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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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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

On April 16, 2020, the General Executive Board (GEB) unanimously elected David Woods to serve as BCTGM International Secretary-Treasurer. On December 6, 2019, the General Executive Board elected Woods as the Southern Region International Vice President. Woods became a member of the BCTGM Local 165G (Knoxville, Tenn.) in August 1989 when he went to work at White Lilly Foods Co. as a maintenance mechanic. Woods served as the Principle Officer of Local 165G until...

20 April, 2020

For Local 334 members in Portland, Maine, job pride stems from adhering to a rich tradition of baking large pots of beans in brick ovens to provide Americans with a wholesome and much loved food: baked beans. Lately, that pride has swelled as workers have worked around the clock to meet the growing national demand for B&M brick-oven beans to fill the pantries of Americans who are staying at home during the Coronavirus quarantine. ...

20 April, 2020

On April 16, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) General Executive Board unanimously elected Anthony Shelton as International President, to fulfil the term of International President David B. Durkee who passed away on March 30.  Shelton served as BCTGM International Secretary-Treasurer since December 6, 2019 when he was elected to that position by the BCTGM General Executive Board.  Shelton has been a member of the Union since 1973 when he became a...

16 April, 2020

BCTGM Local 6 (Philadelphia) members began baking bread again Easter weekend at the former Stroehmann Brothers Bakery in Hazelton, Pa. The bakery, owned by BIMBO BAKERIES USA, was closed last fall and was reopened to meet the increased demand for bread during the Coronavirus health crisis. Union members were recalled to begin production on April 10. Rosella DebiasDawn GillotScott Stauffer, Ed Bielen and Mike ScarlatoCindy WolcheskyChf. Steward John Tate Citing the importance of the health and safety...

15 April, 2020

As Congress and the federal government respond to COVID-19 and the economic crisis, the AFL-CIO is taking the lead with affiliate unions by advocating for the needs of working families. The labor movement is insisting that the next stimulus package include stronger workplace safety guidelines and more resources to protect front-line workers. The AFL-CIO is asking Congress for investments that will keep all workers employed and protect hard-earned pension benefits Provide funding for state and...

14 April, 2020

The AFL-CIO has updated its resources page for workers affected by COVID-19.The new updates include new information on food-related security and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and resources provided by state federations and central labor councils, in addition to information about unemployment insurance in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It will be updated regularly with more resources and useful information. ...

14 April, 2020

There has been a lot of confusion about how seniors, retirees, people with disabilities, and veterans will receive the coronavirus stimulus checks they deserve. Seniors 62 and older who receive Social Security retirement benefits, including those affected by the windfall elimination provision (WEP) and government pension offset (GPO), individuals who receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, and railroad retirees will automatically receive a stimulus payment. Payments will come automatically to your bank if you receive benefits via...

14 April, 2020

BCTGM Local 374G (Lancaster, Pa.) members are working hard to continue production of America's beloved Kellogg's cereals to help keep breakfast on the tables of Americans during the Coronavirus health crisis. Due to the COVID-19 national emergency, Kellogg's has increased production as well as its role in providing weekly donations to area food banks and community based youth and family organizations. L.374G members Cody Rakus and Jim Hockenberry.L.374G members Jim Hockenberry and Ron Laukhuff Cereals made...

13 April, 2020

On April 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) substantially weakened workplace protections for essential infrastructure workers โ€“ like BCTGM members โ€“ from COVID-19. The new CDC guidelines for businesses allows employers to require workers who have been exposed to COVID-19 to continue to work following exposure, provided they remain asymptomatic and some additional precautions are implemented. โ€œThis recommendation to put essential workers back to work after being exposed to COVID-19 is irresponsible and...

10 April, 2020

Payroll Tax Cut Scheme is a Severe Threat to Social Securityย  The following statement was issued by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding President Trumpโ€™s April 7 statement that he supports cutting the payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare.  โ€œDuring President Trumpโ€™s press conference yesterday with members of the Coronavirus Task Force, he made cavalier yet deeply disturbing comments that a permanent payroll tax cut would be a...

08 April, 2020