Oswald indicated that the IUF’s global sugar coodinator reported on the situation at a recent world conference of their agricultural works unions.

“Delegates were shocked in general to hear about the lockout you are imposing, but they were horrified to hear that at a shareholders meeting on November 7, 2011 in Grafton, North Dakota, you likened the American Crystal contract to a cancerous tumor,” Oswald writes.

Read the rest of this letter at the BCTGM’s American Crystal Lockout website.

In September, OSHA’s Oklahoma City Area Office opened a separate, comprehensive safety inspection of the Kremlin facility under the agency’s Regional Emphasis Program for Grain Handling Facilities that uncovered five additional serious violations. Citations, with fines totaling $12,500, were issued on Dec. 20 and contested by the employer.

OSHA has fined grain operators in Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, South Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Nebraska following preventable fatalities and injuries in grain storage bins. In addition to enforcement actions, OSHA sent a notification letter to 13,000 grain elevator operators warning them of proper safety precautions.

The purpose of the court proceedings was to name members to the Creditors Committee. Bob Bergin, Executive Director of the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Health & Pension Funds, was placed on the Committee. The Creditors Committee also includes representatives for the Teamsters and other union pension funds, as well as a host of attorneys who represent each member of the committee.

Negotiating sessions between the BCTGM International Union and representatives of Hostess will be initiated in the near future. The discussions, led by International President Frank Hurt, will attempt to reach an agreement, or an offer, that will then be sent to each local union affected by the Hostess bankruptcy to accept or reject.

International President Frank Hurt will be communicating direction with the principle officers of each affected BCTGM local union.

Democratic state house lawmakers yesterday left the legislature to protest moves by the Republican majority, especially the refusal to allow Democrats to offer a vote making RTW a referendum, so that the people of Indiana would vote on it directly. From Huffington Post:

“We wanted the vote to be up or down,” said House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer (D). “The Republican Party wanted to skip the people completely, skip the election process and then skip the referendum process on whether or not you can have this bill, which many consider a ‘right to work for less’ — less pay, less safety less health care.”

Republican state House Speaker Brian Bosma is fining 33 House Democrats $1,000 each per day for every day they are not in the legislature.

Throughout the week, Hoosiers have packed the statehouse to protest being locked out of the democratic process. Since convening this month, Republicans in control of the House have:

• Cut off testimony on the “right to work” for less bill so the committee wouldn’t have to listen to the truth.
• Turned off the chamber sound system so the public cannot hear the proceedings.
• Attempted to lock the public out of the statehouse, before nationwide attention forced the Republican majority to open the doors.

Hoosier working families are again packing in the statehouse this morning. Follow the events on Twitter with the hashtag #InUnion and #Inlegis .

Wisconsin working people hit one right out of Miller Park: Moments ago, they submitted 1 million signatures supporting a recall election of Gov. Scott Walker (R), exceeding the total number of signatures required by 460,000. Walker last year pushed to abolish the rights of public employees to collectively bargain for a middle class life. Walker’s policies are killing 18,000 jobs a year in Wisconsin, according to a recent report.

Union members and allies also turned in 123 percent of the required signatures against Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who was thought one of the more challenging recalls to pull off.

There also are enough signatures to force recall elections for the state’s lieutenant governor, and two other state senators. The Wisconsin elections board will need to verify all the signatures.

The BCTGM International Union’s legal and financial team, under the direction of International President Frank Hurt, has been working with Hostess for months to identify an amenable resolution that would address the company’s financial difficulties.  Throughout this process, the company has never provided the Union with a legitimate proposal that could be taken to the membership for consideration.

In commenting on the company’s bankruptcy filing, Hurt states, “We are very concerned for the jobs and well being of our members employed at Hostess.  We had hoped that the company would emerge from the last restructuring stronger and more competitive.  Our members sacrificed a great deal to try and save the company the last time.

“I find it deeply offensive and highly disingenuous for the company to claim that its financial woes are the result of its union contracts and pension and health benefits obligations.  We contend that the company is in dire financial shape because of a string of failed business decisions made by a series of ineffective executives who have been running this company for the past decade.

“The BCTGM has contracts with dozens of baking companies across the country including Bimbo Bakeries USA, the nation’s largest and most successful.  The vast majority of those companies are doing just fine because they have experienced baking industry professionals managing them.”

Hurt points out that the company’s portrayal in the media of its pension obligation problems was very misleading.  Hostess Brands had been a longstanding participant in the industry’s Taft-Hartley multi-employer pension fund.  The nearly $1 billion dollars the company refers to is its withdrawal liability.  Every participant in a Taft-Hartley fund has withdrawal liability which ensures that beneficiaries will receive negotiated pension benefits if a company leaves the fund.

The contributions Hostess had paid into the Fund were negotiated through the collective bargaining process and are part of an overall economic compensation package.  Pension benefits that retirees receive each month are paid by the Fund and not the individual companies. 

“We remain hopeful that solutions can be found to ensure the permanent continuation of Hostess Brands.  We will work with the stakeholders throughout the process to find a solution that protects the interests of our members and helps enable the company to remain a viable business entity,” Hurt concludes.

BCTGM members produce Hostess Brands products in 34 production facilities throughout the U.S.  The Union also represents workers in thrift stores and depots.

Not only were Democrats barred from offering any amendments, no discussion of the bill was allowed and immediately after the vote, the hearing was adjourned. Rep. John Bartlett (D) told reporters that he’d “never seen a charade like this in my life.”

Said Rep. Clyde Kersey (D):

I think the light of democracy just went out in the Indiana House.

As they have been since the legislature went into session last week, Indiana workers packed he statehouse and hearing room and roared “shame” as the bill was rammed through. 

The Indiana AFL-CIO (#InUnion) tweeted, “Hoosiers just witnessed a stunning display of arrogance as House Rs ram thru RTW committee vote in under 6 mins. Shameful.” Read more on Twitter with the hashtag #InUnion and at the Stand Up for Hoosiers Facebook page here.

An identical Senate bill was approved by committee last week and both chambers could vote on the legislation by the end of this week.

Since January 1, the board has just two members and cannot carry out most business. Republican Senate leaders have said they will block any NLRB nominations in a move most regard as an attempt to shut down the NLRB. That is part of an overall strategy that has bottled up hundreds of Obama administration nominations. But with the Senate in recess, Obama is allowed to make appointments that last through the current session of Congress.

The President announced his intent to recess appoint the following individuals to fill key administration posts that have been left vacant:

• Sharon Block, Member, National Labor Relations Board
• Terence F. Flynn, Member, National Labor Relations Board
• Richard Griffin, Member, National Labor Relations Board
• Richard Cordray, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

President Obama said, “The American people deserve to have qualified public servants fighting for them every day – whether it is to enforce new consumer protections or uphold the rights of working Americans.  We can’t wait to act to strengthen the economy and restore security for our middle class and those trying to get in it, and that’s why I am proud to appoint these fine individuals to get to work for the American people.” 

In a statement following the White House announcement, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, “We commend the president for exercising his constitutional authority to ensure that crucially important agencies protecting workers and consumers are not shut down by Republican obstructionism.  Working families and consumers should not pay the price for political ploys that have repeatedly undercut the enforcement of rules against Wall Street abuses and the rights of working people.”

Sharon Block, Member, National Labor Relations Board
Sharon Block is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor.  Between 2006 and 2009, Ms. Block was Senior Labor and Employment Counsel for the Senate HELP Committee, where she worked for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Ms. Block previously served at the National Labor Relations Board as senior attorney to Chairman Robert Battista from 2003 to 2006 and as an attorney in the appellate court branch from 1996 to 2003.  From 1994 to 1996, she was Assistant General Counsel at the National Endowment for the Humanities, and from 1991 to 1993, she was an associate at Steptoe & Johnson.  She received a B.A. in History from Columbia University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center where she received the John F. Kennedy Labor Law Award.

Terence F. Flynn, Member, National Labor Relations Board
Terence F. Flynn is currently detailed to serve as Chief Counsel to NLRB Board Member Brian Hayes.  Mr. Flynn was previously Chief Counsel to former NLRB Board Member Peter Schaumber, where he oversaw a variety of legal and policy issues in cases arising under the National Labor Relations Act.  From 1996 to 2003, Mr. Flynn was Counsel in the Labor and Employment Group of Crowell & Moring, LLP, where he handled a wide range of labor and employment issues, including collective bargaining negotiations, litigation of unfair labor practices, defense of ERISA claims, and wage and hour disputes, among other matters.  From 1992 to 1995, he was a litigation associate at the law firm David, Hager, Kuney & Krupin, where he counseled clients on federal, state, and local employment and wage hour laws, NLRB arbitrations, and other labor relations disputes.  Mr. Flynn started his law career at the firm Reid & Priest, handling labor and immigration matters from 1990 to 1992.  He holds a B.A. degree from University of Maryland, College Park and a J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law.     

Richard Griffin, Member, National Labor Relations Board
Richard Griffin is the General Counsel for International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).  He also serves on the board of directors for the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, a position he has held since 1994.  Since 1983, he has held a number of leadership positions with IUOE from Assistant House Counsel to Associate General Counsel.   From 1985 to 1994, Mr. Griffin served as a member of the board of trustees of the IUOE’s central pension fund.  From 1981 to 1983, he served as a Counsel to NLRB Board Members.  Mr. Griffin holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

Richard Cordray, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Richard Cordray is Chief of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  Immediately prior, Cordray served as Attorney General of Ohio from January 2009 to January 2011.  As Attorney General, Cordray recovered more than $2 billion for Ohio’s retirees, investors and business owners and took major steps to help protect its consumers from fraudulent foreclosures and financial predators.  Prior to his tenure as Ohio’s Attorney General, Cordray spent two years as Ohio’s State Treasurer and four as the Treasurer of Franklin County, Ohio.  In 2008, he received a Financial Services Cham pion award from the U.S. Small Business Administration and a Government Service Award from NeighborWorks America.  In 2005, he was named “County Leader of the Year” by American City & County Magazine.  Earlier in his career, Cordray was an adjunct professor at the Ohio State University College of Law (1989-2002), served as a State Representative for the 33rd Ohio House District (1991-1993), was the first Solicitor General in Ohio’s history (1993-1994), and was a sole practitioner and Of Counsel to Kirkland & Ellis (1995-2007).  Cordray has argued seven cases before the United States Supreme Court, including by special appointment of both the Clinton and Bush Justice Departments.  Cordray is a graduate of Michigan State University, Oxford University, and the University of Chicago Law School.  He was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Law Review and later clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy.

The new rules make union representation elections fairer by simplifying procedures, deferring litigation and setting shorter deadlines for hearings and filings. Currently when workers petition the NLRB for an election, it can take months and even years before they can cast a vote. Companies often use this time to threaten, scare and discourage workers from voting.

The new union election rules are set to take effect April 30, 2012.

“Joe personifies what a true labor leader is,” notes BCTGM International President Frank Hurt. “He remains one of the most dedicated and giving union leaders this organization has ever had. He has spent his life working hard to make sure American workers have the benefit of a fair day’s wage, a healthy workplace and the dignity that comes with a union contract.

“Members of this union can be proud to have had Joe fight hard on their behalf for generations. He will be greatly missed by every member of this union— but his contributions will never be forgotten,” concludes Hurt.

Thibodeau’s mother worked the night shift at Cushman’s Bakery in Portland, Maine for many years after his father died at a young age and she had to go to work to provide for her three small sons. When Thibodeau went to work at that same bakery in 1957, it was still non-union. He decided that the Cushman bakery workers needed the protection of a union and in 1963, Thibodeau organized the company, creating Local 166 of the American Bakery and Confectionery Workers (ABC), the AFL-CIO-affiliate bakery union.

He was elected financial secretary and business agent of the local in 1964 and was re-elected the following year. In 1966, he joined the ABC’s International staff as an organizer and in 1967 was made an International Representative. Thibodeau remained on staff after the ABC and B&C reunited in 1969.

In 1972, he was appointed to assist the International representative in charge of auditing the union’s U.S. locals. When the International representative he was working with was elected International vice president, Thibodeau took over as International representative and auditor.

In February 1994, Thibodeau was elected as International Vice President, Region I.  He was elected to fill the post of International Executive Vice President by the union’s General Executive Board in May 1998. Thibodeau was re-elected as International Executive Vice President at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 International Constitutional Conventions.

Thibodeau is retiring to his home in Searsmont, Maine with his wife of 42 years, Helen.  He plans to spend his retirement enjoying his family, which includes three grown children and five grandchildren.

When asked what it has been like working in the labor movement for 48 years, Thibodeau shugs his shoulders and says with a smile, “It has been great.”