Justice & Unity

Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union

May/ June 2020

Volume 22 Number 3

the PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

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Stand in Solidarity AGAINST Racism, Inequality and Injustice

Our union is in the midst of some of the most turbulent times in our 134-year history. The COVID-19 pandemic has touched every corner of our lives, from our health and livelihoods to our heart and soul. As a husband, father and grandfather, I understand the uncertainty you are feeling right now.

This crisis is showing us something we have known all along; that workers are the glue that holds our nation together. As the months of this pandemic pass, we see you, our union brothers and sisters, as you go to work every day to help keep food on grocery store shelves and in the homes of North American families. It is also important to remember that as one of the oldest labor unions in North America, the BCTGM has overcome incredible challenges before—and this historic time will be no different.

I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to members and their families who have been infected or have lost loved ones from this virus.

We continue to do everything we can to ensure our workplaces are as safe as possible. This union will continue to demand that employers provide personal protective equipment and follow CDC guidelines, such as temperature checks, social distancing and disinfecting workplaces.

I also want to use this space to reflect on the current unrest in the United States caused by the shocking and horrible death of George Floyd.

Racism causes pain to people every day in America.

As we have throughout our history, the BCTGM will continue to stand together against racism, inequality and injustice.

Racism is a labor issue because it is faced by workers every single day in their workplaces. It is a community issue because unions are the community.

In both our workplaces and in our communities, we must reject the culture of divisiveness that robs the dignity of our brothers and sisters because of their race, their religion, their gender, their age, their disability, or their sexual orientation.

Unions lift up ALL workers. We give them a voice where there is none. For many workers, 2

joining a union is a way to build a life. This is how and why we need to continue to grow our union so that we might tackle inequality and injustice. We must organize to make our union stronger so that we are better able to demand economic, social and racial justice beginning in our workplaces.

Many of our own union brothers and sisters and their families go out into the world every day and confront racism and bigotry. We should all be angry that these issues must still be confronted in 2020. And we must turn that anger into action. And real action this year can be taken in the 2020 elections.

As members of our great union, we know what is possible when people join together. We have seen the power of solidarity. We have transformed workplaces, communities and our entire nation.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. Racial injustice and inequality diminish all of us. As Brothers and Sisters in the BCTGM, we have always succeeded by listening to one another, reaching out to help others and knowing there will always be a hand there when we need one. We must stand in solidarity with one another.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay united.

— Anthony Shelton, BCTGM International President

BCTGM News

Official Publication of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union 10401 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, Maryland 20895-3961 (301) 933-8600 www.bctgm.org Anthony Shelton, Editor Corrina A. Christensen, Assistant Editor BCTGM General Executive Board President Anthony Shelton • Secretary-Treasurer David Woods Vice Presidents Shad Clark • Roger Miller Ron Piercey • Brad Schmidt • Zachary Townsend BCTGM General Executive Board Members Joyce Alston • Richard Davis • Pierre Luc Ducet Paul LaBuda • Mary Trujillo • Earl Lublow Letitia Malone • Gary Oskoian • Paula Steig Doyle Townson • Jeff Webb • Donald Woods BCTGM News (ISSN 1525-4860) is published bi-monthly by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, 10401 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895-3961. Periodicals postage paid at Kensington, MD and at additional mailing offices.

Subscription to new members only. Postmaster: Send address changes to BCTGM News, 10401 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895-3961.

BCTGM News

BCTGM Endorses

JOE BIDEN

for President of the United States On June 10, the BCTGM General Executive Board voted unanimously to endorse Joe Biden for President of the United States.

“We believe that a Biden presidency offers the strongest opportunity to advance the cause of economic, social and racial justice in the United States and heal our nation,” said BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton.

Following the GEB endorsement vote, the BCTGM released a statement outlining the reasons including: A Biden presidency would provide muchneeded and aggressive leadership on the public policy issues that matter most to BCTGM members, their families and retirees; ensuring workers the right to organize and bargain collectively; fortifying the laws and regulations protecting workers’ safety and health on the job; strengthening Social Security and Medicare and protecting earned pension benefits and guaranteeing quality public education.

“On each of these critical issues, President Trump and his Administration have failed working families, particularly in the areas of workplace health and safety and workers’ rights,” said Shelton.

The BCTGM will be actively engaged in the AFL-CIO’s Labor 2020 program across the country, in every city, state and community to ensure our message is heard loud and clear.

May/June 2020

While the methods of the Labor 2020 program may look a little different in the face of COVID-19, we will communicate through virtual phone banks, peer-to-peer texting, digital actions and, as always, union member-to-union member conversations.

“I will be calling on all of our U.S. locals and members to be enthusiastic partners in this most important political effort. There is so much at stake for working families and Unions in this year’s elections,” Shelton concluded.

On May 26, the AFL-CIO officially endorsed Joe Biden for President. In a statement, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, “Over the next five months, the labor movement will draw a clear contrast between Biden and President Donald Trump. Trump’s record of slashing rules designed to protect us on the job, cutting workplace health and safety inspectors to their lowest level in history, and taking away overtime pay from millions of workers are just a few ways working people have been hurt by the current administration. Worse yet, America’s working families and communities are suffering because of Trump’s delinquent, delayed, disorganized and deadly response to the coronavirus.

“Working people have responded to COVID-19 with passion and dedication, even as our federal government falls down on the job,” Trumka said.

“Just imagine what we can accomplish with an ally in the White House,” concluded Trumka.

www.bctgm.org

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AMERICA’S FIVE ECONOMIC America’s workers—in the private and public sectors— have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, for too many heroes on the front lines, simply going to work has already proven to be a death sentence in this cruel crisis.

As the pandemic continues, millions are losing their jobs and their health insurance coverage as a result, while coping with devastating health concerns of their own. Workers are experiencing severe cash flow constraints and struggling to meet basic food and shelter needs. We’re already seeing the effects of stressed state and local budgets. Many workers are working

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without adequate safety protections or access to personal protective equipment and are becoming sick and unable to work, with some losing their lives because of COVID-19.

This is a moment that demands compassion and common sense; any meaningful relief and recovery will require a prioritization of workers and their families who are the foundation of this nation.

While the recovery actions already taken

by Congress will help many, those efforts are disproportionately aimed at large enterprises, not communities and families. Without more direct help, hardworking people and their families will continue spiraling downward to a social safety net in tatters, damaged by years of under-investment.

KEEP FRONT-LINE WORKERS SAFE AND SECURE

All essential workers need safety protections on the job, including personal protective equipment, training, testing, antiretaliation protections, paid sick leave and hazard pay. We are seeing workers performing essential services or making essential products left unprotected as they protect us in sectors such as health care, grocery, transportation, public service, education, the U.S. Postal Service, emergency response, construction, manufacturing, energy, utilities, broadcast news and more.

These workers have kept our country moving, fed, cared for and safe through this crisis. All these workers need to be treated, protected and paid accordingly. This requires actions, not just words; which is why Congress must mandate that OSHA and MSHA issue emergency temporary standards to protect all workers from infectious diseases, and the administration must use the Defense Production Act to ensure the manufacture of personal protective equipment and other medical supplies needed to keep our country safe for the duration of this crisis.

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KEEP AMERICA COMPETITIVE — HIRE PEOPLE TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE

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With the highest number of unemployed Americans since the Great Depression, we need to both provide good jobs and strengthen our nation’s workforce. This crisis is a wake-up call to make long overdue investments in a key pillar of the economy: our infrastructure. If not now, when will we ever reinvest in the vital infrastructure essential to protect our country and boost good job creation?

BCTGM News

ESSENTIALS KEEP WORKERS EMPLOYED AND PROTECT EARNED PENSION CHECKS

KEEP AMERICA HEALTHY— PROTECT AND EXPAND HEALTH INSURANCE FOR ALL WORKERS

We are headed toward catastrophic levels of unemployment—20% or higher—and we must act. The Paycheck Protection Program must pay workers as it was designed to do, not used by executives to pay back debts to big banks and private equity firms. CARES 2 must ensure that millions more workers are paid through the duration of this crisis by making support for employers who keep workers on payroll simpler, faster and more universal. A pension is a promise—workers paid into a system for decades of work for the promise of security in retirement. Congress must help ensure this promise made to millions of private-sector American workers and their families is kept.

We are in a health care crisis, yet the first thing millions of people are losing is their health insurance. Now, in the midst of a pandemic, is not the time to throw millions of laid-off workers and the families of workers who have died off their health insurance. We need to expand affordable health care, not eliminate it, so that all workers have access to medical testing and treatment. This must include 100% federal payment support for COBRA extensions that otherwise would bankrupt millions and steps to ensure there are no surprise medical bills sent to families in medical crisis. We also must assure the financial solvency of hospitals across the country, including community hospitals that provide the economic engine in many rural communities.

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KEEP STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE SOLVENT AND WORKING

The past decade of austerity at the state and local levels has intensified the current crisis.

We are watching state and local governments become overwhelmed by an unprecedented demand for public services at the very moment that revenues are cratering. A substantial investment in unrestricted aid to state and local governments, school districts, colleges and universities, and the U.S. Postal Service, as well as greater federal assistance for Medicaid, will help prevent a further gutting of public services that would make this health and economic crisis May/June 2020

even worse. We cannot forgo the future of our students for a crisis that is not of their making.

Moreover, nurses, food service personnel, teachers, postal workers, child and home care workers, transit workers, telecom workers, and other public service workers are front-line heroes working long hours to allow families to adhere to social distancing and, in many cases, risking their lives to serve our country. They must be defined as essential and supported financially throughout this public health and economic emergency as part of CARES 2.

www.bctgm.org

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International Union On the Job to Protect

our ESSENTIAL BCTGM Workers

Since 1886, the BCTGM has been dedicated to protecting the health and safety of its members. While the obligation to provide a safe workplace falls on the employer, in many circumstances it is our local unions that fight to keep our members safe on the job.

This could not have been more apparent over the last few months as we have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BCTGM has worked with our International Vice Presidents, International Representatives and Local Unions across North America to ensure that our “essential” workers receive hazard pay and bonuses, face masks, enforced social distancing, staggered shifts, temperature testing and relaxed attendance policies. This is all done in an effort to keep our members safe during this historic health crisis.

BCTGM members need to understand that it is their local union leaders who made these things happen. While this pandemic has been a new experience for both our employers and our local union officers, we should be proud of the way we have collectively worked together during this crisis.

The BCTGM has been in continuous contact with our local unions to solve issues as they arise in the plants. In addition, the International has been working closely with the AFL-CIO, health & safety professionals, and federal and state agencies to ensure that our employers keep all of our members safe on the job.

Thousands of workers across the U.S. have been infected on the job through exposure to infected co-workers and unscreened members of the public.

Unfortunately, there is not an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard for infectious diseases which adds to the confusion on how to address this crisis. There was a standard making its way through the process during the

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Obama Administration, but OSHA under the Trump Administration removed it from the Regulatory Agenda.

In May, the BCTGM was part of an AFL-CIO petition seeking a court order to force OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infection control in the workplace to protect workers against COVID-19. However, that petition was rejected by a three-judge panel that said OSHA decided it did not need an emergency standard.

Even with overwhelming evidence that additional protection is needed, President Trump’s Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, has insisted that a standard specifically addressing the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is not necessary.

OSHA has the obligation to ensure the health and safety of all workers, particularly from an infectious disease like COVID-19. And while COVID-19 is the most recent global health threat, infectious disease outbreaks and other biological threats will continue to occur. Now is the time to plan to protect workers not only from this virus, but also to learn from our past inaction to prevent a public health crisis.

It is imperative that OSHA be put back into the hands of health and safety professionals who truly want to protect working people. We need an OSHA that will make standard setting a priority so that we can get a standard for combustible dust, and update the permissible exposure limits on chemicals our members use each day.

It is also time for BCTGM local unions to organize new workers around workplace health and safety issues. No one should be forced to choose between getting sick and making a living. All workers in North America want to come home to their families safe and healthy. We know that non-union workplaces are more unsafe than our unionized workplaces. We need to educate non-union workers on these facts so they understand that working safely is a benefit of being a member of the BCTGM.

BCTGM News

Donald Trump: Four Years of Making Workplaces More Dangerous The Trump administration has teamed up with Republican leaders in Congress and corporate allies to launch a four-year war on regulatory protections, putting workers and the public in danger. Workers’ safety and health, wages and financial security are threatened. These regulatory protections don’t kill jobs. But there is no doubt that rolling back these protections hurts workers.

Here are some of the ways Trump’s record on health and safety has failed working people in the United States: •

Record-low number of workplace safety inspectors. 14% decrease since 2010.

OSHA’s inspection resources are already so limited that it would take the agency more than 150 years to visit every workplace under its jurisdiction just once.

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The Trump Administration signed an Executive Order that required 2 standards/ regulations to be eliminated for every new one signed into law.

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OSHA reduced by one-quarter the number of inspections involving combustible dust explosions (e.g., such explosions occur in plastic, grain, sugar, and flour operations).

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Repealed a 2016 rule requiring large employers to electronically report injuries and illnesses to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

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Repealed the “Volks Rule” that allowed the Agency to cite companies for continuing to fail to accurately record injuries and illnesses.

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Repealed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule to ensure federal contractors follow safety and labor laws.

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OSHA relaxed its view on health and safety incentive programs that pit workers against each other (these programs had come under scrutiny during the Obama Administration and OSHA limited the types of programs employers could use).

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Withdrew the “Salman Letter” that allowed non-union workers to authorize a person from a union or a community organization to act as their representative under the OSHAct in order to “accompany the employee on an OSHA inspection” in a nonunionized workplace.

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Withdrew more than a dozen rules from the OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration regulatory agenda, including standards on combustible dust, styrene, 1-bromopropane, noise in construction, update of permissible exposure limits, and MSHA penalties and refuge alternatives in coal mines, which abandons protecting workers from major hazards.

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Raised line speeds in poultry and hog processing plants.

May/June 2020

www.bctgm.org

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#OnTheRoadWithHank: The Local

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n the predawn hours of May 26, BCTGM Local 6 President Hank McKay, Financial SecretaryTreasurer Edgar Rodriguez, Business Agent Danny Melendez, Local 6 member Wilfredo Rodriguez and a small team of family members and friends, embarked on a massive COVID-19 food collection and relief journey that began in Lancaster, Pa., spanned hundreds of miles and concluded three days later in Atlantic City, feeding thousands of working families BCTGM-made products.

The goal of the Local 6 effort was to assist working families hardest hit by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania and

New Jersey, where more than 20,000 workers have lost jobs. Nationwide, 90 percent of UNITE HERE members have lost their jobs in the hotel, restaurant and hospitality industries.

East-Central Region International Vice President Roger Miller and Assistant to the President Harry Kaiser assisted McKay in getting commitments from union employers Bimbo Bakeries USA, the Kellogg Co. and TastyKake. McKay led the Local 6 food relief journey, collecting and delivering products to fill labor food banks and thousands of union homes with BCTGM-made products.

The Local 6 team rented two 26-foot trucks

L. 6 President Hank McKay

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BCTGM News

6 COVID-19 Food Relief Journey and hit the road. They collected Local 374G made Kellogg cereals in Lancaster, Pa.; Local 401G-made Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispie Treats and Nutri-Grain bars from the Kellogg plant in Muncy, Pa.; Local 492made TastyKake snack cakes in Philadelphia; and BCTGM-made BIMBO Bakeries USA products from depots in Norristown and Mays Landing, N.J. The Local 6 team delivered products to the Philadelphia AFL-CIO for the Philadelphia Joint Board, Workers United Food Distribution Site.

When they stopped for their final product collection at the BIMBO depot in Mays Landing, the company added THREE additional trucks filled

May/June 2020

with union product to the effort for a total of five trailers filled to the top with BCTGM Made products headed for Operation Feed Atlantic City.

On May 29, hundreds of union volunteers from affiliates of the New Jersey AFL-CIO distributed the BCTGM products to thousands of UNITE HERE Local 54 members and other union families who lined up in their cars two miles deep around Bader Field to receive the union goods.

Check out the full #OnTheRoadWithHank blog series for added details and photos at bctgm.org

www.bctgm.org

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BCTGM Locals Collect, Transpo Products to Help Working Fam No one should go hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the sad truth is, union

families are hurting. With school closures, job losses, and health risks, millions of working families are turning to community resources for much-needed support.

Recognizing the dire situation in communities

throughout the U.S., President Shelton directed Assistant to the President Harry Kaiser to reach out to union employers and help coordinate donations of BCTGM-made products to community organizations committed to helping working families.

Local 111 (Dallas)

Local 58G (Toledo)

Nearly 150 union families in San Antonio, Texas received boxes filled with Nabisco/Mondelez products from the Local 111 represented distribution center in Schertz, Tex. and bread and rolls from the BIMBO Bakeries USA bakery in San Antonio. The BCTGM was among more than 10 affiliates of the San Antonio AFL-CIO that contributed to the food donation effort.

Local 111 Financial Secretary/Business Agent David Menefee was joined by Local 111 steward Rick Brundage and International Business Agent/Organizer Jason Thomas.

After securing a commitment by Hometown Foods to provide products to aid in their effort, Local 58G members contacted International Representative Lisa Gregory to help. A pallet filled with unionmade products including Hungry Jack, Pillsbury, Martha White, White Lily, and Arrowhead Mills was loaded into Gregory’s truck for transport to Sea Gate Food Bank.

Local 42 (Atlanta) Recognizing the desperate need of working families hit hardest by the economic crisis of COVID-19 within the Atlanta area, Local 42 sprang into action. Pallets of union-made products from the Columbus, Ga. Hostess plant were collected for the “Labor of Love” food relief effort sponsored by the United Way of Greater Atlanta. Together with representatives from the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council, Southern Region Vice President Zach Townsend, International Business Agent/ Organizer Darrell Copeland and Local 42 Business Manager David Cooper distributed the food products in Liburn, Ga.

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Local 433 (Sioux City, Iowa) Working with the Western Iowa Labor Federation, Local 433 President/Business Agent/GEB member Paula Steig organized a large donation from the BIMBO Bakeries USA plant in Bellevue, Neb. for the New Visions Homeless Shelter.

President of the Western Iowa Labor Federation Scott Punteney, a former baker at the plant, and Local 433 steward Steve Howard coordinated the donation and delivered two pickup trucks filled with union-made buns to the donation site.

BCTGM News

ort and Distribute Union Made milies During Pandemic Local 253 (Cincinnati) When Local 253 officers learned that the Cincinnati AFL-CIO was collecting donations to assist workers at the Willows Education and Solidarity Center, they wanted to help. Local 253 President/Business Agent David Puckett and Financial Secretary/Assistant Business Agent Mike Shoemaker asked Kellogg to provide them with enough union-made products from their plant to fill their vehicles to personally deliver to the Center.

Joined by Local 253 Chief Steward Ron Powell and Kyle Cook, the union members delivered two skids of Townhouse Crackers courtesy of the Local and the Kellogg plant to the Willows Education and Solidarity Center.

Local 22 (Minneapolis) Working with the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation and the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, Local 22 identified food pantries with a longstanding commitment to helping unions. Local 22 President Wally Borgan, VicePresident Matt Ryder and Financial SecretaryTreasurer James Rutten used personal vehicles to pick up the BCTGM-made goods from union employers including Old Dutch Chips, Happy’s Potato Chips, BIMBO Bakeries USA, Dakota Growers Pasta and Pearson’s Candy. The Local 22 team delivered the goods to numerous food banks, charities and the UNITE HERE Local 17 Food Drive in Minneapolis.

Local 70 (Grand Rapids, Mich.)

In Michigan, the demand for food assistance is rising at an extraordinary rate during the pandemic, just as the state’s food banks are being struck by shortages.

At the Grand Rapids Kellogg’s plant where Local 70 members produce all varieties of Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts, Local 70 Financial Secretary/Business Agent Orin Holder led the effort to provide union-made products to the Greater Lansing Food Bank. According to Holder, union workers packed up 30 skids of PopTarts for the Michigan State AFL-CIO to deliver to the Greater Lansing Food Bank.

May/June 2020

Local 3G (Battle Creek, Mich.)

Working with the Michigan State AFL-CIO, Local 3G identified a great need in Central Michigan where historic flooding in May left most residents homeless in the midst of the pandemic. According to Local 3G President Trevor Bidelman, 2,800 cases of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch and Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats were loaded at the Battle Creek cereal plant and transported to food banks in Midland and Gladwin, Mich. to help flood victims.

www.bctgm.org

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West Coast BCTGM Local and BIMBO Bakeries TEAM UP for a Day of Giving BCTGM Local 85 (Sacramento, Calif.) wanted to find a meaningful way to support working families and individuals within their community who needed extra help getting food items during the pandemic.

Working with the Sacramento Central Labor Council, Local 85 Financial Secretary Gerry Gil identified the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services as an important resource for working families in his area. Gil asked representatives of Bimbo Bakeries USA Sacramento plant, where Local 85 members are employed, to help support the local’s community effort by donating products made by Local 85 members.

According to Gil, Bimbo not only donated the

union made products, but they also provided two trucks and drivers to deliver the bread, snacks and pastries to the food bank. A team of Local 85 members and Bimbo supervisors worked together to load a total of 3,592 pounds of BCTGM-made products into the BIMBO trucks for delivery to the food bank.

Assisting Gil with the food collection at the Sacramento plant was Local 85 Vice President/Assistant Business Agent John Weidenbach, Shop Steward/ Executive Board Member Greling Charles, Local 85 members Erik Hernandez and Jose Arauza and Fabrizio Sasso, Director of the Sacramento Central Labor Council.

The Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services partners with more than 220 local agencies to distribute food to individuals and families in under-served areas throughout Sacramento County.

L. 19 organizers Jim Franklin (left) and Stan LaBuda (right).

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BCTGM News

Local 326 Gathers BCTGM Made Products to FEED Detroit Area Workers

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ogether with the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO, the UAW, Ford and BIMBO Bakeries, Local 326 (Detroit) helped collect and deliver thousands of pounds of BCTGM-made products to the Community Action Agency of Monroe County and numerous area food banks. The union goods will be distributed to working families in the Metro Detroit area hardest hit by the financial crisis caused by the pandemic.

According to Local 326 President and Business Agent Nikee Craine-Kanitz, the multi-day event included gathering Sara Lee/BIMBO Bakeries USA

May/June 2020

products from the company’s Detroit depot where workers are represented by Local 326.

BCTGM, UAW and Teamster members worked together to load trucks with the union-made BIMBO bakery products for distribution by the AFL-CIO to Metro Detroit, Monroe and Lenawee County food banks.

“This is Solidarity in action!,” proclaims Kanitz.

The Local 326 effort to supply Metro Detroit food banks with BCTGM-made products will continue on a regular basis throughout the coming weeks.

www.bctgm.org

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Announcing the 2020 Winners of the

David B. Durkee Memorial Scholarship

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he function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.

Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On April 16, 2020, the BCTGM International General Executive Board voted to rename the BCTGM International Scholarship Program to the David B. Durkee Memorial Scholarship Program.

The program is a tribute to the legacy of President Durkee and the high value he placed on learning and education.

The BCTGM International Union has been awarding scholarships to union families since 1962.

These five exceptional BCTGM children were chosen from a total of 59 applicants. Each winner will receive a one-time $5,000 award for their university education.

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Ariana Deng, daughter

of Local 125 (San Leandro, Calif.) member Tony Deng, who works at Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. in San Leandro. Ariana plans to pursue a Doctorial degree to become a physician.

“The ability to learn from others, inside the classroom and beyond, is what I came to value. This realization hit during one of the workshops I held at a local homeless shelter to teach public speaking. Despite my role as a teacher, the largest lesson actually came from my students: the power of humility.”

Mackenzie Chambers,

Samantha Stokesberry,

daughter of Local 42 (Atlanta) member James Chambers, who is employed at Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. in Fairburn, Ga. Mackenzie plans to pursue a PhD degree to become a diagnostic radiologist.

“I took two grades in one year, which allowed me to graduate two years early. This has shown me that I can achieve whatever I set my mind to.”

Citlalli Villagomez, daughter of Local

1 (Chicago) member Rosa Villagomez, who is employed at Schulze and Burch Biscuit Co. in Chicago. Citlalli plans to pursue a bachelors degree and become an accountant.

“I come from a Latino culture. Both of my parents came to the United States and gave everything up to give their kids a better life than they had lived. I will be the first to graduate from high school and go to college. I am determined to push through anything so I can become the person I wish to be when I grow older.”

daughter of Local 283G (Paul, Idaho) member Bill Stokesberry, who is employed at Amalgamated Sugar in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Samantha plans to pursue a Doctorate Degree to become a veterinarian.

“I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was very young. With every hour I job shadow and every new science or animal course I take, I become more confident that I want to spend my life applying biology to a medicinal field to help animals live their best quality life.”

Chelsea Inglut, daughter of

Local 36G (Buffalo, N.Y.) member Dan Inglut, who is employed at General Mills in Buffalo. Chelsea plans to pursue her Masters Degree in Childhood Education.

“I want to be an elementary school teacher because I want to be as influential and helpful to kids as my teachers were to me. I hope to inspire kids and help them truly enjoy school.”

BCTGM News

Hardship Assistance Program Through the Job Loss Grant, Disability Grant and the Mortgage Assistance Program, Union Plus is putting money in the pockets of union members in need of assistance during the pandemic crisis. Union Plus shortened the Job Loss Grant unemployment requirement from 90 to 45 days to simplify the application process for credit card and personal loan program participants.

Since the pandemic hit, more than 700 union members have applied for more than $1.7 million in direct assistance from the Union Plus Hardship Assistance programs. Union Plus is encouraging eligible members to apply.

More information on these programs, including eligibility requirements and application process, are available at unionplus.org/hardship.

May/June 2020

www.bctgm.org

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Printed in the U.S.A.

“Racism causes pain to people every day in America. As we have throughout our history, the BCTGM will continue to fight for economic, social and racial justice.�

- BCTGM International President Anthony L. Shelton