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BAKERY ,CONFECTIONERY ,TOBACCO WORKERS AND GRAIN MILLERS INTERNATIONAL UNION VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 JULY/ AUGUST 2006

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BAKERY, CONFECTIONERY, TOBACCO WORKERS AND GRAIN MILLERS INTERNATIONAL UNION

VOLUME 8NUMBER 4

JULY/AUGUST 2006

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e come together at a trulymomentous time in thehistory of the labor move-

ment in North America. Workersand their unions in both theUnited States and Canada facechallenges to our vitality and evenour very existence unlike anythingwe’ve seen in over 70 years.

The BCTGM has always held asignificant and respected seat inthe House of Labor, in part,because we continue to representworkers at the most prominentfood and consumer products corporations in theworld. We are successful and effective because wehave stayed true to the principles upon which thisUnion was founded 120 years ago.

Among some of our largest and richest employers,Kraft/Nabisco, Kellogg/Keebler and General Mills, wehave negotiated new, outstanding master agreementsduring the past four years. As long as our employersknow that this Union is strong and unified and thatwe will do everything possible for our membership, itwill serve as a deterrent to their relentless efforts tofurther their “cost-sharing” goals.

Brothers and Sisters, the attitude and practices ofemployers today are not new. For those youngermembers—and you are now a substantial part of ourUnion—it is useful to visit some of the proud historyof the labor movement. Each one of us is here todaybecause of the hard work and accomplishments ofthose in our Union who came before us.

So, for a moment, let us go back some 70 yearsto the time of the birth of the modern labor move-

ment. In that period during the organizing cam-paign of the Congress of Industrial

Organizations, the CIO, there were many bit-terly fought strikes, most notably in the

industrial centers of the Midwest. Violence stalked the streets ofDetroit as the auto workers

refused to vacate the facto-ries leading to the his-

toric “sit down”

strikes. The National Guard wasmobilized and goons were hired tobeat down the workers.

The great labor leader John L.Lewis, who was President of theUnited Mine Workers and theCIO, spoke out in defense of theAuto Workers’ actions. Mr. Lewissaid then, “The United StatesChamber of Commerce, theNational Association ofManufacturers and similar groupsrepresenting industry and financialinterests, are rendering a disservice

to the American people in their attempts to frustrate theorganization of labor in their refusal to accept collectivebargaining as one of our economic institutions.”

He went on to say, “No Tin Hat Brigade of vigi-lantes or mob of corporation-paid scoundrels will pre-vent the onward march of labor or divert its purpose toplay its natural and rational part in the development ofthe economic, political and social life of our nation.”

That was 70 years ago. Of course, much haschanged since then. But much has stayed the same.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the NationalAssociation of Manufacturers and their bought andpaid for politicians continue on as front groups for

BCTGM News2

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.orgFrank Hurt, Editor

Corrina A. Christensen, Assistant Editor

BCTGM GENERAL EXECUTIVE BOARDPresident Frank Hurt • Secretary-Treasurer David B. Durkee •

Executive Vice President Joseph Thibodeau • Vice Presidents Jeanne Graham • Harry A. Guildner • Anthony L. Johnson • Sean Kelly • Michael T. Konesko •

Arthur Montminy • Robert Oakley • Randy Roark

BCTGM GENERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERSJoyce Alston • Edward Burpo • Randy W. Fulk •

Johnny Jackson • Paul LaBuda • Richard Lewis • Narcisco Martas • William F. Pearce • Ron Piercey • Danny Murphy •

Donna Scarano • Brad Schmidt • William Sprandel • Doyle Townson

BCTGM News (ISSN 1525-4860) is published bi-monthly by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain MillersInternational Union, 10401 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895-3961. Periodicals postage paid at Kensington, MD and at addi-tional mailing offices. Subscription to new members only. Postmaster: Send address changes to BCTGM News, 10401 ConnecticutAvenue, Kensington, MD 20895-3961.

The President’s Keynote Address to37th Constitutional Convention

The following is excerpts are from BCTGM International President Frank Hurt’s Keynote Address to Convention Delegates on July 19th.

W

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stand tall andstand strong foras long as ittakes tochange thedirection ofthis nation?

The answerto each of thesequestions is aresounding YES!

In our Union, “Building Strength throughSolidarity” is not just a Convention theme. It is ourdaily mission. So brothers and sisters, if you believethat we must forge ahead in solidarity on behalf of ourUnion and our members, then stand with me andstand up for political change in this country.

And, if you believe that we must work day andnight to bring the benefits of trade unionism to the

unorganized workers in our industries,then stand with me and stand up for

political change in this country.And, if you believe that we must

never give in to corporate greedand renegade employers, then

stand with me and stand upfor political change in thiscountry. And, if you believethat we must change theanti-union, right-wingpolitical leadership inWashington and replace itwith honorable men andwomen who put working

people first, then stand withme and stand up for victory

beginning this November.It is labor’s time. As it has

throughout history, the labor movement will lead theway in ushering in a new era of opportunity and hopeand promise for working men and women. TheBCTGM will stride proudly at the front of thisparade.

Brothers and Sisters, you are part of a move-ment. You are the bright beacons of hope at theend of this deep, dark tunnel working peoplehave been stuck in for far too long.Together, we will harness the greatstrength that comes with ourunbreakable solidarity to secure amore prosperous future for ourmembers, our Union andthe nations we love.

employers bent on denying workers their rights andfair share of this nation’s economic prosperity. The TinHat Brigade Lewis spoke of is now a slick brigade ofcorporate lawyers, labor relations “consultants” andhuman resource “specialists.” They don’t carry gunsor clubs or brass knuckles. But they are every bit thethugs as their predecessors were 70 years ago.

Their goals and tactics are the same—keep work-ers’ wages and benefits down, break the union wherepossible and intimidate, threaten and coerce workerswho want to organize. Today’s corporate thugs do notcome cheap and they do not let the law stand in theway of achieving their goals. Companies like R.J.Reynolds and Consolidated Biscuit Company spendmillions of dollars and run roughshod over the law ofthe land to defeat the will of their employees to organ-ize and improve their standard of living.

As if the cards were not stacked enough againstworking people, over the past five plus years, bigbusiness has cultivated a powerfulnew ally– the very people whoare elected to represent all ofus in Washington.

Not in the past 100years has there been sucha tight bond between cor-porate America and thepoliticians running ourcountry. This insidiousalliance between thecorporate elite andgovernment leaders hastaken a heavy toll onworking people.Together, they haveturned tax laws, laborlaws, pension laws, bankruptcylaws and health care and energy policies into vehi-cles for enriching corporate bosses beyond anythingwe have seen in this country since the days of therobber barons at the turn of the last century.

Together, they have conspired to harass and weak-en unions because they know the labor movementremains the single biggest obstacle to their goal of cor-porate dominance over the political, economic andsocial fabric of our country.

Brothers and Sisters, if we do not change thepoliticians and bureaucrats running this country, allthat we believe in, every thing we have worked tobuild in our lives, can be lost.

Do we have the strength to lead this change onbehalf of our members, our Union and this greatnation? Do we have the tenacity? Are we willing to

3July/August 2006 www.bctgm.org

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he theme of the third day ofthe Convention, July 21, was“Shaping Our Future” and

was devoted to the election of theBCTGM International Officers.Reflecting on the day’s theme in hisopening remarks, President Hurt said,“Today, we celebrate each of you. Aselected representatives of your respec-tive locals at this convention, you are infact, all leaders of this great union. Withleadership comes responsibility. We all have aresponsibility to do the best possible job we can do toensure that this union prospers over the next fouryears,” said Hurt.

For the election of the International ExecutiveOfficers, Hurt called on retired Secretary-TreasurerRene Rondou as the Temporary Chair of the conven-tion. Upon accepting the Temporary Chair position,Rondou delivered brief remarks in both French andEnglish. “It is a privilege and an honor to be here withyou. I signed my first card to become a union member63 years ago when I was just 16 years old. I rememberhow proud I was on that day. I am as proud of thisunion today as I was all those years ago. I am proud tobe among you and together we will continue to fightand win because of our solidarity,” Rondou said.

DELEGATES UNANIMOUSLY ELECT HURTIn accordance withArticle IV, Section 3 ofthe Constitution of theInternationalConvention, entitledNominations, Rondoudeclared nominations forthe office of President.

Upon opening nomi-nations, Rondou calledon Vester Newsome,

Financial Secretary of

Local 57 (Columbus, Ohio), who nominated FrankHurt.

“The man I am placing in nomination embodiesall that is good about the labor movement and theBCTGM. He has wisdom, strength, compassion andvision, His firm and steady hand has kept theBCTGM on the right course for the last 14 years.

“I have probably known Frank Hurt longer thananyone in this room, except perhaps his wonderful fam-ily. He is the same man today that he was when I firstmet him more than 25 years ago. Frank Hurt has neverforgotten where he came from or what it is like on theshop floor. He knows how tough it is for working menand women to provide for their families and that is whyhe works day and night to keep our Union strong.

“Frank Hurt is the best person to lead our Unionfor the next four years. The BCTGM is truly blessed tohave him as our President during these difficult andchallenging times. With Frank Hurt at the helm, ourmembers have a leader who fights for their best inter-ests every single day.

“I am proud and humbled to place in nominationthe name of our leader, a member of Local 57 and myclose friend, Frank Hurt, for the President of theBCTGM,” concluded Newsome.

Hurt was unanimously elected by delegates, whohonored him with a standing ovation and thunderousapplause.

Hurt thanked the Executive Officers and

BCTGM News4 BCTGM News

T

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thanking all of the international vice-presidents, rep-resentatives and headquarters staff for their hard workand dedication.

Durkee said to the delegation that “it is an honorto serve you all and to fight alongside of you.” Heconcluded his acceptance by declaring that despite allthe challenges the labor movement faces, “I wake upevery morning full of fight.”

DELEGATES RE-ELECT THIBODEAU Ray Aquilino, theSecretary-Treasurer ofLocal 102 (New York)nominated JosephThibodeau.

“I have the proudhonor to nominate aman who I feel symbol-ized what the tradeunion movement shouldbe. He’s a man whotaught me what it takes

to be a good labor leader—hard work, always beingprepared and the willingness to fight the fight to theend—no matter what the results.

“There are two things he has always stressed: tohave the ability to stay calm, cool and collected, espe-cially when dealing with employers and to always behonest and direct with our membership.

“Some men teach by the book—this man teachesby example. He has been with this great union for over41 years, and he’s our most senior executive officer.

“I am proud to nominate my friend, my mentor—Joseph Thibodeau, for the office of Executive VicePresident of the BCTGM,” concluded Aquilino.

Upon accepting the office of Executive Vice Presi-dent, Thibodeau delivered a moving acceptance speech.

“Make your individual voices heard. Participate.Your partner on the line needs your support, yourLocal needs your support, and your Internationalneeds your support. And whether they know it ornot, the North American worker needs the sup-port of unions, because we Union membersmake a difference in what happens in allwork places. Thank you for your contin-ued activism and thank you forallowing me to continue to helpin that struggle,” concludedThibodeau.

International staff and recognized his family. “This istruly a great Union and I will continue to fight everyday for you. Every one of you is important to me and Iwill do my best to make you proud,” Hurt concluded.

DELEGATES RE-ELECT DURKEENominating David B.Durkee for the office ofInternational Secretary-Treasurer of the BCTGMwas Jethro Head,President of Local 1(Chicago).

“The talents of thiscandidate were evidentover 30 years ago whenhe was called upon by theUnion President to

become a member of the Youth Involvement Task Force.“His service to the International began when he

was tapped by the President of the Union to be anInternational representative in 1986.

“By this time, David had won the respect and trustof others because if his unflagging loyalty and dedica-tion. He proved himself with his willingness to acceptany assignment, and many of these required long hoursof work every day and separations from his family.

“David is a man of uncommon dedication to fami-ly and union work, and I am pleased to call him mypersonal friend. But I also know that he is the friendof every working man and woman in the BCTGMInternational Union, and for that you can be assuredthat he will serve all the members of every localunion,” concluded Head.

Delegates unanimously elected Durkee to a newfour-year term and gave him a standing ovation.

He accepted his nomination by thanking PresidentHurt and Vice President Thibodeau. He continued by

5July/August 2006 www.bctgm.org

Hurt, Durkee, Thibodeau Re-Elected

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BCTGM News6

Following is a list of International VicePresidents who were elected by the con-vention delegates.

Region 1: Art Montminy

Region 2: Bob Oakley

Region 3: Jeanne Graham

Region 4 & Grain Milling Sector: TonyJohnson

Region 5: Sean Kelly

Region 6: Randy Roark

Grain Milling Sector: Harry Guildner

Grain Milling Sector: Mike Konesko

The following is a list of GeneralExecutive Board members who wereelected by the delegates.

Region 1Joyce Alston, Local 50Narcisco Martas, Local 3

Region 2Paul LaBuda, Local 19William Sprandell, Local 464

Region 3Edward Burpo, Local 300Bradford Schmidt, Local 218

Region 4Johnny Jackson, Local 42Richard Lewis, Local 111

Region 5Ron Piercey, Local 264Danny Murphy, Local 406

Region 6Donna Scarano, Local 125Doyle Townson, Local 31

Tobacco SectorRandy Fulk, Local 317TWilliam “Frankie” Pearce: Local 203T

Delegates Elect Vice Presidents, GEB

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7July/August 2006 www.bctgm.org

Around the Convention Floor

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ore than 400 delegates attending the37th Constitutional Convention, theunion’s highest decision-making body,

helped chart the BCTGM’s course for the next fouryears.

Each of the 143 Local Unions rep-resented at the Convention, as wellas the International GeneralExecutive Board, was given an

opportunity to submit resolu-tions to the Convention

delegates.Over the course ofthe convention,delegates consid-

ered 48 resolu-tions, including 16

from local unions.Prior to theConvention, the

Committee onCommittees assigned each resolution to a specificcommittee. In addition to the Committee onCommittees, other Convention committees includedthe Constitution, Finance, Organizing, Political Action,Resolutions, and Union Label and Education. TheCommittees were made up of local union delegatesand advised by an International Vice President.

Committee meetings were held throughout thecourse of the week while the Convention was in

recess. During these working sessions, each resolu-tion was thoroughly discussed and debated. Once

each group reached a consensus on theirassigned resolutions, a report was submitted

to the Convention body, with a recommen-dation for action. Delegates were then

given the opportunity to debate thecommittee recommendation and

vote for or against the adop-tion of each resolution. In

addition to setting

BCTGM News8

Mthe agenda for thenext four years, thisprocedure providesthe membership witha voice in the policy-making process of theInternational Union.

The resolutions presented to the delegates coveredsuch topics as healthcare, organizing, political action,trade, health & safety, and collective bargaining. Inaddition, there were several resolutions concerningthe BCTGM Constitution.

The following highlights several of the resolutionsadopted by the delegates, including what theypledged to accomplish over the next four years.

BCTGM-PAC AND POLITICAL ACTION: ENGINE FOR POLITICAL CHANGEThe local union PAC committees will take all neces-sary and appropriate steps to ensure that all contractshave BCTGM-PAC check-off clauses, or, in caseswhere the employer uses political check-off to facili-tate contributions to its PAC by its shareholdersand/or managerial employees, that those locals asserttheir right to demand BCTGM-PAC check-off.

UNITING OUR POWER TO ORGANIZE AND GROWWe will unite our energies and resources to help workersorganize by mobilizing a larger, more active constituencyin support of their fundamental freedom to form unionsand bargain collectively to gain a voice at work. Everylocal union will work to help win public and communitysupport for restoring the right to organize. We will takethe real experiences of workers struggling to organize inthe face of pervasive intimidation and coercion to elect-ed officials and other opinion leaders.

Organizing, Political Action

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AMERICANS NEEDAFFORDABLEPRESCRIPTION DRUGSThe BCTGM recognizes theimportance of efforts toreduce the price of prescrip-tion drugs by legislativeaction in the several states,and that the BCTGM encour-ages local unions to give fullsupport to such campaigns.

REBUILIDING THE GULF COAST AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA That the BCTGM demand of all Congress that theyensure those who reside below the poverty line, par-ticularly those in the Gulf States region, that our

measures and goals are one to uplift peoplefrom the senselessness of poverty, to

empower people to obtain the AmericanDream of opportunity in this country,

and call upon this body and theBCTGM as a whole to continue itshistoric role to eliminate the gap’sin economic inequality.

GLOBAL SOLIDARITY AND ACALL TO ACTIONThe BCTGM will challenge the cor-

porate trade agenda and insist thatour governments negotiate enforceable pro-

visions ensuring workers’ fundamental human rightsand environmental safeguards are included in thecore of all new trade and investment agreements. Wewill oppose all agreements that do not meet this stan-dard. We will work through the IUF and AFL-CIO,CLC to defeat additional flawed trade agreementsbased on the NAFTA model and, multilateral negotia-tions that weaken our trade lawsand neglect workers’ rights.

The Convention delegates alsoadopted resolutions on strengtheningMedicare, ensuring a safe andhealthy workplace, restoring the rightto vote, fighting bad trade deals, sup-porting immigrant rights, defendingthe Davis-Bacon Act, and sup-porting veteran’s healthcarefacilities, among oth-

9July/August 2006 www.bctgm.org

FREEDOM TO FORM UNIONSThe BCTGM joins the entirelabor movement in an aggressivecampaign to pass the EmployeeFree Choice Act. The BCTGM willcontinue the fight at every levelof government to restore the free-dom of America’s workers to formunions and bargain collectively.Our union is committed to grow-ing our movement by restoringworkplace justice and creating a climate in which allemployees have the opportunity to join a union.

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CAREThe BCTGM will step up pressure on the companieswhere our members work, recruiting them to join usin our fight for universalhealth care.

PROTECTING BCTGMTOBACCO INDUSTRYJOBSSo long as tobaccoremains a legal prod-uct in the UnitedStates and Canada,the BCTGM will vigor-ously defend our mem-bers’ right to a good job andcontinue to forcefully present ourposition on issues affecting workers in the tobaccoindustry to public officials at all levels of government.

SUPPORT FOR A CANADIAN NATIONAL CHILD CARE SYSTEMThe BCTGM will promote the creation of a National

Child Care Actthat guaranteesstandards andthe principles ofquality, univer-sality, accessibili-ty, developmen-tal programming,and inclusive-ness.

Top Delegates Four-Year Agenda

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GIRAUDO, BROWN ADDRESS DELEGATEShe Honorable Willie Brown, former mayor ofSan Francisco, addressed the dele-gates on July 19th. Brown

was introduced by Lou Giraudo,owner of the famedBoudin Bakery inSan Francisco.When introduc-ing Giraudo,Hurt noted thatGiraudo “is a sin-gular example ofan investor and

manager with a progressive view of labor managementrelations.” In his introduction of Mayor Brown,Giraudo recalled the leadership skills that he soadmired in his father, a former master baker, and

member of the BCTGM. He then noted that Brownexemplified very similar attributes and this is

what made him a true leader. Giraudo com-mended Brown for his leadership both as

mayor and prior to that, as Speaker of theCalifornia Assembly.

Brown spoke about his tenure asSpeaker and how challenging the

transition was to becomingmayor. He discussed how

he rose to the chal-

lenge of city management and how he worked with aunionized workforce to make San Francisco a modelof productive local government.

Brown also spoke about the importance of cardcheck neutrality and how he put pressure on SanFrancisco hotel owners to accept it. He said that thesecompanies finally figured out that you need to providequality wages for quality workers.

Brown urged delegates to continue to stand upand fight against politicians who are not deserving ofworking people’s support. He noted that the labormovement “must out-organize” those interests thatlook to keep unions down. In a passionate statement,Brown stated emphatically that “we need a labor

movement more than ever before.”

ACUFF GIVES REASON FOR OPTIMISMIn a rousing speech, Stewart Acuff, organizingdirector of the AFL-CIO, challenged theBCTGM to continue its fight for working peo-ple.

Accuff began by thanking the BCTGM forbeing a leader in organizing. He highlightedthe recent organizing win at Fiesta Mart inHouston. “Thank you for running a great com-

munity campaign there in Houston; reachingout to members of the clergy, community and

political leaders,” he said. He also commended theunion’s tenacity in its fight with Consolidated Biscuit.

“That fight shows exactly why we have to changeAmerica,” said Accuff.

He then discussed some of the challenges facingAmerican workers. “Workers in America are caught ina terrible squeeze, a policy trap that is shrinking ourmiddle class, ruining our futures, de-valuing work,victimizing kids, and pushing our country toward cor-porate domination,” he declared.

He said that with the current Administration’sattack on unions, union density has suffered. “Thedecline in density has cost us bargaining power, theability to win gains in wages and benefits for workers atthe bargaining table. In addition, the decline in densityhas cost us power and voice in our workplaces, ourcommunities, our cities and states, and in our nation,”he said.

Accuff stressed that the labor movement mustcome out swinging if it wants to be successful intransforming America. “We’ve got to have a fightabout it. And it is a fight we can win. It doesn’t have

BCTGM News10

Speakers Highlight Workers’ Rights, Political Change

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Reflecting on the day’s theme of organizing Sweeneysaid, “Building strength through organizing and usingthat strength to build political power are what the workof our movement is all about and what the AFL-CIO isincreasing. Our belief is that you can’t win at one with-out winning at the other. The troubles we’re having rightnow with the National Labor Relations Board dramatizehow correct we are,” he said.

Sweeney commended the recent organizing victoryby the BCTGM at Fiesta Mart bakery in Houston.“You proved that when we work together and standtogether and fight together we can overcome the rawpower of union-busting employers,” he said.

“Our political work is so important this year—notjust the future of organizing and our movement— butto the future of our country,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney pointed out that the U.S. is very close tobeing divided into two societies: one for the rich andone for the poor with the middle class slowly andsurely eliminated. He noted that with the election ofGeorge W. Bush in 2000, the conservatives and theircorporate supporters finally gained control of all threebranches of our federal government—the WhiteHouse, the Congress and the Supreme Court.

“And they’ve wasted no time in trying to destroyall the things we’ve created over the past 50 years tomake sure every worker has a good job, every childhas a free public education, every family has afford-able health care and every senior citizen has retire-ment security,” Sweeney said.

Looking ahead to the fall elections, Sweeney urgeddelegates to “Work together, stand together and fighttogether to take back control of the Congress andovercome the perverted political power of the BushAdministration.

OFL PRESIDENT URGES UNITYWayne Samuelson, President ofthe Ontario Federation of Labour,gave a stirring speech to the dele-gates.

He began by acknowledgingthe role of the BCTGM in organiz-ing workers in Canada. “You haveestablished yourself as a smartand strategic organization thathas negotiated agreementsthat are the envy of manyin my country.”

to be this way,” he emphatically stat-ed. He continued by saying that “we

need to turn our despair, ourfears, our securities, andour sleepless nights intoanger; and then turnthat individual anger

into public, collec-tive rage.”

He then laidout a way inwhich workerscan take backthe control theyhave lost. Hehighlighted the

importance of pass-ing the Employee Free Choice Act, so that workerscould have more control over their workplaces. Hestressed the need to educate co-workers, family mem-bers and friends, about what is at stake in this fight. Hesaid that labor needs to “unite with our allies, engagethe policy makers, turn out on election day, and makethe right to organize and bargain collectively the num-ber one issue in this election year”.

He concluded optimistically by proclaiming, “ournation has stepped backward. It is our responsibilityand obligation. We will. And we will win!”

JOHN SWEENEY ADDRESSES CONVENTIONThe President of the AFL-CIO, John Sweeney,began his address bythanking President Hurtfor his hard work onbehalf of the U.S. andCanadian labor move-ment. Hurt serves as anAFL-CIO Vice Presidentand a member of the fed-

eration’s Executive Council.Sweeney briefly reflected on the recent departures

of International Union’s from the AFL-CIO andthanked Hurt and the BCTGM for their continued sol-idarity. “I can’t think of a time when we were in diffi-culty that I couldn’t turn around and find you backingme up. This is a standup union with a standupPresident and I thank you all from the bottom of myheart,” Sweeney said.

11July/August 2006 www.bctgm.org

Rights, Political Change and Solidarity

continued on next page

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He then pointed out the similarities betweenCanada and the United States. As an example, heused his twenty years of experience as a rubber work-er at a tire plant in Kitchener, Ontario to highlightthis. He said that the same employers work on bothsides of the border. “They use the same chemicals,they have the same time study stooges, and the tiresalways came out black and round. As a productionworker, my hopes and dreams were the same as anyof the thousands of tire builders here in the UnitedStates: to come home safe, to get a decent pensionand make a better life for my kids.”

He then focused on the fact that workers are doingtheir share; that they are holding up their end of thebargain. He told delegates that the Imperial Tobaccoworkers in Guelph and in Quebec made that companyextremely profitable, and yet both plants were closedwhile production was moved to Mexico. “These work-ers will join close to 100,000 workers that have losttheir jobs in the Ontario manufacturing sector in thelast few years. And in this case, as in many plant clo-sures, the companies are not losing money, but are infact extremely profitable,” stated Samuelson.

He continued by saying that “it is not corporationsthat build our communities and countries. It is work-ers like you and those that have gone before you thatfor decades walked through those gates that built ournations. We have every right to a decent income andsafe workplaces.”

He concluded by saying that workers on bothsides of the border needed to initiate changes. “Weneed to change politicians that do not respect therights of workers. We need to change politiciansthat place corporate profits ahead of our familiesand communities. And we need to change thepoliticians that think our pensions are their sand-box. Once we make these changes, it is then thatwe will win!”

IUF GENERAL SECRETARY ADDRESSES DELEGATESIn his convention address,Ron Oswald, the GeneralSecretary of the IUF(International Union ofFood Workers), reflectedon the need for politicalchange in the UnitedStates.

“The tragedy of theBush Administration’s sec-

ond term is unfolding domestically and internationallybefore our eyes, as the predictions many made of aneconomy built on a house of cards and a more dan-gerous and unstable world are coming true,” reflectedOswald.

Noting the endless media coverage on the globalwar on terror, Oswald said it is rare that we everhear nothing from those in power about the unde-clared war on working people. “A war that is system-atic and strategic. It’s strategy is built on first dis-arming us. That gets done by taking away or nevergranting the rights workers need to defend them-selves. It’s done with smart bombs in the form ofcorporate lobbyists who work on national govern-ments and on the global institutions that set therules—rules that increasingly aim to systematicallyroll back existing labour rights and anything thatregulates business,” Oswald said.

He noted that the number of men and womenaround the world who are either unemployed orunderemployed now stands at one billion. This fact—rarely, if ever, reported as a crisis in the media—ulti-mately represents the biggest weapon unions face.“For when the right to work is violated on this kind ofmassive scale, and hundreds of millions are engagedin a frantic competition for a dwindling number ofjobs, all other workers’ rights become vulnerable,”added Oswald.

“The world needs the labour movement and itsvalues if it is not to plunge totally into barbarism. Aworld without the labour movement would be a farmore brutal world. We bring dignity to people in thisworld as much as anyone does and more than mostand we need to be prouder and more vocal is sayingthat out loud more often that we do today. And thedignity of the human spirit has never been extin-guished even through the darkest of times,” Oswaldsaid to rousing applause from delegates.

BCTGM News12

Speakers continued

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KOURPIAS ENERGIZES DELEGATIONGeorge Kourpias, Presidentof the Alliance for retiredAmericans, delivered aninspired speech to theConvention

Kourpias started hisremarks by saying, “I’vebeen fortunate to serve in anumber of different posi-tions in labor and govern-

ment over the years, but there is no title that has evermeant more to me than being called ‘brother’. And thatis because over these past five decades as a unionmember, I’ve seen us stand together, fight together, andput everything on the line for one another. Solidarityisn’t just some cheap slogan for us; it is how we live,”said Kourpias.

“The labor movement built the middle class in thiscountry. We have been leaders in demanding safer work-places. We have marched side by side with the civilrights movement to demand justice on the job and in ourcommunities. We have accomplished so much.”

Kourpias described the manner in which the BushAdministration has implemented policies that havedrastically hurt working people. According to Kourpias,“his economic policies have divided our nation, takingmoney from working Americans and giving tax breaksto the wealthy and to giant corporations.” He cited sev-eral examples including the way the Administration haslost three million manufacturing jobs, slashed fundingfor the Labor Department, weakened federal health andsafety laws, watched helplessly as college tuition hasrisen dramatically, and weakened federal agencies.

Kourpias spoke to the delegation about the Alliancefor Retired Americans and its fight to keep Social Securityout of the hands of Wall Street. He also critiqued thenew Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. “Instead ofexpanding Medicare to help more Americans be able toafford the prescription drugs they need, the WhiteHouse, the Republican Congress, and the pharmaceuti-cal and insurance lobbyists all teamed up for the motherof all corporate welfare,” said Kourpias.

He then talked about the need to vote in November’selections. “As union members, we are uniquely equippedto meet this challenge. We are natural born organizers.We believe in collective action. We believe that if peopleare armed with the truth-and given a chance to takeaction-then our side will prevail.”

He concluded his energetic speech by saying, “thisfall we are going to do what labor has always done: wewill educate, we will organize and we will mobilize. Andwe will not rest until we win,” concluded Kourpias.

JACK MARCO ADDRESSES DELEGATION Jack Marco, Chairmanof the MarcoConsulting Group,spoke to the delegationThursday morningabout the challengesthat current retireesand upcoming retireesare facing. Using aPowerPoint presenta-

tion to help illustrate his points, Marco began bygoing over the history of the current retirement sys-tem in the United States.

He discussed the creation of Taft-Hartley pen-sion plans, the establishment of the EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act and the creation ofthe Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation.

He then talked about the state of retirement forAmericans. Using a well established analogy,Marco said that “the three legged stool has longbeen a picture that represents the foundation of asecure retirement: Savings, Social Security, andPension Plans. With those three legs strong, thestool will not falter. But remove just one and it falls.

“As those three legs have been weakened inrecent years, a new leg has appeared: Work. In mymind, work is not an element of Retirement securitybut evidence of its failure. Recent reports tell usthat 20 percent of the average retiree’s supportcomes from employment. This failure of retirementsecurity makes it necessary for seniors to go backto work and take jobs away from younger workers.”

He continued his presentation by using severalcharts and graphs to highlight the fact thatAmericans are not saving enough, that the disparitybetween CEO and worker pay is skyrocketing, andthat current and future retirees do not have enoughcapital to survive on. Marco told the delegationthat “this is a very dire picture. It is estimated that46.7 percent of Americans age 65 and older wouldhave income below the poverty level if it were notfor Social Security. Imagine what that numberwould be if this trend continues? I predict we couldhave levels of poverty among the elderly equal tothe 1930’s.”

He concluded his eye-opening presentation bytelling delegates to get out to vote in November.“Let them know that retirement security is yourpriority. If it is not their priority, you need to doeverything in your power to see that those politi-cians experience what retirement means, verysoon,” Marco concluded.

13July/August 2006 www.bctgm.org

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Committees of the BCTGM 37COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTION

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

COMMITTEE ON UNION LABEL & EDUCATION

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7th Constitutional ConventionCOMMITTEE ON ORGANIZING

OMMITTEES

COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL ACTION

COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS

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Printed in U.S.A.

“Organizing is the lifeblood of the labor movement. Either we do it and thrive, orwe neglect organizing and slowly breakdown. Each one of us here today mustunderstand how vital organizing is to our union, the future of the labor movementand the prosperity of every working family in North America,” BCTGM InternationalPresident Frank Hurt told delegates to the BCTGM 37th Constitutional Convention.

Pictured here are the 236 organizers from 60 local unions who were honored at

the Convention for their organizing efforts—which brought 10,060 new members

into the BCTGM since 2002.