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Representing manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers in the baking, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries.
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AFL-CIO - The Republican-controlled Indiana House Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee, muzzled Democrats and in a five-minute โ€œcharadeโ€ of a hearing this morning passed a so-called right to work bill by an 8-5 vote. Not only were Democrats barred from offering any amendments, no discussion of the bill was allowed and immediately after the vote, the hearing was adjourned. Rep. John Bartlett (D) told reporters that heโ€™d โ€œnever seen a charade like this in my life.โ€ Said...

10 January, 2012

President Obama utilized recess appointments to name three new members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the White House announced. Since January 1, the board has just two members and cannot carry out most business. Republican Senate leaders have said they will block any NLRB nominations in a move most regard as an attempt to shut down the NLRB. That is part of an overall strategy that has bottled up hundreds of Obama administration nominations....

05 January, 2012

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has approved new union representation rules to ensure workers can freely exercise one basic right we hold dear in this country โ€“ the right to vote. The new rules make union representation elections fairer by simplifying procedures, deferring litigation and setting shorter deadlines for hearings and filings. Currently when workers petition the NLRB for an election, it can take months and even years before they can cast a vote. Companies...

03 January, 2012

BCTGM International Executive Vice President Joseph Thibodeau has retired, ending his 48 year career with the union. โ€œJoe personifies what a true labor leader is,โ€ notes BCTGM International President Frank Hurt. โ€œHe remains one of the most dedicated and giving union leaders this organization has ever had. He has spent his life working hard to make sure American workers have the benefit of a fair day's wage, a healthy workplace and the dignity that comes with...

21 December, 2011

Local 203T (Richmond, Va.) adopted 59 families in the Richmond tri-cities area for the holiday season. Through generous donations to the localโ€™s holiday toy drive, Local 203T members helped put smiles on the faces of 185 children and fill their homes with holiday cheer....

08 December, 2011

CHICAGO โ€“ The U.S. Department of Labor has reached an agreement with Haasbach LLC in Mount Carroll, resolving 25 citations issued by the departmentโ€™s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and child labor civil money penalties assessed by its Wage and Hour Division. The resolution follows the deaths of Wyatt Whitebread, 14, and Alex Pacas, 19, at the companyโ€™s Mt. Carroll grain bin facility in July 2010. A 20-year-old worker also was seriously injured in the...

07 December, 2011

UPDATE: On Dec. 5, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton follows up on his promise during the American Crystal Sugar stakeholders meeting, to help facilitate contract negotiations and to remain present until a successful conclusion is reached. Click here to read the full letter. On Dec. 4 in Moorhead, Minn., Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton met with an American Crystal Sugar Company executive and listened to locked out workers stories during a Saturday visit to Moorhead. More than 300 people...

05 December, 2011

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 Company 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.) 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...

02 December, 2011

The already strained relationship between management of American Crystal Sugar Company (ACSC) and its 1,300 locked out workers was dealt another serious blow when recordings of anti-worker statements by ACSC President and CEO Dave Berg were made public this week. In a meeting of company shareholders on November 7 in Grafton, N.D., Berg likened the workers to a 21-pound cancerous tumor. According to an audio recording of the meeting, Berg told the story of a sick...

01 December, 2011

Locked out BCTGM Local 167G members from Moorhead, Minn. spoke toย more than 100 people gathered at the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 9 in Minneapolis about the lockout of 1,300 union members by American Crystal Sugar. BCTGM members Kevin Solum and Becki Jacobson discussed the current situation faced by the workers, answered questions and solicited support and resources for the lockout. Teams of American Crystal workers from each location of the lockout are traveling throughout...

23 November, 2011

AFL-CIO This eveningโ€™s announcement that the Super Committee on the federal deficit was unable to reach an agreement shows that the Republicans on the committee โ€œhave once again shown that if they canโ€™t get their way, they take their marbles and go home,โ€ says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. โ€œGetting their wayโ€ he says, means making the Bush tax cuts for the wealthyย permanent, letting the top 1 percent off the hook on deficit reduction. Getting their way means driving...

21 November, 2011

By TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press Each year, people are killed and maimed by explosions of finely powdered wood, metal or chemicals at factories around the country. Safety experts have studied the threat posed by dust at industrial sites for nearly a decade, yet tighter regulations are still years away. Among the reasons for the delay are a cumbersome rulemaking process and disagreement among federal agencies about how to best tackle the problem. Meanwhile, workers continue to die. Combustible...

17 November, 2011

On November 8, Ohio voters resoundingly overturned the anti-worker agenda pushed by Governor John Kasich (R) and the right-wing state legislature.ย  An extraordinary grassroots effort led by the labor movement resulted in the defeat of Issue 2/Senate Bill 5 by a remarkable 61-39 margin. Senate Bill 5, rammed through the legislature earlier in the year, would have eliminated the collective bargaining rights of some 350,000 public employees including teachers, nurses, police officers and fire fighters, jeopardized...

16 November, 2011

BCTGM Region 6 International Vice President Randy Roark reports that local unions on the West Coast are receiving phone calls from unorganized workers at a record pace. ย  Non-union workers, normally shy and fearful about getting involved in an organizing campaign, are reaching out to unions as they watch the poor getting poorer, the middle class disappearing and the rich getting richer.ย  BCTGM Secretary-Treasurer and Director of Organization David B. Durkee notes, "It is a harsh...

16 November, 2011

For political newcomers, hereโ€™s what you need to know: the good guys won. Not only did we win. We won big. We won in friendly territory and difficult terrain. And the credit for our victories belongs firmly to the working men and women - union and non-union alike - who were fighting for their rights, their jobs, their values, and their future. Ohio When John Kasich was sworn in as Ohioโ€™s Governor at the beginning of this year,...

09 November, 2011