Name of Union: Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.

Mission: The primary goal of the BCTGM has not changed in more than 130 years—to bring economic justice in the workplace to all workers in our jurisdiction and social justice to workers throughout the United States and Canada.

Current Leadership of Union: Anthony Shelton has served as BCTGM international president since he was elected to fulfill the term of David B. Durkee, who passed away on March 30, 2020. He was unanimously reelected on July 29, 2022, by delegates to the 41st BCTGM Constitutional Convention. Prior to that, Shelton served as BCTGM international secretary-treasurer. Shelton has been a member of BCTGM since 1973 when he became a member of Local 25 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In March 1992, Shelton was appointed as Southern Region international representative, a position he held for 23 years. He was elected as international vice president of the Southern Region in September 2015 and reelected in 2018. Shelton is a second-generation BCTGM member, his father, Walter Shelton, having been a member for 62 years.

David Woods serves as international secretary-treasurer and director of organizing. BCTGM has five international vice presidents: Roger Miller (East-Central Region), Zach Townsend (Southern Region), Jason Davis (Midwest Region), Ron Piercey (Canadian Region) and Shad Clark (Western Region).

Members Work as: Manufacturing, production, maintenance and sanitation workers.

Industries Represented: The BCTGM represents working men and women at some of the most widely recognized companies in the baking, candy, snack food, dairy, tobacco and grain milling industries in North America.

History: The Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union of America, one of the pioneers of the North American labor movement, was organized in 1886. In 1957, the American Bakery and Confectionery Workers’ International Union was formed. The two organizations united in 1969.

The Tobacco Workers International Union was founded in 1895 and was also at the forefront of the labor movement. As it and the Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union of America shared many common goals, both organizations came to realize those goals could best be achieved through a merger. That merger, creating the Bakery, Confectionery and Tobacco Workers (BC&T), took place in 1978.

The American Federation of Grain Millers (AFGM) had roots tracing back to the late 1800s. In 1936, the National Council of Grain Processors was formed when federal grain milling unions agreed to unite as a national union under the American Federation of Labor. In 1941, the council was renamed the American Federation of Grain Processors and in 1948 was granted an international charter as the AFGM.

Shared goals and industries led to the Jan. 1, 1999, merger between the BC&T and AFGM, resulting in the BCTGM.

Current Campaigns: BCTGM provides a list of products made by members.

Community Efforts: BCTGM publishes a blog and has a podcast, “The BCTGM Voices Project.” BCTGM partners with the United Way and provides the David B. Durkee scholarship for members and their children.