Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) issued a statement today, responding to the sale of the iconic Twinkies brand.
 
In response to Metropoulos & Co. CEO C. Dean Metropoulos' statement to The Wall Street Journal that the company will not hire union workers when reopening four former Hostess Brands bakeries, BCTGM International President David B. Durkee issued the following statement on behalf of all BCTGM members:

UPDATE 04/29/2013: The death toll as of this morning stands at 377 and hundreds of people remain missing, reports The New York Times.  CNN reports that authorities have arrested six people: three factory owners, two government engineers and the owner of the building, Sohel Rana—a local-level leader of the ruling Awamil League— who was caught as he tried to flee the country.

More than 300 workers now have been confirmed dead from Wednesday’s building collapse in Bangladesh. Some 2,200 survivors have been pulled from the ruins of what is being called one of the worst manufacturing disasters in history. More than 3,000 garment workers were on the job when upper building floors pancaked on top of each other.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered the arrest of the building’s owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana, a local leader of ruling Awami League's youth front, who told factory operators the building was safe. Hasina also has ordered the arrest of five garment factory owners.

“The factory caught fire about 6 p.m. After the fire, they did not allow us to go out,” says Nazma. “They locked the gate. The workers were screaming together.”

Congress must fix “the glaring safety issues revealed in the wake of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) this week, as he introduced legislation to bring the nation’s mine health and safety laws up to date.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Daily Kos are taking action to stop the measure to cut Social Security benefits known as "chained" CPI. 

Take a moment to sign their petition to the U.S. Senate.

On Friday, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) introduced legislation that would effectively ban requirements that voters show some form of official identification in federal elections. Under the proposed law, voters without required identification would still be able to vote by signing a sworn affidavit that they are the person they represent themselves to be.

Pierce County [Wash.] Central Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Patty Rose was given the Joseph A. Beirne Community Services Award by the United Way of Pierce County, the highest honor the organization can bestow upon a labor leader. The award is given annually to the labor leader who best exemplifies a commitment to community service.

Sunday, April 28, marks Workers Memorial Day. In prayer services, vigils and other ceremonies around the nation, union members, workplace safety activists and community, faith and other allies will honor and remember workers killed and injured on the job, from the 15—including 12 first responders—killed in the recent West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion to the construction worker, store clerk and others who die on the job daily, but who we hear little about.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill Thursday night to eliminate furloughs to air traffic controllers. Today, the House also passed the bill, which now goes on to the president for his signature. The furloughs caused thousands of flight delays—with some reaching three hours—and public outcry is significant.

What youngster hasn’t had a thought or two about being a firefighter? And in a world where role models are sometimes hard to find, what kid doesn’t look up to the men and women who put their lives on the line, almost every day?

Recently in Erie, Pa., members of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 293 and Engine 8, 4th Platoon of the Erie Fire Department, hosted an open house for several dozen grade school students.