COVID-19
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
bctgm, bakers union, tobacco union, candy union, food workers, food workers union, grain millers, grain millers union, mondelez, nabisco, snack union,
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In response to President Biden's executive order on protecting worker health and safety, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a national emphasis program focusing enforcement efforts on companies that put the largest number of workers at serious risk of contracting the coronavirus. The program also prioritizes employers that retaliate against workers for complaints about unsafe or unhealthy conditions, or for exercising other rights protected by federal law. "This deadly pandemic has taken a staggering...

15 March, 2021

This week, House Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion bill to help fight the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, President Biden signed the law, which will provide significant assistance to the American people during this unprecedented crisis. The American Rescue Plan is a victory. As we wrote yesterday, this historic legislation saves multiemployer pension plans like the B&C Pension Fund. The legislation provides the funding necessary for long-term solvency without forcing reductions...

12 March, 2021

The United States has reached a tragic milestone in our fight against COVID-19: More than half a million Americans have succumbed to the coronavirus. Many of those lost were our union brothers, sisters and friends. The labor movement mourns their passing, and in their memory, we will fight every day to overcome this pandemic. Please visit this special AFL-CIO In Memoriam site. ...

23 February, 2021

Protect workers. Decrease risk. Increase safety. Check out OSHA's guidance on implementing a COVID-19 Prevention Program in the workplace. OSHA has answers to questions about reporting work-related exposures to COVID-19. https://twitter.com/i/status/1357333085352849410 ...

22 February, 2021

The BCTGM welcomes the message released by leading scientific experts urging stronger protections for workers and the public due to proof that inhalation is the major route of transmission causing COVID-19 infections and outbreaks. Leading scientific and medical experts are calling upon the Biden Administration to take immediate action to address inhalation exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus as a cornerstone of the COVID-19 pandemic response. In a letter to the Biden administrations’ top officials heading the...

19 February, 2021

(Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2020)—Too many of America’s workers are being killed on the job and face dangerous working conditions. The latest data from the U.S.  Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries shows that workers of color are especially high risk.  In 2019, 5,333 workers died on the job, the largest number since 2007. That is an average of 15 workers dying each and every day. This does not include the enormous number...

16 December, 2020

Last week, updated COVID-19 relief legislation was introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The new measure is a promising, good-faith effort to push negotiations on long-overdue COVID-19 relief forward. It is geared toward helping the people who need it most: front-line workers, the unemployed, the uninsured, retirees and all those who rely on critical public services like schools, fire and emergency medical services, sanitation, and child care. Tell the Senate: Pass the HEROES ACT! This legislation...

02 October, 2020

Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removing SARS-CoV-2 airborne transmission information from its website: Scientists across the world have been saying for months that the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) travels distances through the air. The CDC finally acknowledged that on Friday but today abruptly retracted that recognition. This is a total and blatant disregard for science and keeps workers from getting the protections we need. This is yet another...

22 September, 2020

In a new op-ed in The Hill, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler warned that we are running out of time to prioritize child care in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. With schools closing, working mothers with young children have faced an astronomically outsized burden that has exhausted and isolated many. The burden is not sustainable and, if we don't address it, a significant portion of women could be pushed out of the labor force,...

11 August, 2020

The BCTGM, together with the AFL-CIO and its other affiliates, condemn Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his body’s failure to pass the HEROES Act, deepening economic hardship for millions, especially those who will lose the additional $600 in unemployment insurance benefits expiring at the end of the month. For months, millions of laid-off American workers have relied on these increased weekly supplemental benefits to pay the bills and stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The...

23 July, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend our lives and our economy. This crisis is showing that we cannot have a healthy economy without a healthy workforce. Working people are among the hardest hit, and our senators must act with urgency to pass the HEROES Act, which will put our country on the path to recovery. The HEROES Act includes an effective, comprehensive solution to the multiemployer pension funding crisis that would provide long-term security for pension...

21 July, 2020

Across the country, BCTGM members are taking action to pressure the U.S. Senate to pass the HEROES Act. It is the legislation we need to get America back on track. The HEROES Act includes an effective, comprehensive solution to the multiemployer pension funding crisis that would provide long-term security for pension funds, including the B&C Fund, and for beneficiaries.  Tell the Senate: Pass the Heroes Act! Additionally, the HEROES Act would protect frontline workers, make vital investments,...

17 July, 2020

The Philadelphia City Council has unanimously approved a bill that will make it illegal for employers to fire, discipline, or otherwise retaliate against workers who speak up about working in unsafe conditions related to the coronavirus. The measure is expected to be signed by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, making Philadelphia the first big city in the country to give workers stronger legal protection against this kind of retaliation. It’s a victory for the Philadelphia labor community. The...

29 June, 2020

More than 300 families in Hartwell, Ga. are able to feed their families union-made goods thanks to a Local 42 (Atlanta) led COVID-19 community relief effort. Together with Impact Church of Hartwell, the local union wanted to reach members of the community who have been negatively affected by the pandemic. Local 42 represents the maintenance workers at the nearby Nestlé Purina plant. Several workers from the plant volunteered to help distribute the food to hundreds...

22 June, 2020

Together with the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO, the UAW, Ford and BIMBO Bakeries, Local 326 helped deliver thousands of pounds of BCTGM-made products to the Community Action Agency of Monroe County and numerous area food banks. The union goods will be distributed to working families hardest hit by the financial crisis caused by the pandemic. According to Local 326 President and Business Agent Nikee Craine-Kanitz, the multi-day event included gathering Sara Lee/BIMBO Bakeries USA products from...

11 June, 2020