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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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Delight your friends and loved ones with holiday treats made by hard-working BCTGM members! Listed here is a sampling of the BCTGM-contracted companies that produce seasonal specialties… Allan Candy 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)   Dare Foods Limited A variety of gums, jellies, hard candy and gift tubs,...

14 December, 2016

Read this Daily Comment column in The New Yorker by writer William Finnegan: Donald Trump has chosen a fast-food executive, Andy Puzder, to be his Labor Secretary. Puzder, the C.E.O. of the parent company of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger chains, was a heavy donor to the Trump campaign. He is a prominent opponent of raising the minimum wage, of paid sick leave, of efforts to raise the salary threshold for overtime pay, and of...

14 December, 2016

For years, employees at the Franklin Street Bakery in Minneapolis have reported poverty wages, lack of time off for illness and family, unaffordable health coverage, little opportunity for advancement, and favoritism. Workers are now exercising their legal right to form a union because they believe speaking up together is the only way bakery management will treat them with respect and pay living wages. In response, management has began an anti-union campaign against workers filled with threats,...

28 November, 2016

Today, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement on the results of the 2016 presidential election: Donald Trump has been elected president. America is a democratic nation, and the voters have spoken. The AFL-CIO accepts the outcome of this election and offers our congratulations to President-elect Trump. More than anything, this election is an indictment of politics as usual. For too long, the political elites have embraced economic policies that hold down wages, increase inequality, diminish opportunity and...

09 November, 2016

Thank you to the AFL-CIO for defining state laws that allow employees to take time away from work to vote.  Federal law does not require that employers allow their workers time off to vote, but the majority of states have at least some level of protection for employees who want to leave work to engage in their civic duty. The specifics vary by state, but in each state, the rules apply to almost every type of...

04 November, 2016

Crossposted from AFL-CIO NOW You’ve done the research. You’ve watched the debates. You’ve looked at the state and local races. You know who you’re voting for. You’ve figured out which way you want to vote on ballot initiatives. For voters like you and me, voting is going to be a breeze. No one needs to convince you to vote, but making a plan makes things easier—thinking through the little details so nothing gets between you and the polls...

03 November, 2016

This is a cross post from the AFL-CIO NOW BLOG. This election isn’t only about choosing elected leaders to represent working families in the White House, Congress, state legislatures and at the municipal level; there are also measures on the ballot on Election Day in several states. Many of the issues on the ballot will have a significant impact on the lives of working families, and it's important that voters don't look past these on Election...

03 November, 2016

This is a cross-post by Angella MacEwen, an  Economist at Canadian Labour Congress and a Broadbent Policy Fellow. The Alberta government has done it. On October 1st, the minimum wage increased by one dollar to $12.20 per hour, making it the highest provincial, but not territorial, minimum wage in Canada. In 2017 it will rise to $13.60, and finally to $15 in October 2018, meeting a key election campaign promise made by Rachel Notley's NDP. Whenever governments consider increasing minimum...

26 October, 2016

WHY ARE FOOD FLAVORINGS A PROBLEM FOR FOOD INDUSTRY WORKERS? Some chemicals may be present in food flavorings that can cause permanent lung damage when inhaled. This danger initially became public when federal investigators identified a serious lung disease in workers exposed to a chemical known as diacetyl, which is used in butter-flavored popcorn production. Workers are also at risk from airborne exposure to other flavoring chemicals used in various settings in the food industry, including...

26 October, 2016

Hear from Ladonna and Michael, our sister and brother from BCTGM Local 300, who lost their jobs to outsourcing and Nabisco's corporate greed. ...

21 October, 2016

This morning about 250 trade unionists and supporters joined striking Local 6 members for a spirited rally across from the Just Born candy plant in Bethlehem, Pa. Participants of the solidarity event included the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 13000, Steelworkers (USW) Local 2559, CWA District 2-13, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 375, Teamsters (IBT) Local 773,  as well as members of AFSCME and SEIU. Also present was the Northhampton County Democrats and the Democratic City Chair...

27 September, 2016

BCTGM Local Union Officers attending the annual BCTGM International Union's “New Officers Training” program in Linthicum, Md.  challenged their union membership working back in their respective plants to support the 400 striking members of BCTGM Local 6 at the Just Born plant in Bethlehem, Pa. The officers sent electronic copies of a DO NOT BUY flier urging union members and families to avoid buying Just Born candy products like Hot Tamales, Mike & Ike, and...

23 September, 2016

As 400 BCTGM Local 6 workers go on strike at Just Born in Bethlehem, Pa., the officers of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO made the following statements: “The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO stands in solidarity with the 400 workers on strike at Just Born.  These workers deserve to be recognized for their hard work and treated with dignity and respect, especially as Just Born has seen profits ‘off the charts’, according to the company’s CEO.  The company’s refusal to negotiate...

08 September, 2016

Horsham, Pa. – Four hundred BCTGM Local 6 members at Just Born Inc. in Bethlehem, Pa. unanimously voted to go on strike after rejecting the company’s last offer. Workers began taking their places on the picket line this afternoon. In contract negotiations that began in May, Just Born proposed eliminating the workers’ pension plan, offered substandard market wage increases while increasing the workers’ share of health insurance costs. While the Union proposed modifications to the health...

07 September, 2016