The contemporary BCTGM was formed in January 1999 as a merger of the Bakery, Confectionery and Tobacco Workers' International Union and the American Federation of Grain Millers.

It was chartered by the American Federation of Labor in 1887, and soon extended its jurisdiction to cover the candy and ice cream industries, leading it to change its name.

On August 26, 2000, approximately 680 BCTGM workers began a strike against The Earthgrains Company (now a subsidiary of Bimbo Bakeries USA) at a plant in Fort Payne, Alabama.

[5] By August 31, 2000, the strike had spread to five other bakeries in Memphis and Chattanooga, Tennessee; Atlanta and Forest Park, Georgia; and Mobile, Alabama, where worker contracts had expired.

[7] On November 9, 2012, the BCTGM went on strike at bakeries operated by Hostess Brands, to protest contract changes forced upon its members by a bankruptcy court.

[10] The Teamsters Union had reached a deal with the Hostess, but BCTGM, representing bakery workers, refused to agree to concessions.

[15][16] Speaking to Vice's Motherland, 37-year employee and union steward Mark McCarter urged consumers to boycott Frito-Lay and Pepsi products for the duration of the strike.

[16] Starting on August 10, 2021, Nabisco employees from several bakeries and distribution centers across the United States went on strike over disagreements regarding new labor contracts with the company.