Women's Protective Union (Butte, Mont.)

The Women's Protective Union (WPU) was organized in Butte, Montana, in 1890. Neither a craft nor a trade union, the WPU was created for the sole purpose of protecting against economic exploitation any woman working outside the home. The WPU negotiated contracts for cooks; waitresses; dish washers; cashiers in cafes; pantry, yard, and bucket girls; maids (including chambermaids, seamstress and linen room maids, bath maids, and maid aides); janitresses; and elevator girls. Its membership was strictly limited to women until 1973. Early WPU activists included Lena Mattausch, Sarah Michaels, and Nora Hanley. The WPU was originally associated with the Knights of Labor. Until 1907, when it affiliated with the Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union, the WPU was associated variously with the American Labor Union, the Western Federation of Miners, and the Industrial Workers of the World. In the early 1920s the WPU joined with the Cooks and Waiters' Union, Local 22, and the Bartenders International League of America, Local 55, to create a joint board. Each of the three member unions retained its respective autonomy. In 1973 the WPU merged with the Cooks and Waiters Union to become the Culinary and Miscellaneous Employees Union, Local 457. In 1982 they were joined by the bartenders and formed the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union, Local 457. Lena Mattausch, Maybelle Benedict, and Margaret Harrington served as financial secretaries for the WPU; Blanch Averett Copenhaver and Bridget Shea served as presidents; and Valentine Kenny Webster served as the business agent during the 1960s and 1970s.

Organized in 1893 and open to all working women.

Organized in 1893 and open to all working women, the union organized under the Western Federation of Miners as an industrial union. The union sent the largest contingent of organized labor present when the Industrial Workers of the World was organized in Chiacgo in 1905. It remained a separate and exclusively female union until 1973 when the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union required it to merge with the Cooks & Waiters Union # 22 into what eventually became Local 457 of the international union.

Trade union for women workers in Butte, Mont.

The Women's Protective Union was organized in Butte, Mont., in 1890, to protect against economic exploitation any woman working outside the home. The WPU negotiated contracts for cooks; waitresses; dish washers; cashiers in cafes; pantry, yard, and bucket girls; maids (including chambermaids, seamstress and linen room maids, bath maids, and maid aides); janitresses; and elevator girls. The WPU was originally associated with the Knights of Labor, but later affiliated with a variety of other unions, including the Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union.