President’s Report
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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By: Anthony Shelton, BCTGM International President With the end of the year upon us, it is important to review how our Union responded to the challenges that arose before us. As we evaluate these challenges, it gives us an opportunity to plan effectively for the future. In 2023, the BCTGM once again provided solid proof that we never walk away from a tough fight when it comes to protecting the livelihoods of our members. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa,...

11 December, 2023

Two months ago, delegates to the 41st Constitutional Convention of the BCTGM came together in solidarity and unity to set this Unionโ€™s agenda for the next four years.Since that time, I have been working tirelessly with Secretary-Treasurer David Woods, our Regional International Vice Presidents and International staff to bring that Convention agenda to life. ORGANIZING: The BCTGM is organizing all around the country and hitting the streets to talk to workers in non-union workplaces about the...

07 October, 2022

"If thereโ€™s one thing I could say that really shaped who I am today as a person, it would be growing up in a union family."- BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton, June 2021 BCTGM President's Message My father, Walter Shelton, started working at Colonial Bakery in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1952. It was a tough job, working six days a week. It was a great union job with good pay and benefits to raise a family. My father...

30 June, 2021

The following is a special column by BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton published in the March/April issue of the BCTGM NEWS. It has been an historic three months in America. The election of Joe Biden and Democratic control of Congress have created a tremendous boost for working families and organized labor. The most significant development of 2021 is the enactment of the American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Biden on March 11. Included in...

26 April, 2021

The following is an important message to the BCTGM membership from International President Anthony Shelton: Our union is in the midst of some of the most turbulent times in our 134-year history. The COVID-19 pandemic has touched every corner of our lives, from our health and livelihoods to our heart and soul. As a husband, father and grandfather, I understand the uncertainty you are feeling right now. This crisis is showing us something we have known all...

06 July, 2020

BCTGM International President David Durkee wrote the following column for the July/August BCTGM NEWS. For those who have watched the Trump Administration chop away at workersโ€™ rights, it was no big surprise when President Trump nominated Eugene Scalia for Secretary of Labor. Scalia โ€” son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia โ€” has made his reputation in Washington, D.C. as a lawyer for big corporations with a blatant disregard and disdain for...

29 August, 2019

The following is the President Durkee's Message from the May/June BCTGM NEWS: From teachers and public service workers fighting for great public schools and quality services, to fast food workers demanding $15 an hour and a union, American workers are standing up and speaking out. Most recently, in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona, we witnessed grassroots worker action at its most powerful as tens of thousands of teachers stood their ground to win changes for themselves...

22 June, 2018

Throughout the BCTGM International Unionโ€™s 132-year history, each generation has fought hard to build a stronger Union upon the solid foundation forged by previous generations. In fact, the International Union has flourished for nearly a century and a half because of our โ€œnever give upโ€ attitude and our willingness to โ€œthink outside the boxโ€ when tackling challenges. Throughout our proud history, we have held strong to our unwavering committment to defending the quality of life...

28 February, 2018

As BCTGM members and their families prepare to celebrate the holidays and welcome a New Year, we can look back at 2017 as a source of pride and optimism for our Union. While the BCTGM and our members certainly continue to confront serious and difficult challenges, we head into 2018 fully prepared to take whatever action is necessary to improve the lives of our members and bring the benefits of BCTGM membership to more workers...

20 December, 2017

Above:ย At the IUF World Congress in August, Intl. Pres. David Durkee (center) and Asst. to the Intl. Pres. Harry Kaiser (right) greet the officers and delegates from the Bakers, Food and Allied Workersโ€™ Union (BFAWU) of the U.K.When Oreo maker Mondelฤ“z International began moving production from BCTGM-represented American and Canadian plants to a new $450 million plant in Mexico, it was taking advantage of a rigged economic system that rewards multi-national corporations for exploiting workers...

20 November, 2017

Shown below is the full text of a letter International President David Durkee sent to Presidentย Obama concerning the July 29 announcement byย Mondelฤ“z International that it intends to moveย hundreds of union production jobs from the historicย BCTGM-represented Chicago Nabisco Bakery to the companyโ€™sย low-wage facility in Mexico. This contemptible move by thisย greedy multi-national company epitomizes all that is wrong withย corporate America and U.S. trade policy. (Click on either image below to download a PDF.)   *This letter was also published in...

01 September, 2015

The record is clear, convincing and indisputable. For more than two decades, โ€œfree tradeโ€ agreements have had a disastrous impact on American and Canadian working families and devastated communities throughout North America. The BCTGM and our members know firsthand the hardship that results when multinational corporations, Wall Street and their political allies in Washington, D.C. team up to enact โ€œfree tradeโ€ agreements. In the last 20 years, many thousands of our BCTGM Brothers and Sisters have...

12 March, 2015

As BCTGM members and their families welcome a New Year, we can look back at 2014 as a source of great pride and optimism for our Union. ย While the BCTGM and our members certainly faced serious and difficult challenges on many fronts, we are heading into the New Year as a stronger, battle-tested Union, fully prepared to take whatever action is necessary to improve the lives of our members and bring the benefits of BCTGM...

06 January, 2015

โ€œU.S. Government Charges Kellogg with Serious Violations of Federal Lawโ€ย  โ€“ BCTGM News Release, March 27, 2014 โ€œFederal Government Seeks Immediate Court Action to End Illegal Memphis Lockoutโ€ โ€“ BCTGM News Release, April 5, 2014 What a difference a year can make! At this time last year, the labor movement was confronting one of its greatest challenges since the enactment of the National Labor Relations Act, the โ€œWorkersโ€™ Bill of Rightsโ€, nearly 80 years earlier. ย The National Labor Relations Board...

15 May, 2014

โ€œThe opposition from employers and their strong political representatives seems sharp and constant, and in the face of these, it is our declared purpose to maintain our unity and solidarity.โ€ ย  โ€“ From the Declaration of Principles, BCTGM Constitution   Looking at these words from the BCTGMโ€™s Declaration of Principles, it is as if those leaders who wrote our Constitution knew exactly what our Union has been up against for the past four years and how we have...

13 March, 2014