPE) and the Workers' Education Club of Helena, Montana.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

The 1893 industrial depression made clear that only well-organized labor unions with large treasuries could survive economic downturns. In response, the Butte Industrial Conference and the State Trades and Labor Assembly (Helena) considered a merger into one organization sufficient in size and financial resources to advocate for Montana workers’ economic and political interests in 1895. The organization became the State Trades and Labor Council of Montana (MSTLC). The federation officially changed its name to the Montana Federation of Labor (MFL) in 1903.

The state federation initially rejected the conservative policies of the craft-oriented American Federation of Labor (AFL), instead allying with the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in 1898 to create the Western Labor Union (WLU). The WLU affiliated with unions “committed to organizing all workers regardless of craft, skill, race, gender, or ethnic origin.”

By 1902, the MFL openly endorsed the Socialist Party of Montana. Electoral failures in 1904 and 1908, however, eroded support for Socialism within the federation. A growing number of federation members disagreed with the MFL’s close association with the Socialist Party. As a result, local unions began to endorse candidates within the Democratic and Republican Parties who pushed for labor legislation.

A fight over chartering unions unaffiliated with either the AFL or the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) weakened the MFL in 1906, when the WFM ordered 29 of their affiliates to withdraw from the federation. A year later, MFL president Alex Fairgrieve attended the national AFL convention in an attempt to shore up the state federation. While there, he assured the delegates that the MFL differed little in policy and procedure from the AFL. Fairgrieve recognized that “In the past the Montana Federation has been controlled by those who rebelled against the other States and against the American Federation of Labor,” but promised a different future. Upon his return to Montana, Fairgrieve completed the necessary paperwork for AFL affiliation and the state federation received its AFL charter on January 2, 1908.

Beginning in 1914, Montana went through a twenty-year period of “open shops,” which severely undercut unions in the mining and lumber industries. This changed in 1934 with the establishment of the National Labor Relations Act. NLRA regulations guaranteed workers the right to organize “without fear of discrimination or discharge.” With labor’s hands untied for the first time in two decades, industrial organizing swept the state. The union shop was once again re-established in the labor strongholds of Butte, Anaconda, and Great Falls.

In 1935, the Committee for Industrial Organization formed within the AFL in response to the growing number of industrial unions comprised of unskilled workers. A rift between the AFL and the CIO soon resulted in the expulsion of the CIO from the AFL and the establishment of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The Montana State Industrial Union Council affiliated with the national CIO on November 16, 1938. The two state federations operated without much of the bitterness that engulfed their two national organizations, helping to prepare the way for their eventual merger in 1956 as the Montana AFL-CIO.

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Content Description

Records of the Montana State Federation of Labor and the Montana State AFL-CIO consist of correspondence, financial records, organizational records, reports, subject files, minutes, and clippings.

The correspondence falls into two groups for files kept by President James D. Graham (1927-1937) and that kept by James S. Umber (1958-1967). Financial records (1895-1951) consist primarily of per capital dues contributed by local unions around the state. These are useful for documenting when various unions were active. There are also audits (1934-1961). Organizational records consist of convention proceedings (1933-1966), and nominations and elections of officers. Subject files concern organization of workers in New Deal projects, opposition to Right-to-Work legislation, politics, etc.

There are subgroups for the Committee on Political Education (COPE) and the Workers' Education Club of Helena, Montana. The COPE subgroup includes general correspondence (1959-1965), minor financial records, reports of Activities Director Albert F. Root, and other materials. The Workers' Educational Club subgroup consists of a record book of articles of incorporation, minutes, and legal documents.

An addendum to the collection was added in 2015 which includes AFL-CIO Board meeting minutes (1992-2000), Montana Family Union minutes (1990-1995), voting records of Montana Legislatures from the Montana AFL-CIO as well as various Montana based organizations (1955-1989), subject files on the 1974 election from COPE, the 1976 US presidential campaign, and the 1983 state senate committees. The rest of the addition consists of news clippings focusing on the AFL-CIO (1982- 1987).

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

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.

Preferred Citation

[item description and date]. Name of Collection. Collection Number. [box and folder number]. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Archives. Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged by subgroup and series. Some material housed in Archives Map Case, Manuscript Volumes, and Multimedia cabinet. See Location of Collection above and inventory below for more information.

Location of Collection

16:2-6

Location of Collection

82:8-1 (Addendum starting at Box 10)

Location of Collection

150:4-1 (Volumes)

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request.

Processing Note

Processed in 2007

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Ellie Arguimbau
2007

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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