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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 White House said on April 9 that President Biden had picked Doug Parker, chief of Californiaโ€™s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) since 2019, to be assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. (OSHA). During the Obama administration, Parker was deputy assistant secretary for policy in the Dept. of Laborโ€™s Mine Safety and Health Administration. Earlier, he was a senior policy advisor and special assistant at the Department of Labor (DOL). An...

13 April, 2021

Today is a national day of action for the PRO Act and we asking every BCTGM member to help flood the Senate phone lines with support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Click to call senators Weโ€™re almost there. If we can get this passed, working peopleโ€™s rights will be protected for generations to come. The PRO Act has already passed the U.S. House with bipartisan support. The PRO Act would: Empower workers to exercise the...

08 April, 2021

On March 26, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) hosted a virtual celebration with Ohio workers and retirees to discuss the importance of securing the multiemployer pension measure in the American Rescue Plan. BCTGM Local 57 member Kate Hughes, a worker at Bimbo Bakeries in Zanesville, Ohio was invited to participate in the event called, โ€œThe Virtual Dignity of Work Celebration: Keeping Our Pension Promises.โ€ Senator Brown called on each worker to discuss why the pension measure was important. โ€œIโ€™m...

01 April, 2021

Working people are facing a crisis beyond anything weโ€™ve weathered since the Great Depression. Overcoming this challenge is going to require unprecedented federal investment in working people and in our communities. That means passing an infrastructure package to tackle the climate injustice, racial injustice and economic injustice facing working families while creating a new generation of good-paying union jobs. President Biden understands we need to go big, and this announcement brings us one step closer to...

31 March, 2021

For four years, the Department of Labor has been devoted to serving a handful of elite interests, instead of working people. Not anymore. The Senate has confirmed Marty Walsh as labor secretary. As a former union member, he understands the power of collective action, and his confirmation strengthens our fight to improve the lives of working people across the country. Weโ€™re going to protect workers from COVID-19. Weโ€™re going to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Weโ€™re going...

22 March, 2021

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects workers who advocate for improvements on the jobย or seek to organize a union, but it only extends those protections to workers classified as โ€œemployeesโ€ย under a very narrow definition of that term. Workers classified as โ€œindependent contractorsโ€ are not protected by the NLRA. Employers often misclassify their employees as independent contractors, thereby excluding theirย workforce from the NLRAโ€™s protections. This allows employers to ensure their workers will not comeย together to form...

18 March, 2021

In response to President Biden's executive order on protecting worker health and safety, the U.S. Department of Labor'sย Occupational Safety and Health Administrationย has launched aย national emphasis programย 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

Today, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Act, finalizing $1.9 trillion in relief funding. Included in the package is $86 billion for multiemployer pension funds, like the B&C Pension Fund. The legislation provides the funding necessary for long-term solvency without forcing reductions in participantsโ€™ hard-earned pension benefits. The pandemic exacerbated the multiemployer pension crisis. This bill will save the pensions of more than 1.3 million hard-working Americans. The package also provides long-term stability for single-employer plans. Yesterday,...

11 March, 2021

Legislation Secures Retiree Pension Benefits BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton issued the following statement following the enactment of the American Rescue Plan Act on March 11, 2021: โ€œThe BCTGM commends President Biden and the Democrats in Congress for making the American Rescue Plan Act the law of the land. The American Rescue Plan Act is a bold policy that takes strong action to tackle the enormous ongoing economic problems challenging working families because of the COVID-19 pandemic.โ€œNo...

11 March, 2021

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act โ€” 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),ย Digital Media Dir., BCTGMHarry Kaiser,ย Political Dir./Asst. to President Anthony Shelton, BCTGMRichard Womack,ย Asst. to Pres. Richard Trumka, AFL-CIOJohn Price,ย Organizing Dir., BCTGMDavid Driscoll-Knight,ย East Region Field Dir., AFL-CIOMargaret McLaughlin,ย International Rep./Organizer, BCTGMJared Cummings,ย 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 peopleโ€™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 workersโ€™ health, safety, and benefits in the workplace. Unions lift up workers, both union and...

08 March, 2021