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FPOthePresident’s MessageHershey Victory: A Win for Every WorkerOn June 8th, over 2,700BCTGM members inHershey, Pa. won an importantvictory, not only for this union, but for theentire labor movement. These workers successfullystood up to North America’s number one confectionerycompany and told them they wouldnot accept the company’s proposal to shift morehealthcare costs onto the workers. The strikingworkers, who received tremendous support fromunions across the globe, stuck to their convictionsand endured the longest strike in companyhistory.Throughout the 44-day ordeal, we continuouslyheard about the changing nature of the workplace;about how workers had to accept responsibilityfor the rising cost of health care. That wasthe message coming from the company, and thecorporate community. Hershey’s proposal wouldhave shifted somewhere between half-a-millionand a million dollars in additional health carecosts onto the workforce in the first year, withescalating costs thereafter.But there was another message being heard,this one coming from the picket lines. It wentsomething like this: it is the workers who makeHershey products; it is the workers who havemade Hershey the household name that it is; it isthe workers who have made Hershey a safe beton Wall Street; and it is the workers who makeHershey a very profitable company. And theworkers were not going to fall victim to what theysaw happening, not only in their own company,but to most workers in the United States. Thesestriking workers understood that the declininglevels of employer-provided health coverage andparticipation in job-based plans threaten todestroy the American system of work-relatedhealth insurance.These courageous workers were not fightingsolely for their own benefits, but also to send amessage that unions are the last line of defensefor workers. If it was not for the union, thoseHershey workers would have to pay 25 percent oftheir health care costs. The small percentage ofworkers in this country that pay little or no healthcare costs, are mostly union members. Theirunions, like ours, has made it very clear that providinghealth care for employees is a cost of doingbusiness.This struggle has highlighted the good thatunions can do for working families. We read inthe newspapers that unions are obsolete and donot serve any practical purpose. We disagree. Foras long as there are workers, there will be a needfor them to be represented. As worker representatives,we are not against companies making aprofit; every worker takes pride in the performanceof their employer. But we cannot stand idlyby if that profit is gained to the detriment of theworkers. For that reason, the BCTGM remainsmotivated to ensure that all workers in our industrieshave representation.Frank HurtBCTGM International PresidentOfficial Publication of the Bakery, Confectionery, TobaccoWorkers and Grain Millers International Union10401 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington, Maryland 20895-3961(301) 933-8600www.bctgm.orgFrank Hurt, EditorCorrina A. Christensen, Assistant EditorBCTGM GENERAL EXECUTIVE BOARDPresident Frank Hurt • Secretary-Treasurer David B. Durkee • Executive Vice PresidentsJoseph Thibodeau • Larry Barber • Vice Presidents Jeanne Graham • Shawn J. Grimm •Harry A. Guildner • Anthony L. Johnson • Richard Johnson • Sean Kelly •Michael T. Konesko • Bobby Ray Mercer • Arthur Montminy •Robert Oakley • Randy Roark • Ronald D. Schreiber • T.J. WarrenBCTGM GENERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERSJoyce Alston • George Bolton, • Wayne Brewer • Edward Burpo • Randy W. Fulk •Lillian Gainer • Oscar B. Giles • Micheline Labrecque • Paul LaBuda • Richard Lewis •Narcisco Martas • Herbert W. Marx • Danny Murphy • Brad Schmidt •William Sprandel • Charles Taylor • Doyle TownsonBCTGM 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 additionalmailing offices. Subscription to new members only. Postmaster: Send address changes to BCTGM News, 10401 ConnecticutAvenue, Kensington, MD 20895-3961.2BCTGM News