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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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No one should go hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the sad truth is, union families are hurting. With school closures, job losses, and health risks, millions of working families are turning to community food banks for much-needed support. Recognizing the dire situation within their own community, BCTGM Local 22 (Minneapolis) sprang into action to help working families in the Twin Cities area. Local 22 officers solicited product donations from numerous BCTGM employers. The following...

19 May, 2020

This morning, the AFL-CIO filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the U.S. Court of Appeals to compel the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) protecting U.S. workers against the coronavirus. The petition demonstrates that thousands of workers have been infected on the job through exposure to infected patients, co-workers and unscreened members of the public. As the economy reopens and people return to work, person-to-person...

18 May, 2020

The BCTGM commends the passage of H.R. 6800, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act. The legislation included an effective, comprehensive solution to the multiemployer pension funding crisis that would provide long-term solvency for pension funds, including the B&C Fund, with no cuts in benefits for participants. The BCTGM was actively involved in the effort to get this proposal included in the legislation, working closely with the AFL-CIO and other affiliates. The battle now...

16 May, 2020

The AFL-CIO has compiled an extensive state-by-state list of resources for workers impacted by the pandemic. The website separates resources under the following categories: Emergency Paid Leave; Health Insurance; Housing and Food Assistance; and Wages and Benefits. Please click here to visit the site and share with anyone impacted by COVID-19. ...

15 May, 2020

Many BCTGM members have worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to provide foods and snacks for North American families, while others have had hours reduced or had their plant temporarily closed. As states make plans for re-opening the economy, officials must remember that workers who have risked exposure to a deadly disease during this pandemic will never return to the same, old โ€œnormalโ€.ย ย ย  The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), has released a report...

14 May, 2020

Congress is currently working on the next Coronavirus Emergency Relief legislation. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have pledged to include a comprehensive and effective multiemployer pension relief plan that will provide long-term solvency for pension plans, such as the B&C Plan, with no benefit cuts for beneficiaries. TAKE ACTION NOW! CALL 844-551-6921 Call your U.S. Senators today and tell them to include multiemployer pension relief in the next stimulus and recovery legislation! Democratic...

08 May, 2020

H.R. 6559 - The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act of 2020 would require OSHA to issue a standard to protect essential workers like BCTGM members - on the job during the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to send a letter to Congress urging their immediate support for H.R. 6559: The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act of 2020. BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton sent this letter to the U.S. House of Representatives to urge passage of H.R....

07 May, 2020

A complete and accurate count in the 2020 census is vital to working families in every corner of our country. This information, required every 10 years by the Constitution, is used for important decision-making that affects working peopleโ€”not only at the federal level, but also at the state and local levels of government. It is the basis for decisions on reapportionment of seats in the U.S. Congress, and in state and local legislative districts. Census data...

04 May, 2020

The following statement was issued by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding President Trumpโ€™s anticipated remarks later today about โ€œtaking care of seniors.โ€ โ€œWe are on the eve of the May 1 start of Older Americans Month and seniors are more at risk for their health and economic security than they have been in decades.โ€œThe CDCโ€™s national shelter in place recommendations expire today, putting millions of seniors further at risk. We...

30 April, 2020

To the BCTGM members in Ohio and throughout America โ€“ Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sends this special video on this Workersโ€™ Memorial Day 2020. โ€œYour work is essential. All work has dignity. We thank you, of course, but we need your workplace to be safe and we need your employers and the Trump administration to stand up and do thatโ€ฆ.and we need to get pandemic pay to all the hourly workers who are working so hard and putting...

28 April, 2020

This year, Workers Memorial Day is a bit different than in previous years. We are not gathered together in person at union halls, government buildings, worksites or memorials, but we are gathered together as a community to remember our brothers and sisters who have lost their lives, and to fight for safe workplaces and good jobs for all workers. At the forefront of this Workers Memorial Day is the COVID-19 pandemicโ€”a major crisis for working...

28 April, 2020

The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act (H.R. 6559) would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard that establishes a legal obligation for all workplaces to implement comprehensive infectious disease exposure control plans to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the CDC issued guidance to protect workers, the guidance is not binding and OSHA currently has no enforceable standard to protect workers from airborne infectious diseases, leaving the...

27 April, 2020

Now is Time to Act to Strengthen Both Systems The following statement was issued by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding the Trustees reports issued today on the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds: โ€œSocial Security remains strong and solvent with enough money to cover all payouts and expenses until 2035, and the Medicare Trust Fund for hospital care has sufficient funds to cover its obligations until 2026. The projections for both...

22 April, 2020

Today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka unveiled the safety conditions working people are demanding before the economy is reopened. โ€œWe must do what the federal government has refused to: protect Americaโ€™s workers. We should not be focusing on when we can reopen the economy but rather on how we should reopen it to ensure the health and safety of working people.โ€- AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Safety First: Working Peopleโ€™s Plan for Reopening the Economy the Right Way: Workers...

21 April, 2020