Bob Brown
For much of our history, Montana has been one of the most unionized states in America. That was certainly the case at the time of the 1950 census, when unionized mines and saw mills were operating, and a single paycheck could comfortably support a family. Montanaâs per capita income, then, was 10th in the nation.
The leader of the union movement at that time was the legendary George Meany. When I was young, my family got most of our news from the radio. I remember hearing this raspy voice speaking in a heavy Brooklyn brogue about âthe woikuz.â I had no idea what a woikuz was. From that experience my mother explained to me about accents. Meany was saying the word âworkersâ in his accent.