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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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Included as special feature of the 2022 Western Conference, Local Union leaders and representatives discussed the lessons learned, inspirations and strengths gained through the 2021 strikes. The panel discussion included Local 26 (Denver, Colo.) President Cliffton Horton, Local 364 (Portland, Ore.), Business Agent Cameron Taylor, Local 364 Financial Secretary Mike Burlingham and BCTGM International Representative Karrie Setters. Moderated by BCTGM Director of Digital Media Michelle Ellis, the panel shared stories of the challenges and issues that...

22 April, 2022

BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton is part of a coalition of labor leaders who released the following statement today ahead of the Senateโ€™s vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court: โ€œAs the elected leaders of 27 unions and worker organizations collectively representing tens of millions of working people providing essential services across our great nation, we stand together in strong support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksonโ€™s nomination to the United States Supreme...

06 April, 2022

Labor solidarity was vital to the success of the strikes by BCTGM members at Frito Lay, Nabisco, Kelloggโ€™s and Jon Donaire. This is why when the BCTGM learned that musicians at the San Antonio Symphony were on strike for a fair contract, we teamed with BIMBO Bakeries U.S.A. to provide the workers and their families with union-made bread and snacks. For months, the 72 members of American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 23 in San Antonio...

15 March, 2022

On March 5, BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton attended a labor roundtable with President Biden, U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and more than 30 AFL-CIO affiliated union officers in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden thanked the labor leaders for their support and outlined the actions his Administration has taken to help union members in his first year in office. Walsh spoke of the need to work collectively to empower American workers and underscored the presidentโ€™s support for strong...

11 March, 2022

President Biden promised to lead the most pro-labor administration in history, and with one year in office, he has proven he is true to his word. No union has benefited more than the BCTGM from President Bidenโ€™s support for unions and workersโ€™ rights. Joe Biden has proven to be a President of the United States who supports workersโ€™ right to join a union, collectively bargain and, when needed, to strike.  He is a President who...

09 March, 2022

After 232 years, the first Black woman has been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Judge Jackson is eminently qualified for this critical lifetime position. Her distinguished legal career includes: Her term on the U.S. District Court in Washington, where she ruled on more than 550 cases;Her tenure as an assistant federal public defender; andHer experience serving as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The Senate must confirm her immediately. Click here...

04 March, 2022

Nearly one year after voting to become members of BCTGM Local 149 (Memphis, Tenn.), workers at the Blues City Brewery in Memphis ratified their first union contract on November 11, 2021. The first order of business for the more than 700 workers at the large industrial brewery, according to BCTGM Southern Region Vice President Zack Townsend, was to nominate shop stewards. Once elected, it was vital that the Union hold shop steward training to educate the...

03 March, 2022

BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton Reflects on the Official Theme of the BCTGM's 41st Constitutional Convention Preparations are well underway at the International Union Headquarters and in our local unions for the BCTGMโ€™s 41st Constitutional Convention July 27 โ€“ August 2, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since our last International Union Convention in 2018, the BCTGM and our members have been forced to confront some of the most difficult challenges in our unionโ€™s long and proud history; challenges...

03 March, 2022

More than 40 Local 358 (Richmond, Va.) stewards successfully completed a two-day steward training education conference in early February. The training was run by BCTGM International Research & Education Director Matthew Clark with assistance from Local 358 Financial Secretary/Business Agent Darlene Carpenter and President Keith Bragg. The two-day education conference focused on teaching the roles and responsibilities of union stewards by using role playing, small group activities and focusing on plant-specific challenges faced by stewards regularly. The...

03 March, 2022

The BCTGM International assisted Local 218 (Kansas City, Missouri) with a two-day steward training in Kansas City and Topeka, Kansas. The trainings were led by BCTGM International Research & Education Director Matthew Clark and BCTGM International Representative Jason Davis. The first day of training, held during a blinding snowstorm, included stewards from ADM (Cathage, Missouri), Graincraft (Wichita, Kansas), General Mills (Kansas City) and Bimbo Bakeries USA (Topeka). Two stewards participated via ZOOM video conferencing. The class included sessions...

03 March, 2022

BCTGM Local 37 (Los Angeles, Calif.) members on strike against Rich Products-owned Jon Donaire Desserts plant in Sante Fe, Calif. voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement, bringing an end to the strike that began on November 3, 2021. Reflecting on the vote to ratify the new agreement, BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton stated: โ€œThis has been a long and difficult fight for our striking members and their families. With each new day on...

23 February, 2022

The 41st Constitutional Convention of the BCTGM International Union will be held July 27-August 2, 2022 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theme of the 2022 Convention is, "OUR UNION. OUR FUTURE. OUR FIGHT." Delegates to the Convention, per Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution, must have been a continuously good-standing, dues-paying member of the International Union and Local Union the delegate represents for at least two (2) continuous years...

01 February, 2022

Twenty five members of the U.S. House of Representatives followed the lead of the U.S. Senate in writing to Rich Products Chairman Robert E. Rich Jr., urging the company to end the strike by Local 37 members at the Jon Donaire Desserts plant in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. by engaging in good faith bargaining. "Most of these workers are Latina women who are on strike โ€“ many with their children. We are concerned about the...

24 January, 2022

An overwhelming atmosphere of solidarity met BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton and International Secretary-Treasurer David Woods as they walked the picket line outside the Jon Donaire Desserts plant in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. with striking members of Local 37.Workers at the plant, who make and decorate ice cream cakes for food chains including Ralphs, Walmart and Baskin-Robbins, have been on strike fighting for a livable wage and a fair contract since November 3. Jon Donaire...

21 January, 2022

The BCTGM joins with the AFL-CIO in commending President Bidenโ€™s Federal Reserve appointments and urge their speedy confirmation by the U.S. Senate.Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former member of the Board of Governors, is an experienced financial regulator with a strong track record of putting the public interest first when dealing with the power of the financial system. She is eminently suited to the critical role of vice chair of supervision. Professors Lisa Cook, who has...

14 January, 2022