BUTTE -- Butte celebrated Labor Day with a picnic hosted by the Southwest Central Labor Council.
“Butte is a huge union town and so our Labor Day picnic is always the biggest and the best and the most attended out of any of them in Montana,” said Krystin Mengon-Lee, Teachers Union vice-president.
People gathered under the Stodden Park pavilion for sodas, chips, and hotdogs to celebrate Labor Day with the local union workers.
Mengon-Lee, a member of the Southwest Montana Central Labor Union and Vice president of the teacher’s union, felt relieved that the picnic was returning after two years of being on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ve kind of been on a hiatus,” Mengon-Lee said. “You know, you never know how it's going to turn out, but we put ads out and did some social media pushes so hopefully we have a good turnout.”
Mengon-lee says they’ve had more than 400 people show up for previous picnics in the past and they were prepping for a large crowd.
The grill was overflowing with hotdogs being cooked by Derek Harvey, State House representative for District 74.
Harvey says the picnic is important for the community to meet the workers that help keep Butte running.
“We feel this picnic is really important to showcase that and to get people involved and get to know the workers in our community,” said Harvey.
“This is another way we can showcase like ‘hey, we’re your firemen, we’re your teachers, we’re your carpenters, we’re your laborers, we’re your pipe fitters.’”
