Crescendo and Collapse: The Women's Protective Union of Butte, Montana (1950-1982)

Hogan Michael O'Donnell
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:30:00 PDT

While there is a wealth of historical analysis dedicated to the first 60 years of the Women’s Protective Union (WPU) of Butte, Montana, there is relatively less discussion of the later years of the organization, which saw its peak membership of nearly 1,300 in 1955, the merger with the male-dominated local of the Culinary and Miscellaneous Employees Union (C&MEU), and its ultimate collapse in 1982. To analyze these immense changes, we first provide an introduction into the role of the Women’s Protective Union in Butte, Montana, leading up to 1955. Then, we discuss the rise of fast-food restaurant chains after WWII, which structurally and culturally shifted restaurant employees’ relations to their workplaces, causing both worker-led and employer-led opposition to unionization. Finally, we will do a historical policy analysis, particularly the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, and examine how the Women’s Protective Union, perhaps uniquely across the entire country, is an example of how these policies failed to produce an increased role for women in union activism both in Butte and the State of Montana. Through analyzing archival collections from the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives and oral histories, we can determine the interesting questions posed throughout these fields. The collapse of the Women’s Protective Union in Butte, Montana (1950-1982) was significantly shaped by the post-WWII rise of fast-food chain restaurants, a general decline of union membership across the United States, and federal policies meant to bolster the voice of women in organized labor.