Are these the toughest jobs in Butte, America?

First of all, Happy Labor Day and a salute to the hardworking people of Butte and Southwest Montana.  Butte has always been about the working man.  Butte is very blue collar and while billions of dollars' worth of ore has been taken from the ground and made many individuals and corporations very wealthy.  But it was done through the sweat of the working men and women.  And we salute them today.

Butte has been called the "Gibraltar of Labor" by some.  In fact, Butte Unions can claim responsibility for miners' solidarity during unfair times and set the standard for many of the rights we hold dear today as a country.  Butte is still a union stronghold as you will see when some of the big guys try to bring in nonunion and sometimes noncitizen contractors for big projects.  You can bet their voices will be heard.

We salute today some of what we think are the toughest jobs in Butte, Montana.

MINERS

Mining is Butte's history, it's present and it's future.  Although conditions have improved greatly from the early, underground days, it still take a special kind of toughness to work at Montana Resources.  Operations do not quit for weather or holidays and conditions can be brutal.

ROOFERS AND CONSTRUCTION CREWS

Another job that laughs in the face of extreme heat or cold is that of a roofer or construction worker.  Particularly, as Bill Burr puts it, a redheaded roofer in the summertime.  The work is hard, the hours are long and the pressure is high.  We salute you.

TEACHERS/EDUCATORS

Among the hardest working and underpaid in Butte are our educators.  It blows my mind the things we expect of them in regard to what we pay them.  They arrive early. They stay late.  They work weekends.  They are not just instructors to our kids but role models, counselors and coaches.  Many of them go out-of-pocket for classroom supplies.  And so much more.  Teachers, we salute you.