BCTGM Members Also Work in the Chemical Industry
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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01 Jul BCTGM Members Also Work in the Chemical Industry

Posted at 12:33h in Local Union News by

Two BCTGM local unions represent workers at several chemical companies all located within a sprawling 400-acre industrial complex in a remote corner of Shelby County, Tennessee.

Local 407G (Memphis, Tenn.) members at Plaskolite manufacture continuous cast acrylic sheet used for spas and baths, as well as clear museum and frame grade acrylic sheet. According to Local 407G President Terry Howard, the plant ramped up production throughout the pandemic to provide acrylic sheets to retail stores, schools, restaurants and other public spaces.

Local 407G also represents members at Mitsubishi Chemical. The company is the worldโ€™s largest producer of Methacrylates โ€“ the building block of all acrylics. The union made product is used for everything from protective screens to signage, paints and coatings to fittings and furniture, baths to automotive parts and more.

Howard has worked at the massive complex since 1975 when it was owned by DuPont. He has been an officer of Local 407G since 1993.

  • Highly guarded and secure, the 400-acre complex is made up of six factories. Pictured here is the outside of the Plaskolite plant where members of Local 407G are employed.
  • Local 407G members outside the massive complex in Shelby County Tennessee. From left to right is, Plaskolite workers Mike Montgomery (Warehouse), Robert Rainer (Lab Analyst), Joseph Blurton (Operator), Mitsubishi Chemical workers L. 407G Pres. Terry Howard (Electrical & Instrument Technician), Kyle Lewis (Asst. Operator), Kevin Howard (Electrical & Instrument Technician) and Jimmy Jordan (Mechanical Technician).
  • Local 407G members outside the Shelby County, Tenn. industrial complex

BCTGM Local 352G represents 100 workers at Chemours Memphis. The facility was established in 1952 and produces sodium cyanide, an essential element in gold and silver extraction. Sodium cyanide is not cyanide, although it is part of the industrial compound. It has been used for decades and is allowed and regulated by state and federal agencies around the world.

Union workers at the Chemours plant make solid cyanide bricks as well as the liquid cyanide that is used to make the bricks. Local 352G President Emile Sigee, a powerhouse steam engineer, has worked at the facility for 18 years. According to Sigee, union workers at the plant wear highly protective suits to keep them safe in the production process.

Local 352G President Emile Sigee is a Powerhouse Steam Engineer at the Chemours facility. The local union also represents workers at the Arkema and Lanxess factories on the complex.

Local 352G members also represent the workers at the Lanxess facility. Workers there produce Oxone monopersulfate, a compound used in a variety of industrial and consumer applications like Oxy Clean, powder bleach cleaners as well as a chlorine-free shock oxidizer in swimming pools and spas. The product is also used in the electronics industry and for cleaning dentures.

Also represented by Local 352G are workers at the Arkema Memphis plant where they produce hydrogen peroxide. The plant, built in 1953, is situated on 12 acres on the industrial complex and was originally owned by DuPont.

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