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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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The needs of workers and workplaces alike are ever-changing, and the only way to stay at the forefront of this change is to gather often and learn together. The BCTGM prides itself on its commitment to education. In 2024, the International Union co-sponsored 36 Local Union training programs involving over 850 shop stewards and officers from 44 Local Unions. The International provides resources and materials for these trainings, which are taught by highly capable International Vice Presidents...

14 March, 2025

From a single, small confectionery in 1939, Schnuckโ€™s Markets, Inc. has grown into a leading regional supermarket chain with 115 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. BCTGM Local 4 (St. Louis, Mo.) members at Schnuckโ€™s Market Bakery in St. Louis are behind the cakes and other sweet goods that get shipped to the chainโ€™s retail grocery stores for sale. โ€œOur members not only bake the cakes in this facility, they elaborately decorate them,โ€ says Midwest Region...

12 March, 2025

20 members of BCTGM Local 3G (Battle Creek, Mich.) have initiated an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike against Knappen Milling Co. in Augusta, Mich. The workers, who make Knappen Milling Baking Flour, are fighting against low wages, safety concerns, and for a Union security clause to be written back into their contract following the repeal of a decade-long Right-to-Work law in their state. โ€œOur wage increases have consistently lagged behind industry standards, and the percentage increases are...

11 March, 2025

BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton issued the following response to President Donald Trumpโ€™s decision to apply tariffs on Canada: The BCTGM International Union believes that the Trump Administrationโ€™s decision to apply a 25% tariff on goods entering the United States from Canada is unnecessary, misguided and potentially devastating for both Canadian and American workers, including thousands of BCTGM members. If the President is truly committed to bolstering manufacturing in the United States, he would be better served...

06 March, 2025

170 members of BCTGM Local 36G (Buffalo, NY) on strike against J.M. Smucker-owned Milk-Bone have voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement. This brings an end to the seven-week strike that began on October 28. Reflecting on the vote to accept the new agreement, BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton stated, โ€œThis has been a difficult fight for our striking BCTGM workers and their families. I could not be more proud of these hard working members who...

18 December, 2024

The BCTGM International Union is deeply saddened to announce the passing of BCTGM International Director of Organization John Price, who died on December 2, 2024. He was 64. 2018, Rallying for Pensions in Columbus, Ohio John was a tireless organizer and someone who never backed down from a challenge, particularly if there was an opportunity to bring new members into the BCTGM. John began his Union career in 1979, as member of Local 6 employed at Bake Rite...

04 December, 2024

On October 28th, 165 members of BCTGM Local 36G went on strike against Milk-Bone (owned by J.M. Smucker) in Buffalo, New York. The workers are fighting against an increased cost to their health care, low wages and the companyโ€™s blatant disrespect for the law and its employees. You can download a Fact Sheet on their strike here. Here are THREE ways you can help BCTGM Local 36G HOLD THE LINE: 1) Join the picket line or drop off...

25 November, 2024

BCTGM Local 114 members who work at the Franz Bakery in Springfield, Ore. have voted to accept a new collective bargaining agreement. Approval of the contract ends the BCTGMโ€™s strike at the bakery which began on October 31, 2024. In commenting on the ratification, BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton states, โ€œOur striking members at Franz Bakery courageously stood their ground in order to achieve a fair contract. Itโ€™s not an easy decision to hit the streets...

21 November, 2024

โ€œRepublican politicians can say they are pro-worker, but they have to show they are pro-worker by recognizing workersโ€™ crucial right to organize and bargain,โ€ Georgetown Professor/Labor Historian Joseph McCartin told the BCTGM Voices Project podcast on October 31. The podcast discussion, recorded a week before the 2024 presidential election, was moderated by BCTGM Communications Director Michelle Ellis and joined by Organizing Director John Price. It provided a look-back on the legislative journey of Labor through the...

07 November, 2024

October 31, 2024 โ€“ Nearly 200 members of BCTGM Local 114 (Portland, Ore.), who make Franz bread products for United States Baking Company in Springfield, Ore., have initiated a ULP strike against the company. The workers are striking over scheduling issues, work-life balance and low pay relative to the industry. โ€œOur Franz members want a more just and fair scheduling system. We have proposed following Oregonโ€™s new 'Predictive Scheduling Law' that would give our members more notice on...

31 October, 2024

October 28, 2024 โ€“ 165 members of BCTGM Local 36G (Buffalo, N.Y.), who make Milk-Bone brand dog treats for J.M. Smucker Co. in Buffalo, have initiated a ULP strike against the company. Download a Fact Sheet. The workers are fighting against an increased cost to their health care, low wages and the companyโ€™s blatant disrespect for the law and its employees. โ€œThe union members had hoped to improve their sub-par medical plan when they entered bargaining,โ€ reports Chief...

28 October, 2024

By Anthony Shelton, BCTGM International President Every four years, American citizens have the opportunity to go to the polls to vote for the President of the United States. The ability to vote in a free and fair election is the foundation of a democratic society, and it is up to each and every one of us to participate in this important process. Sadly, close to half of eligible voters in the U.S. do not vote. One group...

09 October, 2024

For Immediate Release: September 19, 2024Contact: Lisa Gregory, BCTGM International Representative, (301) 335-3722 Print this (PDF) London, Ky. โ€” Eleven-year employee Ben Nolan of the Hearthside Food Solutions (HFS) bakery in London, Ky. has been illegally fired from his job for activities related to organizing a Union. Hearthside is owned by two private equity companies, Partners Group and Charlesbank. Nolan was unjustly targeted by management at the bakery when he emerged as a leader in an April 2024 Union...

19 September, 2024

Along the Upper Mississippi River in Keokuk, Iowa, the French-based, family-owned Roquette Frรจres company employs 450 corn wet milling workers represented by BCTGM Local 48G (Keokuk, Iowa). Roquette, which began as a single-location potato starch plant in Lestrem, France during the Great Depression, boasts 50 starch production locations around the world today. The Keokuk site was acquired by the company in 1991 from the Hubinger Co.โ€”which owned and operated it for over 100 years prior. โ€œThe work...

13 September, 2024

After 27 years with the International Union, Corrina Christensen, Director of Public Relations and Communications, retired on July 1. Christensen was hired as a publications coordinator and assistant editor by International President Frank Hurt in 1998. She was later named Director of Internal Communications, a position she held until being appointed to the Director of Public Relations and Communications in 2001, following the retirement of Carolyn Jacobson. A third generation Union member, Christensen began her career as...

13 September, 2024