28 May Beet Sugar: UNION MADE in the USA

Most people believe the sugar they use and consume every day comes from sugarcane, but in the United States 60% of it is Union-made from sugar beets in the cooler climates to the north. BCTGM members make nearly all of the U.S.-made sugar from sugar beets.

“This time of year our farmers are planting sugar beet seeds across close to 175,000 acres of fields from Idaho to Eastern Oregon and Washington,” says BCTGM Local 283G (Twin Falls, Idaho) President Brendan Van Sickle.

Van Sickle works as a Boiler House Foreman Trainee at the Amalgamated Sugar Co. facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, and leads one of four BCTGM Local Unions representing beet processing workers for the company in the Western Region.

“The beets will have grown to the size of a football when they are harvested in the fall,” he continues. “They are delivered to piling grounds where they get disseminated to Amalgamated Sugar’s different beet processing plants.”

The Union work begins at the plant, and includes washing, slicing, heating, juicing and eventually turning them into a molasses. “Many people think there is a sifting process involved, but it’s much different than that,” Van Sickle continues. “The molasses from the beets is actually steamed, purified and then crystallized into the white satin sugar everyone is familiar with.”

According to Western Region International Vice President Shad Clark, Local 283G belongs to what is called an ‘inter-factory council,’ along with fellow BCTGM Locals 282G (Heyburn, Idaho), 284G (Nampa, Idaho) and 290G (Nyssa, Ore.)—all of which represent workers at Amalgamated Sugar. “They are unique in that they are all under one contract representing the different locations,” he says. “So they bargain the contract together, but will often take up work issues and arbitrations together as well.”

The inter-factory council is a contract feature that is common among BCTGM Sugar Locals. In the East-Central Region, four BCTGM Local Unions make up the inter-factory council for Michigan Sugar Co.

“We meet once a month to discuss anything going on,” says BCTGM Local 260G (Caro, Mich.) President Randy Joles. “Once a year, we also have a Sugar Council meeting with BCTGM Sugar Locals across the country to compare notes.”

“We do not have an inter-factory council for American Crystal Sugar Co.” says Local 167G (Grand Forks, N.D.) President John Riskey of the BCTGM’s largest sugar employer in the Midwest. “But similarly, we do have all seven factory locations under the same collective bargaining agreement.”

Much of the Union-made sugar produced at these and other BCTGM-represented sugar beet processing facilities will be packaged and sold in grocery stores, while the rest will be delivered by freight for use at other BCTGM-represented snack, baking and cereal companies.

“People would be surprised to know how many of their BCTGM-made food products—such as Kellogg’s snacks, General Mills cereals and Hershey’s chocolate—are BCTGM-made down to the sugar listed in their ingredients,” says Local 282G President Shawn Fowler. “We are proud to be able to support other BCTGM jobs with the work that we do.”

Pictured on this page are BCTGM sugar industry workers in the Union’s Western, Midwest and East-Central Regions.

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BCTGM SUGAR LOCALS

The following are BCTGM Local Unions which represent sugar workers at the country’s largest beet processing companies:

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