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The year 1962 started off with a lay off of 50 miners in January. The company said the layoffs were necessary because the major portion of the mine’s primary development program for the second production level had been completed. Fred Sanchez, Mine Mill Local President was notified of the reduction by Dave Ridinger, mine personnel manager. Sanchez said that Mine Mill had attempted to work out plans with the company that would keep the 50 miners working in other capacities for the company but the company turned down the two proposed plans.
On February 21, the Steelworkers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to represent 1,400 production and maintenance employees at San Manuel Copper Corporation. The workers were currently represented by Mine Mill. Attorneys for both unions and the company met in San Manuel on March 19. Briefs were ordered to be submitted to the NLRB for review and a decision. It was also announced in March that 26 more employees had been laid off at the mine. The San Manuel Copper Corporation changed their name to Magma Copper Corporation, San Manuel Division.
In early April it was announced that the NLRB had set an election for April 26 for the workers at San Manuel to determine what union would represent them or if they wanted a union at all. The choices on the ballot would be Steelworkers, Mine Mill or no union. Both unions had been battling each other the past six months with hand bills and rhetoric. As election day approached, the Steelworkers International Representative Lloyd Dayton argued that “Since their expulsion from CIO, Mine Mill has lost over 150 local unions with a loss of about 100,000 members. Since their expulsion, nine of their officers have been indicted by the federal government on perjury charges for falsely filing non-communist affidavits under the requirements of the Taft-Hartley Law.”
Seven of those nine Mine Mill officers convicted of perjury had their cases overturned on appeal and were granted new court hearings in March of 1962.
Mine Mill Local 937 President Fred Sanchez said “We have been here since 1956 and Steelworkers were on the ballot at that time. They were defeated and Mine Mill became the bargaining agent.” He went on to talk about the “tremendous wages comparable to any in the industry” that had been obtained by Mine Mill. He charged that the Steelworkers had been trying to take the bargaining rights away from Mine Mill for the past four years and the only gain would be a division of workers and families. Sanchez pointed out that the current contract gives employees two and a half years of security with a substantial wage increase second to none.
The May 4, 1962 edition headline of the Miner read MINE-MILL REMAINS AGENT FOR SAN MANUEL EMPLOYEES. The newspaper went on to report that Mine Mill won the election in a vote of 631 to 565. The ballots were counted at the community center. As they were waiting for the election results “some bantering between the two groups started, which may have gone out of control, but it soon subsided”. “The victors tended to strut a bit, but the meeting ended without incident”. During the election, observers at the plant for the Steelworkers were F.D. Rogers, Joe Herrera and E. Baker; for Mine Mill C.F. Hubbard, R. Hogg and H. Murray. Company observers were J. Grobel and D. Armstrong. At the mine, Steelworkers observers were E.R. Bonner; C. Arbiza; and C. Camarillo; for Mine Mill, Abe Yanez, L. Houser and H. Apodaca; for the company, R. Westerfield and J. Herndon.
On May 5 it was announced that the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) in Washington D.C. had declared the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter workers a Communist infiltrated organization. “This decision will have far reaching effects on the union” said J.W. Cherry, resident officer in Arizona for the NLRB. He also said it would not invalidate the contract between the company and the Mine Mill union. Cherry explained that Mine Mill would no longer be able to file petitions with the NLRB to conduct representation elections should they wish to unionize other groups of workers. They will not be able to file charges of unfair practices against anyone under the Taft-Hartley Act. If the findings of the SACB are upheld by the courts after Mine Mill appeals, all of the certifications of election filed by the union will be withdrawn.
Clark Kennedy, Deputy Attorney General for Arizona said that the hearings from which the rulings came concerned mostly people in the Denver area where Mine Mill headquarters is located. “Mine Mill leaders in Arizona were not included in the investigations. The ruling affects Mine Mill locals in Arizona and if they hold up under appeal and are found to be in violation of our Communist Control Act, they could face legal action.”
The Steelworkers International representative Lloyd Dayton said the union would take whatever steps are necessary to set aside the April 26 election results. They were looking at legal action to get the election results reversed.
Fred Sanchez called it nothing more than “red baiting”. He emphatically denied that his local is communist dominated or infiltrated by any officers, that it ever has been and insisted it never will be. “The decision by the board has no basis in fact” he said. He maintained that the evidence the board relies on comes entirely from “this man Gardner, who was fired from Mine Mill, was an army deserter and proven to be an unreliable witness”.
“Mine Mill is a going concern and has been for 69 years because it is democratically run, because it gets results at the bargaining table and because it has a loyal and intelligent membership that can’t be taken in by charges that have been discredited time after time. We intend to fight this case to the finish, and we expect to be a going concern long after it is over. We intend to win!”
Maclovio Barraza, District 2 Executive Board Member for Mine Mill said “Mine-Mill has continuously been attacked by management since it was formed in 1893. We are not going to let anyone destroy the union on the basis of unfounded charges. The false charges will be thrown into the ashcan where they belong.” “Mine Mill firmly supports the American form of government and we do not believe or advocate that Communism is the answer to the working classes’ problems.”
The Teamsters and the San Manuel Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO which represented the Machinists, Boilermakers and Electricians unions were still in negotiations with Magma Copper. They had not signed the contract extension deal that Mine-Mill had negotiated with the company. In June their members voted to allow their unions to call a strike if necessary when the contract expired at the end of the month. Mine Mill said they would honor their contract and continue to work.
At the end of June the Teamsters and the San Manuel Trades Council signed contracts similar to the one Mine Mill had negotiated. The only difference was that the Trade Council negotiated a new medical plan option for their members only. The plan gave their members an option if they lived within 30 miles of San Manuel to choose their own doctor and hospital. This meant they could seek a doctor of medicine in Tucson if they wanted too. The monthly pension plan for all workers was now calculated at $2.50 for each year worked. It had gone up from $2.25.
In October Rodolfo “Rudy” Garcia, Mine Mill troubleshooter was assigned as the business agent for San Manuel Local 937. He was a veteran of union activities for over 10 years. He served in Superior during the first election in 1954. He supervised three more union elections and was the International Representative and business agent for Mine Mill Local 938 in Superior for four years. He had been in contact with the San Manuel local while assigned by the union to help former San Manuel resident Conrado Fuentes’ widow return his body from Mexico where he had been killed in an auto-train accident. Working with the American Embassy, Garcia was able to return Mrs. Fuentes and her husband’s body to the United States. He then worked with Magma and the Mine Mill Local to provide insurance for Mrs. Fuentes.
Rudy Garcia would become a prominent civil rights and labor rights leader in southern Arizona. He served on every mining union contract negotiations from 1956 – 1983. He worked with other labor unions in their struggles including working with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers Union. He was active in local politics becoming an important figure in breaking the Anglo-American barrier of the Tucson City Hall. He helped elect the first Hispanic member of the City Council Hector Morales in the late 1960s and Rubén Moreno in 1971. From then on Latinos have been continuously represented on the Tucson City Council. He helped integrate the Tucson Unified School District Board when he actively supported the successful Hispanic candidate Raúl Grijalva, who now is a member of the United States Congress.
During the 1960s he helped organize and participated in demonstrations to pressure local restaurants to serve African-Americans. He was arrested in Hermosillo for passing out leaflets condemning the Mexican government’s abusive treatment of University of Hermosillo student activists. Rudy entered the United States as an undocumented immigrant, born in Culiacan and raised in the border town of Naco, Sonora. He joined the United States Army in 1944 and became a naturalized citizen in 1946. In 2001 the Tucson City Council renamed Rodeo Park, Rudy Garcia Park in his honor. His daughter Isabel Garcia inspired by her father carries on his legacy of social activism. She is a lawyer and human rights activist in Tucson. She is a founder and co-chair of Coalicion de Derechos Humanos.
The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers found itself fighting a number of court cases in 1963. They were all related to the federal government’s attempt to prove that the union was a communist infiltrated organization.
Abe Yanez was sworn in as the new President of Mine Mill Local 937. The newly installed officers celebrated at the Blue Front Inn in Mammoth on January 27. The other officials were:
George Benidez, First Vice-President; Alex Mendibles, Mine Mechanical & Construction Vice-President; Andy Lopez, Tucson Vice-President; Hank Murray, Mill Vice-President; William Bicknell, Smelter Vice-President; Ignacio Rea, Plant Vice-President; Frank Barraca, Railroad Vice-President; Jay Baredes, Townsite Vice-President; Armando Carillo, Financial Secretary; Joe Borbon, Recording Secretary; Isaias Chacon, Conductor; Arnulfo Garcia, Warden; and four Trustees: Joe Webber, Andy Webber, Frank Quijada and Walter Trabu.
The Mine Mill Women’s Auxillary officers were Madline Yanez, President; Esther Sanchez, Vice-President; Ruby Clifton, Recording Secretary; Natie Montano, Financial Secretary; Eva Benavidez, Warden; Eva Montijo, Warden; and Mary Horner, Delegate.
On February 2, a disagreement between the company and union resulted in a work stoppage at the mine which lasted through February 3. The issue was over the company’s absenteeism rules. Mine Mill accused the company of charging absenteeism against employee seniority rights because of industrial injuries, extended injuries or illness. The stoppage was called after remarks were made by Mine Superintendent C.L. Pillar concerning accident prone workers. Local 937 charged that Pillar was saying that every man in the mine was subject to lose his seniority rights if he has had an accident. Pillar also allegedly told workers that all excused absences can be added up to demote employees or deprive them from bidding on jobs. Mine Mill claimed that “nearly every accident that occurs at the mine is the company’s negligence”. “Everyone that gets hurt is blamed and the accident is used to deny seniority”.
A union spokesman said that “the crux of the matter is the company’s disqualification of senior workers and denial of seniority rights when bidding, and company demotion of workers because of their having been injured on the job, or off work because of sickness even though excused by Dr. Findlay (Chief Surgeon at Magma Hospital) or when excused from work by the foremen”. The union and company began talks concerning the absenteeism issues. In early March a partial settlement was announced by Rudy Garcia. He said that the absentee issue would be determined by an arbitration case scheduled for March. The grievance filed by George Chacon that had resulted in the work stoppage was decided in favor of Chacon and Mine Mill. The bad practices by Magma were ordered corrected.
In March Mine Mill President Abe Yanez and member Leroy Houser traveled to Phoenix to meet with the State Mine Inspector Roy V. Hersey. At the meeting they voiced their opposition to use of the explosive ammonium nitrate underground. They considered the explosive unsafe. It had been tried in the San Manuel mine a year earlier and they found that carbon monoxide was formed which was difficult to remove and was extremely dangerous to miners after a blast.
The company and the unions were focusing on mine safety. An underground and surface accident prevention course was being taught at the Mine Mill union offices in Mammoth and Tucson. Louis McGuire of the U.S. Bureau of Mines was teaching the courses. Mine Mill was the first labor organization to sponsor accident prevention training.
In June the Retail Clerk’s Union Local 727 out of Tucson was picketing Goodman’s Market in San Manuel, “to exert more pressure on Goodman” who was one of four grocers being struck on. The four grocers were Goodman’s, El Rancho, Food Giant and Safeway. The union was on strike because the grocers wanted to reduce their worker’s holiday benefits, sick leave benefits and have no restrictions on the amount of part time employees they could hire. The union wanted to limit part time employees to 50% of those employed.
Rodolfo Garcia, Business Agent for Mine Mill said they would honor the pickets as a matter of union policy. “We are going to recommend to our members and other workers that they honor the picket line.” The Miner reported that the employers had offered 7.5 cents an hour raise to all employees except carry out boys who were earning the minimum wage of $1 per hour. Swede Heisler, Manager of the San Manuel Goodman’s #7 reported that all the stores employees were on the job. The pickets were from Tucson stores or the local union.
In July, Safety Certificates of Honor were presented to W.H. Cann, Chief Mine Electrician and L.B. Beneitone, Mine Rigger Foreman. The certificates were given by the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association of Washington, D.C. The Mine Electrical Division worked 828,872 man hours without a disabling injury from December 20, 1959 through July 18, 1962. The Mine Division Rigging crew worked 542,080 man hours without a disabling injury from July 26, 1956 through February 14, 1963.
During the summer Mine Mill had organized the Mine Mill Tri-Community Activities committee. Art Swanson was the Chairman. One of their first activities was the free showing of the Walt Disney movie “Little League Moochie” at the San Manuel High School cafeteria. Like the other unions and fraternal organizations, Mine Mill sponsored Little League teams and community events.
Former Mine Mill President Fred Sanchez was invited by Oracle Elementary School to speak to the 8th grade class about trade unionism. Fred spoke on the history of Labor and the reasons for people joining unions. The 8th grade class was studying various phases of unionism and desired more current information relating to unions.
On December 2, Mine Mill sponsored a Civil Rights rally held at the VFW Hall in Superior. It was organized and well attended by members of Mine Mill Locals: Superior Local 938; San Manuel Local 937; Ray-Sonora Copper Workers Local 915; Hayden Smeltermen’s Union (AS&R) Local 836; Hayden Kennecott Local 939; and Miami Miners Union Local 586. In addition Mine Mill attendees came from: Copper Queen Miners Union Local 551, Bisbee; Morenci Miners Union Local 616; Banner Miners Union Local 929. Many members of the public also attended. Coming only ten days after the assassination of President Kennedy, the meeting must have been very moving.
The flyers advertising the meeting said ATTENTION: To all persons interested in the late President Kennedy’s Freedom Movement and Civil Rights legislation, come to the VFW Hall and hear John R. Salter, Jr, speak on these subjects. John Salter, Jr. was deeply involved at the time in the Civil rights Movement in the Deep South. He had been beaten,
arrested, shot at and shot back during his work as a Civil Rights activist. He had organized and led non-violent protests of the Ku Klux Klan.
Salter said of the meeting, “Union attendance was heavy and I spoke far into the night, everything translated into Spanish, as members came and went. Public attendance was good. Mine Mill officials and rank and file members were deeply involved and active in making this a significant event.”
1963 had been a turbulent year for the country. Martin Luther King speaking about the Civil Rights Movement during his “I have a dream” speech in Washington, D.C. in August said “1963 is not an end but a beginning”. The issue of Civil Rights had become a mass movement. The segregationists in the country and the bigots in the Deep South were prepared to do what they could to stop the movement. Within days members of the Ku Klux Klan bombed a church in Birmingham, Alabama killing four little girls. Three months later President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The country was divided and confused heading into 1964. It would become more so as the country would become more involved in the Civil rights struggle and in a place called Vietnam.
NEXT: THE FINAL CHAPTER: MINE MILL FIGHTS THE GOOD FIGHT
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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