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A the PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE IN OHIO AND AROUND THE NATION WORKERS DECLARE: “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” As union members, we and our families enjoy a better quality of life and standard of living than most working people who do not have the benefit of union membership and a collective bargaining agreement. For this, we are grateful, particularly during difficult economic times. But, we know as well that these benefits did not come about and cannot be maintained without great struggle. At no other time in our history have union members, and all working people, faced more difficult challenges than we do today. Employers in every industry, regardless of their bottom line, are always out to cut the number of union workers they employ and lower the wage and benefit standards of those who remain. In BCTGM industries, employers keep moving production out of our union shops to plants in Mexico or non-union facilities in the United States and Canada. They are constantly trying to subcontract out our work and bring non-union workers into our bakeries, factories and mills. Cheap labor is what they are after. More and more, employers are taking reckless hard line stances in negotiations and if they don’t get everything they want, however unreasonable, they threaten to lock us out. Today, unlike at any other time in my memory, employers are showing utter contempt for the legitimacy of the collective bargaining process and a callous disregard for the men and women who work for them. It is discouraging to watch the Republicans in Congress do everything in their power to promote this devastating economic race to the bottom by attacking unions, undermining collective bargaining and organizing rights and catering only to the corporate titans and the ultra-rich in our country. Never before have so many politicians been so willing to sacrifice the greater good of the citizenry in order to help millionaires and billionaires become even richer. They are perfectly content to have hard-pressed middle class families pay higher taxes just so the richest one percent won’t have their taxes increased, even by a modest amount. This is shameful! The fallout is a middle class that has been battered for a decade, constantly struggling to make ends meet and a wealthy one percent that has never had it so good. Despite this onslaught against working families and organized labor, there are encouraging signs that the tide is turning. Recent events confirm that there is still a lot of fight in working people as we defend our rights and protect our standard of living and that of our children and grandchildren. Rather than shrinking under the pressure of this relentless assault, working people are standing tall and fighting back against bullying corporate executives and phony patriot politicians who are in their pockets. Working people are telling the powers that be in this country that it’s time to stop blaming workers for the failures of Wall Street and Washington. Enough is enough! We see this fight in the remarkable solidarity and determination of our members at Crystal Sugar who have been locked out for more than four months. They have demanded that the politicians they helped put in office stand with them and use the power of their office to challenge this highly profitable company and its executives who give themselves outrageous bonuses and salary increases while our people are on the streets and out of work. “This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class…At stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, and secure their retirement.” We see this fight in cities across the country where the Occupy Wall Street movement has brought new vigor and a fresh voice to the battle for economic and social justice in America. We saw this fight most vividly in the historic victory in Ohio on Election Day 2011 with the defeat of SB 5/Issue 2, the subject of the cover of this issue of the BCTGM News. I was in Ohio and saw firsthand the unique bond that was built between working people across all racial, ethnic and economic lines—union and non-union together, government and private sector together, young and old together. Together, as one powerful force the people of Ohio rose up and struck down an unjust law aimed at destroying the very livelihoods of middle class families. Together, as one powerful force, working people took to the ballot box to repudiate an arrogant, spiteful governor who thought the interests of the wealthiest Ohioans were more important than the well being of working people who are the heart and soul of a great state and a proud nation. So, we enter the holiday season and look to the promise of a new year encouraged and inspired by those who are willing to join together with their fellow workers in order to secure a better, more prosperous future for all of our citizens and not just the fortunate few. This resurgence provides new hope for working families and the middle class and in turn for our country. I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the BCTGM family happy holidays and a healthy New Year! President Barack Obama, December 6, 2011 Frank Hurt BCTGM International President 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 Frank Hurt, Editor Corrina A. Christensen, Assistant Editor BCTGM General Executive Board President Frank Hurt • Secretary-Treasurer David B. Durkee Executive Vice President Joseph Thibodeau • Vice Presidents Steve Bertelli • Anthony L. Johnson • Sean Kelly Micheal T. Konesko • Arthur Montminy Robert Oakley • Randy Roark BCTGM General Executive Board Members Joyce Alston • Thomas Bingler • Edward Burpo Butch Henley • Barry Jenkins • Johnny Jackson Paul LaBuda• Richard Lewis • Danny Murphy Vester Newsome • Ron Piercey • Donna Scarano Brad Schmidt • Doyle Townson 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. 2 BCTGM News
Bctgm Plays Pivotal Role in Historic Ohio Labor Victory On November 8, Ohio voters resoundingly overturned the anti-worker agenda pushed by Governor John Kasich (R) and the right-wing state legislature. 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 the public safety of Ohioans and dealt another blow to middle class families. BCTGM International staff, local union officers and members across the state were a key part of the labor team that was so effective in defeating Issue 2. Because of the importance of the campaign to the entire labor movement, BCTGM International President Frank Hurt assigned two International staff members, Vice President Mike Konesko and International Representative John Price, to work fulltime as campaign coordinators. “I am extremely proud of the pivotal role that the BCTGM played in this historic victory for organized labor and working families. Our local unions and members across the state responded forcefully when called upon to gather signatures, phone bank, handbill, go door-to-door and do whatever was necessary to get the job done,” Hurt explained. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who joined working families in phone banking and canvassing said Issue 2’s defeat, “is a major victory for working families in Ohio and across the country.” “Ohio’s working people successfully fought back against lies pushed by shadowy multinational corporations and their anonymous front groups that attempted to scapegoat public service employees and everyone they serve by assaulting collective bargaining rights,” said Trumka. After the Ohio legislature pushed through the law in late March— ignoring an outpouring of public opposition, including demonstrations that brought thousands to the State Capitol in Columbus—Ohio’s working families began a massive mobilization to repeal the law. BCTGM members throughout Ohio were among those who helped collect more than 1.3 million signatures to put the SB5 repeal on the ballot. With polls showing growing support for repeal and a rapidly shrinking approval rating, Kasich even offered a so-called compromise in August. But working families rejected the deal and continued to fight for full repeal. As the election drew near, unions and community groups knocked on doors, made phone calls and distributed literature around the state. In the weekend before the election alone, volunteers knocked on more than 450,000 doors. In the end, more Ohioans cast votes against Governor Kasich’s top initiative than they did for Governor Kasich a year earlier. It was a blow away election, with workers winning 61.3% of the vote, including the majority of the vote in 82 out of 88 counties. Participation was higher in this off-year general election than in any other in the history of Ohio. While union members were incredibly supportive, with an overwhelming 86% showing their solidarity against SB5, 57% of independent voters stood with them. An even stronger message to the Governor is that 30% of Republicans voted against Issue 2. Indeed, 26% of those who voted for Kasich just a year ago voted no on Issue 2. November/December 2011 www.bctgm.org 3
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Page 7 and 8: BCTGM Joins Nurses Union in Call fo
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Page 11 and 12: OFL Convention: A Call to Arms Thou
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Page 15 and 16: Holiday Savings Stretch this year

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