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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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By Dave Jamieson, Huffington Post Kathleen VonEitzen heads into work at 10 p.m. with a long night ahead of her. A trained baker, VonEitzen spends the evening and early morning hours cutting and shaping trays full of dough, shuffling between multiple ovens, and constantly checking her crusts until they're browned just right. She pulls hundreds of fresh baguettes, bagels, cookies and scones from the ovens until her shift finally ends around dawn. VonEitzen, 55, doesn't work in...

19 February, 2013

The Gordian Group's Peter Kaufman, who is assisting the BCTGM and the B&C Pension Fund during the sale of Hostess, appeared on CNBC on Tuesday to offer the latest on the sale of the brands and the BCTGM's position for potential buyers.   Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy...

07 February, 2013

“When the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union drew a line in the sand in November and said it would rather risk liquidation, it was over. It was a principled position that the brands would do better with a fresh start and new management.” Read this New York Times piece from STEVEN M. DAVIDOFF that examines liquidation not as what killed Hostess, but rather the only thing that could have saved it. PDF: bctgm.org/PDFs/NYTimes_Feb5-2013.pdf Permalink:...

06 February, 2013

Kensington, MD, January 30, 2013 - In Response to the Announcement of Stalking Horse Bidder Apollo Global Management LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. for the Majority of Snack Cake Businesses in the Hostess Liquidation, BCTGM International President David B. Durkee Issued the Following Statement on Behalf of all BCTGM Members: “We share these bidders’ goal of quickly restoring Twinkies®, CupCakes®, Ding Dongs® and Ho Hos®, among others, to shelves across America, and view new, serious...

31 January, 2013

Kensington, MD, January 25, 2012 โ€“ In Response to the Recently-Concluded Court Hearing to Approve Stalking Horse Bidding Procedures for the Bread Business in the Hostess Bankruptcy, BCTGM International President David B. Durkee Issued the Following Statement on Behalf of all BCTGM Members: โ€œTodayโ€™s hearing on the stalking horse auction procedures for key bread assets sets the ground rules for a competitive bidding process for products including the Butternutยฎ, Home Prideยฎ, Meritaยฎ, Nature's Prideยฎ and Wonderยฎ...

25 January, 2013

BCTGM Local 218 member Mike Hummell, a Hostess/Wonder worker for 14 years, helps to tell the story of the Hostess bankruptcy through the eyes of dedicated Kansas bakers. โ€œYou've heard the Mainstream Media read you the Hostess PR sheet, now hear the truth from the mouths of the people who had their pension stolen. As the mainstream media distracted America with misinformation about Unions, the Hedge Funds got away with theft. They collected $4.25 an hour...

24 January, 2013

PRESS RELEASE/January 19, 2013 --The Bakery, Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund (Bakers Fund) announced today that it has engaged the prominent New York distressed investment banking firm, Gordian Group, LLC, in connection with Hostess Brandsโ€™ chapter 11 cases currently pending in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. โ€œWe are making every effort for our members by working to preserve their jobs and pension benefits, and assisting with the continuation of...

20 January, 2013

BCTGM International President Frank Hurt, who served as president of the International Union since October 1, 1992, retired effective January 1, 2013. To serve Hurtโ€™s unexpired term through the next constitutional convention in 2014, the BCTGM General Executive Board (GEB) unanimously approved Hurtโ€™s nomination of David B. Durkee as International President.ย  The GEB further approved the nomination of Steve Bertelli as International Secretary-Treasurer. International President Durkee David B. Durkee was first elected to fill the open position of...

04 January, 2013

From visiting critically ill children in Philadelphia, to coordinatingย toy and clothing gift donations in Minnesota and Ohio,ย BCTGM membersย haveย embodyย the trueย spirit of giving during the holiday season. [caption id="attachment_2898" align="alignleft" width="266" caption="BCTGM Local 492 members delivered holiday gifts and cheer to the sick children at Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia."][/caption] BCTGM Local 492 members who are employed at the Kraft plant in Philadelphia have been bringing smiles to the faces of sick children at Saint Christopher's Hospital...

17 December, 2012

"Honorable and effective service to the membership is the highest objective which any labor organization can seek. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union will ever be faithful and devoted to this aspiration and trust."ย  -Declaration of Principles, BCTGM Constitution As I prepared this, my last column as International Union President, I decided to look back at my first column twenty years ago.ย  At the time, I wrote, โ€œThe one thing I want...

14 December, 2012

Photo: Joe Richard LANSING, Mich. -- More than 17,000 workers from all walks of life rallied yesterday outside the Michigan State Capitol building as anti-worker legislators heeded Gov. Rick Snyderโ€™s call to divide Michigan by ramming through a so-called โ€œright-to-workโ€ bill which promises to kill jobs, lower wages, crush workersโ€™ rights and unravel the middle class.ย  BCTGM members from throughout Michigan, including Locals 326 (Detroit), 3G (Battle Creek), 259G (Carrollton), 260G (Caro), 261G (Sebewaing), 262G (Croswell) and...

12 December, 2012

ย The following was published in the November/December 2012 Issue of the BCTGM News.ย  Once upon a time there was a company. It had happy workers and was profitable for years โ€“ an American icon, some would say. But that fairytale ended long ago. One fact is clear: when BCTGM members employed by Hostess Brands across the country began to strike or honor picket lines onย November 9, their fight was about more than disgruntled workers upset with the...

12 December, 2012

Today, BCTGM members are joining thousands of people in Lansing, Mich., to march on the state Capitol to fight back against Gov. Rick Snyderโ€™s (R) and Republican legislatorsโ€™ย steamrolling โ€œright to workโ€ for lessย legislation without public debate or hearings. ย  Below is live-streaming video from theย UAW's Ustreamย page.ย  You canย alsoย visit the UAW Facebook page for live-streaming updates. Stream videos at Ustream Updates will be posted throughout the day on the AFL-CIO Now blog and you also...

11 December, 2012

Fargo, ND โ€“ Locked-out members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) met with community leaders at the Holiday Inn in South Fargo, where American Crystal Sugar Company was holding its Joint Annual Meeting today, to discuss harm the over 16-month lockout of union workers is causing the company and community. โ€œThe lockout is hurting, not only factory workers, our families and communities, but Crystal Sugar itself and many people for...

06 December, 2012

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 specialtiesโ€ฆ Annabelle Candy Holiday seasonal specialties and bag candy including union-made candies like Rocky Road, Abba Zaba, Look, Big Hunk and U-No. BCTGM Local 125 (San Leandro, Calif.) ย  ย  Brown & Haley Holiday gift boxes, baskets, tins and packages filled with the companyโ€™s renowned Almond Roca, Cashew Roca, Mocha Roca, Sugar Free Almond Roca and...

05 December, 2012