Local Union News
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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BCTGM Local 6 members were among thousands of workers who rallied in Philadelphia's Thomas Paine Plaza on February 24 ahead of a Supreme Court voteย that could profoundly affect the ability of public-sector workers to improve their wages and working conditions.ย The Philadelphia rally, which included AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, was a part of the national "Workers Day of Action" movement, which included events in 28 cities. Today, February 26th, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral...

26 February, 2018

A Federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Just Born against BCTGM Local 6 (Philadelphia) workers who went on strike in 2016. In a 15-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl ruled on December 29 that the company failed to prove that the Local 6 members violated a no-strike clause in the collective bargaining agreement. About 400 Local 6 members went on strike on September 7, 2016.ย Workers returned to work in late October 2016, although...

04 January, 2018

Thanks to the tenacity of a small group of Oregon bakers fighting to become members of BCTGM Local 114 (Portland, Ore.), nearly 200,000 Oregon manufacturing workers will benefit from strengthened overtime laws. In January, Oregonโ€™s Bureau of Labor and Industries changed how it interprets overtime laws as a result of a lawsuit filed on behalf of Portland Specialty Bakery (PSB) workers. The baking company was charged with violating an Oregon state law that requires overtime pay...

26 September, 2017

In an area of Pennsylvania where workers at several manufacturing plants belong to the BCTGM, it wasnโ€™t a difficult decision for workers at the Cargill Cocoa facility in Hazelton about who to contact when they wanted to form a union. A worker at the Cargill plant first reached out to BCTGM International Director of Organization John Price in January through the unionโ€™s online organizing form. Afraid of management retaliation, the worker, Louis Morales, initially used a...

08 September, 2017

Together with the Mother Jones Museum and the Mother Jones Heritage Project, BCTGM Local 4 (St. Louis) participated in a special 180th Birthday celebration for the legendary Mother Jones. Retired BCTGM International Vice President Jeanne Graham, a life-long admirer of the legendary Mother Jones and a major supporter of the Mt. Olive, Ill.-based Mother Jones Museum, helped coordinate the creation of a BCTGM-made cake to commemorate the life of Mother Jones. Theย special 180th birthday cake was...

01 May, 2017

Workers at theย Franklin Street Bakery in Minneapolis have struggled for years with poverty wages, unaffordable health insurance, lack of time off to care for family members, little opportunity for advancement and raises, favoritism, and unfairly applied work policies. When the bakers decided to exercise their legal right to form a union and improve their conditions, management launched an aggressive anti-union, anti-worker campaign against the workers. The owner of Franklin Street Bakery, ย Wayne Kostroski, ย is also the...

20 January, 2017

BCTGM Director of Organization John Price joined with officers and organizers from BCTGM Local Union 22 (Minneapolis) in a series of meetings with employees of Franklin Street Bakery who are in the midst of an organizing drive to join the BCTGM. The campaign, which began in 2016, has received tremendous support from the Minneapolis/St. Paul community including the Minnesota State AFL-CIO, local community groups, town council members, and even the NFL Players Association. The owners of Franklin...

19 January, 2017

Delight your friends and loved ones with holiday treats made by hard-working BCTGM members! Listed here is a sampling of the BCTGM-contracted companies that produce seasonal specialtiesโ€ฆ Allan Candy Company Allan Traditional Candy Canes (Peppermint, Cherry and Mini Peppermint), Allan Holiday Collection Candy Canes (French Vanilla & Gingerbread, Butterscotch & Cappucino, Mini Canes), Allan Fruit Buddies Candy Canes, Allan Chewy Candy Canes. BCTGM Local 350T (Granby, Quebec) ย  Dare Foods Limited A variety of gums, jellies, hard candy and gift tubs,...

14 December, 2016

This morning about 250 trade unionists and supportersย joined striking Local 6 members for a spirited rally across from the Just Born candy plant in Bethlehem, Pa. Participants of theย solidarity event included theย Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 13000, Steelworkers (USW) Local 2559, CWA District 2-13, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 375, Teamsters (IBT) Local 773, ย as well as members of AFSCME and SEIU. Also present was the Northhampton County Democrats and the Democratic City Chair...

27 September, 2016

Horsham, Pa. โ€“ Four hundred BCTGM Local 6 members at Just Born Inc. in Bethlehem, Pa. unanimously voted to go on strike after rejecting the companyโ€™s last offer. Workers began taking their places on the picket line this afternoon. In contract negotiations that began in May, Just Born proposed eliminating the workersโ€™ pension plan, offered substandard market wage increases while increasing the workersโ€™ share of health insurance costs. While the Union proposed modifications to the health...

07 September, 2016

In the beginning, workers were not afraid. On the morning of January 11, sick of unsafe working conditions and unfair pay, dozens of workers at Portland Specialty Baking marched into the company presidentโ€™s office and asked for voluntary union recognition. [caption id="attachment_5711" align="alignright" width="300"] Current and former workers at Portland Specialty Baking, together with attorneys and supporters, announced a class action wage theft lawsuit on Aug. 8.[/caption] It was early 2015 that BCTGM Local 114 (Portland, Ore), with...

03 August, 2016

It has been more than a year and a half since workers at three Chicago-area Lifeway Foods facilities overcame a vicious anti-union campaign and voted overwhelmingly to join the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM). Since that time, Lifeway executives, including CEO Julie Smolyansky, have refused to negotiate a first union contract with BCTGM Local 1 (Chicago) and continue to violate federal labor law. In November 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)...

08 April, 2016

Workers at Lifeway Foods Inc. facilities in Chicago voted to join BCTGM Local 1 (Chicago) a year and a half ago but remain without a union contract as the company refuses to negotiate with the union. And despite a 2015 order by theย the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the company will notย bargain in good faith. Taking matters into their own hands, Local 1, with assistance from the International Union, has launched a ย campaign to bring this...

14 March, 2016

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled thatย Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)ย is guilty of violating federal labor laws. The NLRB adopted the findings and conclusions of Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Melissa M. Olivero. In a thirty-three page Decision, Judge Olivero wrote, โ€œADM has committed numerous violations of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by interrogating and threatening its employees. During their 2015 effort to become members of BCTGM Local 103G, workers at ADM's Bio-products facility in Decatur, Ill....

03 March, 2016

In July 2015, Nabisco announced it had chosen to invest an additional $130 million in its new $400 million plant in Salinas, Mexico, instead of investing that money in its iconic plant in Chicago. As a result, 600 workers in Chicago could lose their jobs and an entire South Side community could be devastated. Watch and share this video with everyone you know! Join the fight to save American Jobs! TAKE ACTION!ย Click here to sign our...

19 February, 2016