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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 COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting women, particularly women with children and women of color. While both women and men are suffering the economic fallout of the virus, it is women — already more likely to be living in poverty than men, already more likely to be earning a smaller paycheck, already with less savings, already more likely to be in precarious jobs — who are being disproportionately squeezed. "These setbacks -- characterized by some economists as the nation’s first female recession -- stand in sharp contrast to the dramatic progress women...

Brothers and Sisters: One of the biggest elections of our lifetime is coming up in November. The votes that we cast as union members will be crucial in ensuring we have pro-labor candidates elected at the local and state level all the way up to the White House. BCTGM members need to show our union voting power and solidarity at the ballot box. Download here On its way to the printing press today, the special 2020 Workers VOTE...

Statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removing SARS-CoV-2 airborne transmission information from its website: Scientists across the world have been saying for months that the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) travels distances through the air. The CDC finally acknowledged that on Friday but today abruptly retracted that recognition. This is a total and blatant disregard for science and keeps workers from getting the protections we need. This is yet another...

The coronavirus pandemic has amplified many workers' desires for workplace protections — 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...

Brothers, sisters and friends, I want to wish you and your families a happy Labor Day. I know this year Labor Day will be nothing like our celebrations of the past. Many parades are canceled, backyard barbecues will likely be smaller or not even held this year. But while we may not be together, we are still united as a union and as a movement. This Labor Day we celebrate workers – especially essential workers like BCTGM...

As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the country, working people are looking for ways to join together to form a union in their workplaces and negotiate for strong health and safety protections. The AFL-CIO has launched a new “Am I Safe at Work?” web tool to raise awareness of what a safe workplace should be, and how a union can help achieve those goals. The Am I Safe at Work web tool contains fundamental information to empower...

August 18, 1920, women gained the constitutional right to vote after a century-long fight for equal representation. TODAY commemorates the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. As we approach the 2020 election, mobilizing working women to vote is paramount to the goals of electing female candidates and candidates who advocate for women, and of getting this country back on track in the wake of the...

On Friday, August 14, Jill Biden and Louis Gossett Jr. will join Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Seniors for Biden for a virtual rally celebrating the 85th anniversary of the creation of Social Security.  Please click here to RSVP for the LIVE event!They're going to discuss Joe Biden’s plans to protect retirement security as President -- and how you can help make a difference in November.There will also be a special announcement by Robert Roach, Jr., President of...

In a new op-ed in The Hill, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler warned that we are running out of time to prioritize child care in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. With schools closing, working mothers with young children have faced an astronomically outsized burden that has exhausted and isolated many. The burden is not sustainable and, if we don't address it, a significant portion of women could be pushed out of the labor force,...

Unless the Senate delivers $1 trillion dollars in aid to states, cities, towns and schools to address massive budget shortfalls caused by the coronavirus, our nation’s veterans could face significant job loss and see cuts to public services they depend on such as access to health care through Medicaid. 13% of all veterans work for state and local governments according to the Economic Policy Institute, making state and local government workers more likely to be veterans than workers...

BCTGM International Organizer/Business Agent Jason Thomas had worked at the Bimbo Bakeries USA bakery in Oklahoma City, Okla. for 25 years when he began thinking about earning a college degree. It was in 2018 while attending the BCTGM’s International Convention as a delegate, that he learned about the Union Plus Free College Program.“It sounded like a great opportunity for me. I thought why not give it a try,” Thomas recalls. The Union Plus Free College Program partners...

After months of delay, Senate Republicans have revealed a “bill” that spectacularly fails to meet the moment. It does nothing to address state and local budget crises and our cratering economy. As COVID cases spike and unemployment remains high, we need Senate Republicans to stop delaying and immediately turn to the crisis at hand. They cannot leave Washington again until the next relief package includes at least $1 trillion in federal aid to our states,...

Working people are essential voters—we must make our voices heard this fall and vote in candidates who have working people’s interests at heart, up and down the ballot. We also know that this year, the enemies of democracy will be working harder than ever to suppress our votes and our voices. They will try to make it even more difficult to vote for millions of Americans. So we’ll have to work harder to make sure our...

The BCTGM, together with the AFL-CIO and its other affiliates, condemn Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his body’s failure to pass the HEROES Act, deepening economic hardship for millions, especially those who will lose the additional $600 in unemployment insurance benefits expiring at the end of the month. For months, millions of laid-off American workers have relied on these increased weekly supplemental benefits to pay the bills and stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The...

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend our lives and our economy. This crisis is showing that we cannot have a healthy economy without a healthy workforce. Working people are among the hardest hit, and our senators must act with urgency to pass the HEROES Act, which will put our country on the path to recovery. The HEROES Act includes an effective, comprehensive solution to the multiemployer pension funding crisis that would provide long-term security for pension...