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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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Under intense pressure from the labor movement and the progressive community, the Senate voted 52 to 45 to block debate on Fast Track legislation that would have forbidden Congress from making amendments to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. BCTGM International President David Durkee urges union members to continue to put pressure on their members of Congress. "This is far from over. There is nothing pro-trade legislators and corporate lobbyists won't do to force this job-killing deal through Congress....

13 May, 2015

We canโ€™t afford to pass fast track legislation, which would pave the way for a bad trade deal that lowers wages and outsources jobs. For decades, weโ€™ve seen how fast-tracked trade deals have devastated our communities through lost jobs and eroded public services. Weย need a new model for trade that raises wages, addresses currency cheating, and doesnโ€™t prioritize corporate profits over protecting working people. ย Thatโ€™s why Congress must reject Fast Track and maintain its leverage and its...

12 May, 2015

"Fast Track isn't a video game, a motor speedway or the official name of the high-speed rail project in California. In fact, "Fast Track" does not refer to anything swag at all โ€” it's a term that refers to international trade policy โ€”ย and a very lame policy at that. Check out these few reasons why "Fast Track" is terrible for working people in this BuzzFeed Post from the AFL-CIO.ย    1.ย โ€˜Fast Trackโ€™ is Old School Viaย flapjackstate.com   And not in...

12 May, 2015

Every summer, the United Association of Labor Education (UALE) sponsors four regional โ€œwomenโ€™s schools.โ€ ย These residential programs typically last between 4-5 days and include classes and workshops on a variety of union-related topics. Women from all over the country and beyond learn the skills and knowledge needed to play leadership roles in their unions. ย One of the most valuable aspects of the schools is the chance to meet and network with union women from around the...

30 April, 2015

The BCTGM knows firsthand the hardship that results when multinational corporations, Wall Street and their political allies in Washington, D.C. team up to enact โ€œfree tradeโ€ agreements. In the last 20 years, many thousands of BCTGM members have lost their good, middle-class jobs because the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has made it easy and profitable for companies like Nabisco, Hershey and Kellogg to close plants in the U.S. and Canada and move production...

17 April, 2015

The 31 workers at the Patty King International manufacturing plant are proud new members of BCTGM Local 264 (Toronto). The workers at the Concord, Ontario plant produce Jamaican Patties, a Jamaican ethnic food. The production workers reached out to Canadian International Vice President Ron Piercey and the Local 264 Business Agent Bill Hegedus and Business Agent Michael Smith. The workers are predominately Sri Lankan and Indian. Communication was made easy by one of the workers who translated...

17 April, 2015

The financial and social impacts of workplace injuries are huge, with workers and their families and taxpayer-supported programs paying most of the costs. Read the full OSHA Report: ย Adding Inequality to Injury: The Costs of Failing to Protect Workers on the Job How has the cost of a workplace injury affected you? ย Share your story about workplace injuries.  ...

13 March, 2015

The record is clear, convincing and indisputable. For more than two decades, โ€œfree tradeโ€ agreements have had a disastrous impact on American and Canadian working families and devastated communities throughout North America. The BCTGM and our members know firsthand the hardship that results when multinational corporations, Wall Street and their political allies in Washington, D.C. team up to enact โ€œfree tradeโ€ agreements. In the last 20 years, many thousands of our BCTGM Brothers and Sisters have...

12 March, 2015

The BCTGM is among 60 unions within and outside of the AFL-CIO that collectively signed a letter to Congress expressing opposition to Fast Track authority, which is used to advance unfair trade deals. The letter, which can be viewed byย clicking here, demonstrates the unity between workers who have jobs that are directly impacted by bad trade deals, and those whose jobs are indirectly affected. "The BCTGM and our members know firsthand the hardship that results when multinational...

03 March, 2015

Republican leaders in Congress and the Obama Administration have declared that trade is a potential area of compromise this year and working people should be concerned. ย New trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are being negotiated in the same failed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) model. The negotiations are focused on padding corporate profits not increasing workersโ€™ paychecks. Before any trade deal comes to a vote, the administration will ask Congress to pass...

26 February, 2015

โ€œSenator Elizabeth Warren recently gave a speech where she made her case for electing women Democrats to Congress saying, โ€˜If you donโ€™t have a seat at the table, youโ€™re probably on the menu.โ€™ And this is something Iโ€™ve started telling workers in organizing campaigns.โ€ โ€” John Price, BCTGM Internationalย Director of Organization [caption id="attachment_4789" align="alignright" width="288" caption="Workers at the Penford Foods plant in Seattle became fed up with the companyโ€™s elimination of benefits and contacted the BCTGM. They...

23 January, 2015

As BCTGM members and their families welcome a New Year, we can look back at 2014 as a source of great pride and optimism for our Union. ย While the BCTGM and our members certainly faced serious and difficult challenges on many fronts, we are heading into the New Year as a stronger, battle-tested Union, fully prepared to take whatever action is necessary to improve the lives of our members and bring the benefits of BCTGM...

06 January, 2015

Delight your friends and loved ones with holiday treats made by hard-working BCTGM members! Listed here is a small sampling of holiday sweets made by BCTGM members in the U.S. and Canada. 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) Brown & Haley Holiday gift boxes, baskets, tins...

09 December, 2014

After 34 years with the International Union, Ray Scannell, the Director of the BCTGM International Union Research & Education Department, will retire on November 1. Scannell came to the BCTGM not long after graduating with a Masterโ€™s degree in organizational behavior from the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. His first position at the Union was staff assistant in the Department of Research & Education. [caption id="attachment_4686" align="alignright"...

01 November, 2014

Today, workers at the Bimbo Bakeries USA high performance facility in Elkhart, Indiana voted to become members of BCTGM Local 1 (Chicago). This is the fourth Bimbo high performance workplace the Union has organized in the last 22 months. In 2010, Bimbo Bakeries USA announced it would invest one billion dollars into upgrading and building new high performance bakeries in the United States.ย  Bimbo built four brand new high performance bakeries in Rockwall, Texas; Lehigh Valley,...

29 October, 2014