BCTGM | The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union | News Blog
News Blog
Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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Along the Upper Mississippi River in Keokuk, Iowa, the French-based, family-owned Roquette Frères company employs 450 corn wet milling workers represented by BCTGM Local 48G (Keokuk, Iowa). Roquette, which began as a single-location potato starch plant in Lestrem, France during the Great Depression, boasts 50 starch production locations around the world today. The Keokuk site was acquired by the company in 1991 from the Hubinger Co.—which owned and operated it for over 100 years prior. “The work...

13 September, 2024

After 27 years with the International Union, Corrina Christensen, Director of Public Relations and Communications, retired on July 1. Christensen was hired as a publications coordinator and assistant editor by International President Frank Hurt in 1998. She was later named Director of Internal Communications, a position she held until being appointed to the Director of Public Relations and Communications in 2001, following the retirement of Carolyn Jacobson. A third generation Union member, Christensen began her career as...

13 September, 2024

Members of BCTGM Local 366G (Oklahoma City, Okla.) have overwhelmingly ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Nestle Purina in Oklahoma City. The four-year agreement features a $1.30 wage increase each year, for a total of $5.20 over the term of the contract. The bargaining committee also secured an additional paid holiday (Juneteenth), plus two additional personal floating holidays, for a total of four. In addition, the new contract increases the tool allowance and bereavement leave for...

13 September, 2024

On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, 22 maintenance unit workers employed at Hearthside Food Solutions (“Hearthside”) in Michigan City, Ind. filed for an election to be represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM). The workers at the Michigan City bakery have developed their organizing campaign in solidarity with two other Hearthside facilities in McComb, Ohio and London, Ky. In recent months, the maintenance unit workers in Michigan City grew more assured...

04 September, 2024

BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton’s response to President Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign for re-election: The BCTGM International Union owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Joe Biden for the ways he has supported BCTGM members over the last 3.5 years. Joe Biden was—and is—the most pro-worker, pro-Union president of our lifetime. His legacy will show that he delivered time and again for BCTGM members on the most critical issues working families faced: Biden delivered...

22 July, 2024

SOLIDARITY was the theme yesterday as President Biden made a visit to the AFL-CIO Executive Council (which BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton sits on) to reaffirm his commitment to Union workers and their families. In the last four years, BCTGM members have benefited greatly from the President’s commitment to collective bargaining and pension reform. President Biden’s public support for Kellogg workers on strike in 2021 helped BCTGM members win that strike. Letter from President Biden to BCTGM...

11 July, 2024

BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton traveled to the BCTGM Local 464 (Hershey, Pa.) Union Hall today—along with members and retirees of BCTGM Local 6 (Philadelphia, Pa.)—for an historic update on pension reform from White House Senior Advisor and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Implementation Coordinator Gene Sperling and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). Sperling and Casey informed the members that the promise of pension reform has been fulfilled for 103,000 BCTGM workers and retirees. Without the historic...

21 June, 2024

Members of BCTGM Local 358 (Richmond, Va.) were pleasantly surprised to host BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton during a recent service visit from their Union reps. “I was heading down there for a plant tour with Local 358 Financial Secretary/Business Agent Darlene Carpenter and found out President Shelton would be in the area,” explains East-Central Region International Representative Lisa Gregory. “We coordinated to have him join us and the plant manager was really accommodating in helping...

19 June, 2024

Members of BCTGM Local 264 (Toronto) employed at two Concord Confections locations in Vaughan, Ont. have voted to overwhelmingly accept an historic 5-year contract. Negotiations were led by Canadian Region International Vice President Ron Piercey and included Negotiating Committee members International Representative Karl Walker, Local 264 Business Agent Bill Hegedus and Members Muniruddin Ahmed, Quan Hoc Duong, Bing Zhong Lin, Earl Lucier, Alex Melkonian, Navaneethan Navaratnam, Eslyn Smith and Robert Ziniuk. For the first time ever, the...

11 June, 2024

Three terminated BCTGM Local 85 (Fresno, Calif.) members have returned to work following a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) hearing related to a grievance they filed late last year. Mathew Galicia, Hector Lopez and Luis Herrera are import sales delivery drivers at the Bimbo Sales Center in Fresno, Calif. Their division makes import snacks such as Takis and Marinela Pastries. The Local 85 members were fired last October for logbook procedures they had been practicing—and...

07 June, 2024

Due to a relentless anti-union campaign waged by Hearthside Foods, 600 workers at the London, Kentucky bakery have lost their Union election. The 304-222 loss coincided with eleven more unfair labor practice (ULP) charges filed on Sunday, May 5th, adding to the nine already documented during the campaign. “These newest charges are all related to the constant surveillance and intimidation the workers faced. The company issued really outrageous threats of losing their jobs—even deportation—and  several workers...

09 May, 2024

On Friday April 5, 2024, workers employed at the Hearthside Food Solutions (“Hearthside”) bakery in London, Kentucky filed for an election to be represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM).  The bakery in London, which produces baked goods for Kellogg’s, Nabisco and General Mills, employs approximately five hundred people. The BCTGM international Union has also filed federal charges against Hearthside for multiple labor law violations committed during the organizing campaign...

09 April, 2024

The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of solidarity is “unity (as of a group or class) that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards.” With the BCTGM, this is always the case, and our Local Unions exemplify the true meaning of solidarity through their actions. Jerry’s Broadway Bakery Local 22 (Minneapolis) Shop Steward Matt Hamada reached out to Local 22 President Wally Borgan with news that members led a bakery-wide effort to collect money...

12 December, 2023

By: Anthony Shelton, BCTGM International President With the end of the year upon us, it is important to review how our Union responded to the challenges that arose before us. As we evaluate these challenges, it gives us an opportunity to plan effectively for the future. In 2023, the BCTGM once again provided solid proof that we never walk away from a tough fight when it comes to protecting the livelihoods of our members. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa,...

11 December, 2023

Delight your friends and loved ones with holiday treats made by hard-working BCTGM members! Listed here is a small sampling of holiday goodies made by BCTGM members in the U.S. and Canada. Allan Candy Company (Hershey Company) Allan Traditional Candy Canes (Peppermint, Cherry and Mini Peppermint), Allan Holiday Collection Candy Canes (French Vanilla & Gingerbread, Butterscotch & Cappucino, Mini Canes), Allan Fruit Buddies Candy Canes, Allan Chewy Candy Canes. BCTGM Local 350T (Granby, Quebec) Annabelle Candy Company Rocky Road, Abba...

01 December, 2023