03 Mar Our Union. Our Future. Our Fight.
BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton Reflects on the Official Theme of the BCTGM’s 41st Constitutional Convention
Preparations are well underway at the International Union Headquarters and in our local unions for the BCTGM’s 41st Constitutional Convention July 27 – August 2, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since our last International Union Convention in 2018, the BCTGM and our members have been forced to confront some of the most difficult challenges in our union’s long and proud history; challenges that have tested our resilience and our solidarity; challenges that have further solidified our bond as a strong and fearless union family.
Each and every time, the BCTGM has risen to the challenge. With this in mind, the theme of the 2022 Convention is, “Our Union. Our Future. Our Fight.”
The Convention theme and its focus on protecting our legacy and building our future could not be more timely.
Our Fight. From keeping our members safe throughout the pandemic by fighting for health and safety measures to supporting workers who chose to stand up and fight back against companies demanding takebacks, the BCTGM has led the way.
We have fought hard for every victory. We fought hard to secure our right to stand together and bargain collectively. We marched and sacrificed to stand on the picket lines. We faced down employers to win contracts that secure the rights and benefits of our members. BCTGM members at Frito Lay, Nabisco, Kellogg’s and Jon Donaire stood strong in the face of great adversity, despite daunting odds. Our success was made possible by the tremendous courage of our members and their families and the powerful solidarity across the BCTGM and throughout the labor movement.
Our Future. The BCTGM has something important to offer all those working people in our industries who are angry and frustrated and looking for the respect, energy and leadership the BCTGM can provide. More than any other time in our history, BCTGM members understand the true meaning of the word, “solidarity.”
In the face of seemingly insurmountable opposition, we negotiated quality contracts and went back to work with our heads held high because we stayed the course, united in solidarity.
Each time employers insulted us or tried to bully or dismiss us we grew stronger.
United in purpose these last four years, we kept fighting and together we discovered a fundamental truth that carries us into this Convention year: United in solidarity, our enemies cannot divide us. The last four years have presented tremendous challenges, but the lesson we can take into our future is that we are an unbreakable force when—and only when—we stand together.
Our Union. Not only will this union always defend our members and never back down, but we will also go on offense to win new rights and break new ground as we organize non-union workers. Our new members at Blues City Brewery in Memphis fought against great odds and made great sacrifices to join the BCTGM and secure a first contract. Workers at other shops are reaching out every day to join this union and we must be ready to help them do so.
We will also do everything we can to protect our members’ jobs and standard of living. We will continue to use our resources to negotiate the very best collective bargaining agreements in our industries.
We will support, and continue to provide, the very best service to our members. We will make our case to a new generation of workers that is younger and more diverse but just as hungry for a voice on the job.
This is how we will build a bright future for this union.
The BCTGM will continue to provide leadership, coordination and support to our rank-and-file membership. As we enter this new year, we will channel the power of every hard-working man and woman of this union to maintain our voices on the shop floor, power on the picket line and influence at the negotiating table.