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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 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

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) is also a top priority to the Union Veterans Council.  Veterans and military families have a long history of joining unions, and like the BCTGM, the Union Veterans Council believes that a union will give a veteran a better life. The PRO Act will address key issues that are keeping veteran workers from achieving financial stability. The men and women who served our country deserve stable and...

03 March, 2021

On February 26, the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal that includes multiemployer pension relief and major components of the AFL-CIO's Americaโ€™s Five Economic Essentials. Call Your Senators The package, according to The New York Times, "includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly, including money to accelerate vaccine deployment and to safely reopen most schools within 100 days. An additional $350 billion would...

02 March, 2021

The BCTGM applauds the House passage of the American Rescue Plan, which includes multiemployer pension relief that would protect the hard-earned retirements of more than million American retirees. The BCTGM is part of the AFL-CIO Retirement Security Working Group, which has worked tirelessly over the last several years fighting for multiemployer pension relief legislation. The following statement was issued following passage of the American Rescue Plan by the House on February 27: After a lifetime of hard...

01 March, 2021

The United States has reached a tragic milestone in our fight against COVID-19: More than half a million Americans have succumbed to the coronavirus. Many of those lost were our union brothers, sisters and friends. The labor movement mourns their passing, and in their memory, we will fight every day to overcome this pandemic. Please visit this special AFL-CIO In Memoriam site. ...

23 February, 2021

Action begins with a desire. Heartfelt compassion leads to action. Samantha Martin learned at a young age the importance of having a voice and being an advocate for others. Her father, Timothy Martin, is a Local 317T member, now retired from the maintenance department of ITG Brands in Greensboro, N.C.โ€œMy dad worked for Lorillard and he was a union member for as long as I can remember,โ€ recalls Martin. โ€œHe always talked highly about the importance...

22 February, 2021