Organizing
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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The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects workers who advocate for improvements on the jobΒ or seek to organize a union, but it only extends those protections to workers classified as β€œemployees” under a very narrow definition of that term. Workers classified as β€œindependent contractors” are not protected by the NLRA. Employers often misclassify their employees as independent contractors, thereby excluding theirΒ workforce from the NLRA’s protections. This allows employers to ensure their workers will not comeΒ together to form...

18 March, 2021

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act β€” PRO Act (H.R. 842) passed the House last night with a 225-206 vote, with five Republicans joining Democrats in favor of it. President Biden strongly backs the legislation and released a powerful statement this week stating, "Nearly 60 million Americans would join a union if they get a chance, but too many employers and states prevent them from doing so through anti-union attacks. They know that without...

10 March, 2021

Yesterday, the BCTGM hosted a live political discussion for member leaders and organizers on Facebook. The panel consisted of staff and activists from both the BCTGM and AFL-CIO (left to right above): Michelle Ellis (moderating),Β Digital Media Dir., BCTGMHarry Kaiser,Β Political Dir./Asst. to President Anthony Shelton, BCTGMRichard Womack,Β Asst. to Pres. Richard Trumka, AFL-CIOJohn Price,Β Organizing Dir., BCTGMDavid Driscoll-Knight,Β East Region Field Dir., AFL-CIOMargaret McLaughlin,Β International Rep./Organizer, BCTGMJared Cummings,Β Rank & File Organizer, BCTGM Local 53 Exec. Board Member In the preview below, Harry...

10 March, 2021

A week after releasing the most pro-union statement from a president in decades, President Biden issued a statement of administration policy that strongly supports the passage of the PRO Act. The administration recognizes that the right to organize a union is a fundamental building block of the American Dream. Passing the PRO Act would strengthen and expand working people’s ability to form and join unions. In a press release, the administration noted that unions give...

09 March, 2021

"America was not built by Wall Street. It was built by the middle class, and unions built the middle class. Unions put power in the hands of workers. They give workers a stronger voice to increase wages, improve the quality of jobs and protect job security, protect against racial and all other forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, and protect workers’ health, safety, and benefits in the workplace. Unions lift up workers, both union and...

08 March, 2021

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: β€œAmerica can only build back better if unions are doing the building.” Today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and leaders from construction and manufacturing unions met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss actions the administration can take to create good-paying union jobs, highlighting the need to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, COVID-19 relief and an infrastructure package. After the meeting,...

17 February, 2021

On February 4, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Congressman Robert C. β€œBobby” Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, comprehensive labor legislation to protect workers’ right to stand together and bargain for fairer wages, better...

05 February, 2021

President Biden has indicated he will seek to build worker power by strengthening unions. On election day eve, campaigning in western Pennsylvania, he promised to be β€œthe most pro-union president you’ve ever seen”. In his campaign platform, Biden endorsed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (Pro Act) which would make it easier for unions to organize workers. America’s labor laws are no longer an effective. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act will provide...

22 January, 2021

In the midst of a pandemic and in the face of an unrelenting, anti-union campaign, workers at Blue’s City Brewing Company in Memphis, Tenn. stood strong in solidarity and voted to have a voice in their workplace with BCTGM Local 149 (Memphis). There are currently 550 workers employed at the plant with several hundred additional workers expected to join the workforce as the company plans to expand the facility. β€œFaith without hard work is nothing. With the...

10 December, 2020

To Daniel Ramos, a machine operator at the Danone North America plant in Bridgeton, N.J., a vote to become a member of the BCTGM was a decision he made based on worker dignity. β€œI will vote for the union because we deserve dignity and respect. We need to make sure our voices are heard. We have the power of our voice. I feel positive – we will win this union election because it is what is...

22 October, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has amplified many workers' desires for workplace protections β€” both against losing their jobs and against the virus. Faced with unsafe working conditions or precarious employment, workers are turning to the BCTGM for help. "Employers may or may not provide the safety tools that workers need. And yet workers know that if they speak up and refuse to work without the proper safety measures, they'll be fired."BCTGM International Director of Organization John Price. Under...

17 September, 2020

In late February, more than 150 workers at Danone North America’s yogurt and plant-based powder facility in DuBois, Pa. voted overwhelmingly to join BCTGM Local 19 (Cleveland, Ohio). France-based Danone is one of the largest food & beverage companies in the world. Danone’s largest subsidiary in the United States is Dannon Yogurt, producer of Dannon, Oikos, Danimals, Activia, and YoCream. The BCTGM represents workers at Dannon facilities in Minster, Ohio and West Jordan, Utah. ...

03 March, 2020

The BCTGM joins with the AFL-CIO and the entire labor movement in commending the Democrat-controlled U.S. House for taking the most significant step toward strengthening labor laws in the United States in more than 85 years. America’s labor laws are no longer an effective means for working people to have our voices heard. The long overdue PRO Act will provide significant protections for workers exercising their legal right to form a union, a...

07 February, 2020

Working-class and middle-class families in the United States deserve income security and should be able to organize their co-workers to demand living wages and healthy working conditions. In a time when the richest Americans’ wealth growth has increased by more than 200% while wages remain stagnant for the rest of us, we need our lawmakers to protect workers’ rights. Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor advanced the Protecting the Right to...

03 February, 2020