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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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Please take a moment to watch this moving video of children of locked out workers that illustrates the unnecessary human cost of corporate greed.  American Crystal Sugar and its increasingly well-paid CEO, Dave Berg thought record profits and skyrocketing CEO pay were not enough, and instead of expressing gratitude to their workers have instead denied them the chance to work to make a living. This video, shot at East Grand Forks, MN at the American Legion on...

10 October, 2012

by Tulla Connell It’s hard to miss a burly firefighter in a bright pink T-shirt. And for tens of thousands of Fire Fighters (IAFF) union members across the country, that’s exactly the point. When the public sees them in pink tees, they are reminded that breast cancer is a deadly disease requiring regular exams and mammograms. And they are urged to help women who can’t afford regular check-ups. Although firefighters put their lives on the line every...

27 September, 2012

(This is a cross-post from the AFL-CIO NOW Blog written by Mike Hall) If you were building a bridge, would you hire a work crew with a few hours of metal shop on their resumes, or trained and certified Iron Workers? Would you go into surgery with someone who only has a CPR certificate, or a real doctor with a medical degree? If you’re NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, or one of the 32 NFL team owners, you'd go...

25 September, 2012

AFL-CIO - Just who was Mitt Romney referring to in his secretly recorded comments at a Boca Raton, Fla., fundraiser as people who don’t “take personal responsibility and care for themselves”? 61 percent of them work but don’t earn enough to owe income tax. 17 percent are students (who will pay plenty of taxes once they’re out of school), military families, people with disabilities and people who have lost their jobs—including victims of outsourcers like, well, Mitt Romney. 22...

19 September, 2012

BCTGM members employed by Hostess Brands rejected the company’s Last/Best/Final proposal by 92 percent. Union members in every region of the country and every segment of the company’s operations overwhelmingly opposed the proposal.  In many locations, the vote to reject the proposal was unanimous. In announcing the vote results, BCTGM International President Frank Hurt stated, “Throughout this entire bankruptcy process, I have been crystal clear with Hostess management that our members will determine the outcome.  On August...

17 September, 2012

(Tula Connell published this Blog post today on AFL-CIO-NOW)  Despite waking up with the flu one morning this week, Bonnie Holter headed out to take part in a 6 a.m. vigil outside the home of a member of the American Crystal Sugar Co. board of directors in East Grand Forks, Minn. Tired and ready to head back to bed after returning home, she still exuded the resolve that, despite having retired from American Crystal Sugar this...

13 September, 2012

AFL-CIO - The vast majority of America's workers have largely been shut out of the nation’s economic growth over the past three decades, reports the 12th edition of The State of Working America from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Released today and available online, the report finds that the typical American family has added hundreds of extra hours of work each year, while also earning better education credentials, yet is still struggling to keep up. The State...

12 September, 2012

(This is a cross post from BoldProgressives.org: http://boldprogressives.org/chicagos-teachers-just-went-on-strike-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-why/) Today the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) went on strike, its first action of the sort in 25 years. Why are these 29,000 teachers and school workers going on strike in the nation's third-largest public school district? Because they want what all workers want: fair pay and decent working conditions. They also want what all teachers want to serve their students to their best of their abilities. Here's a few...

10 September, 2012

Kalamazoo, MI. – On June 28, three months after the majority of bakers employed at Panera Bread Café’s in the I-94 corridor division of Michigan voted to become union members, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a Federal Complaint against the company for violating worker rights. The Panera bakers voted on March 23 to be represented by Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) Local 70. Following the union representation election, both...

07 September, 2012

Approximately one-third of working Americans do not earn enough money to meet their basic needs. Wages have not kept pace with the rising cost of housing, healthcare, and education and currently, 40 million Americans are working in low-paying jobs without basic health and retirement benefits. For families walking a financial tightrope, unable to save for college, a home, or retirement, United Way is here to help. "The relentless jobs crisis, combined with an historic number of...

07 September, 2012

  Jackie Tortura, AFL-CIO - America needs good jobs and shared prosperity, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told delegates at the Democratic National Convention tonight. It’s abundantly clear the Romney-Ryan ticket is only offering prosperity for the rich and an economic nightmare for everyone else, whether it's cutting Medicare and Social Security, giving the rich more tax breaks or outsourcing America's jobs. “Prosperity requires democracy—starting with the essential right of everyone in this great country to a voice, both in...

05 September, 2012

American Rights at Work -  What do “Covert Affairs” star Christopher Gorham, Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, and the Cleveland Browns’ Benjamin Watson have in common?  They’re all proud union members and they’re all participating in our third annual Labor Day Tweet-a-Thon. Each year, our goal is simple: Take over Twitter during the holiday weekend, using the #unionmember hashtag to spread a positive message about the value of unions. Last year, American Rights at Work and...

31 August, 2012

On August 30, 2012, the BCTGM International Union and Local 218 (Kansas City, MO) won an organizing campaign at White Energy Gluten Mill in Russell, Kan. Gluten is one of the most critical ingredients in the manufacturing of most bakery and confectionery products. White Energy's customers include a number of BCTGM-represented baking and confectionery companies like Bimbo, Sara Lee, and Hershey. The workers in the newly organized unit produce wheat gluten. The facility also produces ethanol,...

30 August, 2012

AFL-CIO - Michael Frank headed over to a rally in East Grand Forks, Minn., last night, one of many he’s taken part in over the past year. Frank, along with 1,300 other workers, was locked out of the American Crystal Sugar factory a year ago, and last night’s event was part of the workers’ ongoing efforts to urge the sugar beet processing company return to the bargaining table. “They don’t...

24 August, 2012

"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." --Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, October 2010 It has been said that the first casualty of war is the truth. Much the same can be said about political campaigns, especially a presidential race. Between now and Election Day, the American people will be inundated with hundreds of millions of dollars of political television and radio ads designed to...

23 August, 2012