UFCW Local 1529
Standing strong for working families
Powering · Labor Education
UNION WAVE — 42nd BCTGM Constitutional Convention, Hollywood, Florida, July 28-30, 2026
July 28-30, 2026 · Diplomat Beach Resort · Hollywood, Florida
Thank you, President Shelton and Secretary-Treasurer Woods.
To International President Anthony Shelton and International Secretary-Treasurer David Woods — and to every officer, business agent, steward, and rank-and-file member who has carried the BCTGM through 140 years of struggle, mergers, mill closures, and victories at Nabisco, Kellogg's, and beyond: thank you. You have led this union through some of the hardest fights American labor has faced this century, and you are leading it into the next four years from Hollywood, Florida with a wave that nobody saw coming.
Has led the BCTGM through the Nabisco and Kellogg's strikes of 2021 — two of the most consequential industrial actions in modern American labor history — and built the AFL-CIO coalition that is now pressing Apollo Global Management on Maker's Pride / Hearthside workers' rights.
Above: President Shelton addressing the BCTGM Southern Region Convention — Chattanooga, Tennessee, 2024.
The financial steward of the BCTGM and the officer charged with issuing the Convention Call under Article III of the International Constitution. Brother Woods is the steady hand at the wheel as 1,000+ delegates and guests assemble in Hollywood for the 42nd Constitutional Convention.
Above: From left — Local 252G President Rob Eafen, Secretary-Treasurer David Woods, and Kenny Merritt of Local 50G — handbilling outside the Kellogg's plant in Belleville, Ontario, Canada.
The BCTGM on the line — and the labor movement standing with us.
Strike lines, handbills, and convention floors. These are the moments that built the union we're bringing to Hollywood.
BCTGM International Senior Vice President Zach Townsend (left) with Kevin Bradshaw, President of the Memphis & West Tennessee Central Labor Council (right), on the BCTGM Local 390G strike line against International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) — 2023.
BCTGM International Senior Vice President Zach Townsend (left) with AFL-CIO National Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond on the Local 390G IFF strike line — the federation showing up the way the federation is supposed to show up.
BCTGM International Representative Darrell Copeland standing strong with Local 252G members on the Kellogg's strike line in Memphis. BCTGM POWER is knowing you have strong leaders like Darrell to lead the way.
Convention Schedule
3 days, Hollywood, Florida. Full official schedule and resolutions posted at bctgm2026convention.org/schedule.
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
CONVENTION OPENS- ▸Opening Gavel — 42nd Constitutional Convention of the BCTGM
- ▸Welcome from International President Anthony Shelton
- ▸Roll Call & Credentials — International Secretary-Treasurer David Woods
- ▸BCTGM 140 — Honoring 140 Years of Solidarity
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
- ▸Resolutions Committee Reports
- ▸Industry sector sessions: Bakery & Confectionery · Grain Millers · Tobacco
- ▸Solidarity Sessions & Legislative Action
- ▸Convention Reception
Thursday, July 30, 2026
CLOSES- ▸Final Resolutions & Constitutional Amendments
- ▸Election of International Officers & Executive Board
- ▸Closing Address
- ▸Convention Concludes
From the Journeyman Bakers to UNION WAVE.
140 years of strikes, mergers, mill closures, and contract victories. Below are some of the most consequential moments. The complete archive lives on the official BCTGM 140 series.
Open the full BCTGM 140 archive- 1886
Founding of the Journeyman Bakers' National Union
Bakers across the United States organize their first national union — the foundation of what would become the BCTGM 140 years later. They take to the streets demanding the 10-hour day in some of the harshest industrial conditions in America.
- Early 1900s
Tobacco Workers Organize to Fight 'The Trust'
Tobacco workers organize against the monopoly power of the American Tobacco Trust — laying the groundwork for the Tobacco Workers International Union.
- 1930s
Grain Millers Break Through During the Great Depression
Grain millers organize during the worst economic collapse in American history — proving that even in lean times, a union is the only defense workers have.
- 1969
Bakery & Confectionery Workers Merger
The Bakery Workers International Union and the Confectionery Workers International Union merge — uniting two skilled trades that had shared a shop floor for decades.
- 1978
Tobacco Workers Join the Federation
The Tobacco Workers International Union merges with the Bakery & Confectionery Workers, broadening the union's reach across the food and tobacco industries.
- 1981
Solidarity Day & the PATCO Strike
BCTGM members march on Washington with hundreds of thousands of other union workers in response to President Reagan's firing of striking air traffic controllers — a defining moment of solidarity for the modern American labor movement.
- 1999
American Federation of Grain Millers Merge — BCTGM is Born
The American Federation of Grain Millers merges with the BC&T to form the BCTGM as it exists today — the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.
- 2008
Nabisco Strike — New York City
BCTGM members at the iconic Nabisco bakery in Queens strike against takeaways and outsourcing — an early warning of what would explode into a national fight a decade later.
- 2012-2014
Hostess Bankruptcy & the Twinkies Fight
Hostess Brands attempts to break BCTGM contracts in bankruptcy court. BCTGM members refuse the concessions. The company shuts down — and is later sold, restructured, and partially restored with BCTGM contracts. The fight defined what a union will and will not accept from a private-equity-stripped employer.
- 2013-2014
Kellogg's Lockout — 295 Days in Memphis
Kellogg Company locks out 226 BCTGM Local 252G members at the Memphis ready-to-eat cereal plant on October 22, 2013, after they refuse a contract that would have created a permanent two-tier wage system. The lockout lasts 295 days — one of the longest in modern American labor history. Led on the ground by BCTGM Local 252G President Kevin Bradshaw, with International support from then-Vice President Anthony Shelton, then-International Representative David Woods, and Senior Vice President Zach Townsend. The Memphis members hold the line through ten Memphis seasons of picket-line duty. The lockout ends when a federal court rules Kellogg's two-tier proposal was an unlawful mandatory subject of bargaining — and the Memphis local goes back to work on its own terms. The fight foreshadowed everything that came at Kellogg's in 2021.
- 2021
Nabisco / Mondelez Strike — 5 Weeks, 5 Cities
Over 1,000 BCTGM members strike Nabisco/Mondelez plants in Portland (OR), Chicago, Richmond, Norcross (GA) and a sales hub — fighting forced overtime, two-tier benefits, and the offshoring of American bakery jobs. Workers win.
- 2021
Kellogg's Strike — 11 Weeks, 4 Plants
1,400 BCTGM members at Kellogg's cereal plants in Lansing (MI), Battle Creek (MI), Omaha (NE), and Memphis (TN) walk out for 11 weeks against a two-tier wage system. After Kellogg's CEO threatened to permanently replace strikers, the country rallied behind the workers — and the contract was won.
- 2023
Local 390G Strike — IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances)
BCTGM Local 390G members strike International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF). The strike line draws national solidarity: BCTGM Senior Vice President Zach Townsend, AFL-CIO National Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond, AFSCME International President Lee Saunders, Memphis & West TN CLC President Kevin Bradshaw, and Local 252G President Rob Eafen all walk the line with 390G members. A reminder that the BCTGM never strikes alone — and that the federation shows up when one of its locals is in the fight.
- 2024-2025
Hearthside Foods / Maker's Pride / Apollo Fight
BCTGM, in coalition with the AFL-CIO and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, presses Apollo Global Management — owner of Maker's Pride (formerly Hearthside) — to address a 'growing list of unaddressed workers' rights violations' at the co-manufacturer that makes brands for Kellogg, Hershey's, General Mills, and Mondelez/Nabisco.
- 2026
BCTGM 140 — UNION WAVE
The 42nd Constitutional Convention of the BCTGM, held in Hollywood, Florida July 28-30 — under the theme UNION WAVE. 140 years on. The fight continues.
BCTGM Delegates — Sign The Pledge.
From the Memphis Kellogg's lockout to the Local 390G IFF strike, the BCTGM has carried more than its share of Southern labor fights. The South Got Something to Say is the movement pulling Southern workers, organizers, and allies into one room — and Hollywood is in the South.
Sign on. We'll send your local the keys to the platform.
Drop your name and we'll follow up after Hollywood with a one-pager on plugging your BCTGM local into the Labor Education platform — Four Pillars curriculum, Voter Hub fork, Sim access, certificate generator. No fee. No catch.
Share this page with anyone you meet at the 42nd Convention.
This QR code points to this exact page. Pull it up on your phone or print it for your badge — anyone who scans it lands right back here and can sign on.
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