Twilight for Twinkies? Hostess Workers Strike as Company Struggles

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I once bought a can of Maxwell House Coffee*** without*** “Good to the last drop …” and the little cup with the drop coming out on it. I felt culturally cheated of a tradition.

Now I will have to do without (and I haven’t heard this for a while since the advertising has been cut back I think):

WONDER BREAD: It builds strong bodies 12 ways!

They never said the 12 ways all at once that I remember. But hey.

That’sa lotta ways. Gimme sommathat Wonder Bread there!

And sommathem cupcakes too.

Gotta napkin?
 
Union workers strike even as their company is facing the prospect of going out of business!

Now, Thomas Frank wrote the book “What’s the Matter with Kansas” because he thought that we always vote against our own interests. Maybe he needs to write “What’s the Matter with Unions?”
 
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters have voted to accept the wage and benefit reductions which the company is demanding. However, the vote was surprisingly close, with a victory margin of 300 votes out of 4400 cast.
“This was a difficult decision,” Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall said in a prepared statement.
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“Our members are frustrated at being in the position to bail out the company again, but overall were willing to accept modifications with the hope that Hostess will recover and be in a better position in the years to come. At the end of the day, our members recognized that they can’t replace their pay and benefits in the non-union sector.”
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stltoday.com/business/local/teamsters-accept-hostess-concessions/article_35f4035a-feb4-11e1-ae86-0019bb30f31a.html

The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union is expected to vote next week.

In exchange for the wage and benefit cuts, the two unions will be given 25% of the company.
 
Dale_M said:
The company is in very bad straits.

consumerist.com/2012/10/11/to-preserve-the-brand-hostess-leaves-equity-owners-without-a-twinkie-to-show-for-their-investment/

The company clawed its way out of bankruptcy once before, back in 2009. But it might dissolve this time.
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Basically the workers have the choice of accepting the new lower pay rate or not having a job. Since they are union shop no one else can work there. Last I heard the union is adamant that the company go bankrupt and the jobs disappear.
 
SamH said:
Basically the workers have the choice of accepting the new lower pay rate or not having a job. Since they are union shop no one else can work there. Last I heard the union is adamant that the company go bankrupt and the jobs disappear.
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The company just announced that they will liquidate unless workers return by 5:00 pm today. Since the company entered bankruptcy no potential buyers have emerged.

I am not sure how much their plants and equipment are worth in an auction, but someone will be sure to bid on their trademarks. The Twinkie name will last as long as people want to eat them. Maybe Michelle Obama will buy the name and bury it as part of her anti-obesity campaign.
 
MtnDwellar said:
This story is not only about a lack of Twinkies, but also about a US company closing.

I searched for details about the contract offers and came up with nothing. I will guess that even with an 8% pay cut, the Hostess workers are still making more than the average wage.

Unions are quick to demand more when a company is profitable, but are always slow to take less when business slows down. It’s a shame. The workers are striking when unemployment is high. They are probably shooting themselves in the feet.
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There’s apparently more to the story then whats been described in this thread.

“While the company was demanding major concessions from union workers (wage and benefit cuts amounting to 27- 32% overall), the top ten executives of the company rewarded themselves with compensation increases, with one executive receiving a 300 percent increase.”

bctgm.org/2012/11/hostess-in-current-condition-because-of-failed-management/

How is that fair when your terminating pension contributions to your employees pension fund and demanding slashing salaries (which have already been slashed prior to this)? It should be a two-way street for both sides.
 
gamewell45 said:
There’s apparently more to the story then whats been described in this thread.

“While the company was demanding major concessions from union workers (wage and benefit cuts amounting to 27- 32% overall), the top ten executives of the company rewarded themselves with compensation increases, with one executive receiving a 300 percent increase.”

bctgm.org/2012/11/hostess-in-current-condition-because-of-failed-management/

How is that fair when your terminating pension contributions to your employees pension fund and demanding slashing salaries (which have already been slashed prior to this)? It should be a two-way street for both sides.
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My understanding is that the bankruptcy court set the wages.

If the union thinks it is so mismanaged they should buy it. Lots of profits for their retirement fund.
 
SamH said:
My understanding is that the bankruptcy court set the wages. .
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As I understand it, the company tells the bankruptcy court what it needs to continue business and the court rules on it. Increasing the top ten executives compensation to me while cutting employees benefits and pay doesn’t sit right with me and obviously not with the employees either.
SamH said:
If the union thinks it is so mismanaged they should buy it. Lots of profits for their retirement fund.
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Its quite possible that the company is already in such bad shape it might never be able to be a viable business. Obviously the executives made some very poor business choices over the years and now the employees (whether union or non-union) are paying for it. Not every union can likewise afford to purchase up businesses whose management has left by the trash barrel.
 
gamewell45 said:
As I understand it, the company tells the bankruptcy court what it needs to continue business and the court rules on it. Increasing the top ten executives compensation to me while cutting employees benefits and pay doesn’t sit right with me and obviously not with the employees either…
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The company presents a business plan on how they will be able to continue and the court approves it.

Considering the source it is not surprising they have mixed the stories and gotten it wrong (misleading). The exec wages the union is harping about came after the first bankruptcy - and doesn’t apply to this bankruptcy.
gamewell45 said:
Its quite possible that the company is already in such bad shape it might never be able to be a viable business. Obviously the executives made some very poor business choices over the years and now the employees (whether union or non-union) are paying for it. Not every union can likewise afford to purchase up businesses whose management has left by the trash barrel.
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Actually the “vulture capitalist” that the union is blaming lost the most. Their investment was paid out in wages and accounts payable - they get nothing back. As I stated if they think it was run so poorly they could buy the company and run it themselves. But I agree, the company is now probably well past any kind of recovery.
 
gamewell45 said:
As I understand it, the company tells the bankruptcy court what it needs to continue business and the court rules on it. Increasing the top ten executives compensation to me while cutting employees benefits and pay doesn’t sit right with me and obviously not with the employees either.

Its quite possible that the company is already in such bad shape it might never be able to be a viable business. Obviously the executives made some very poor business choices over the years and now the employees (whether union or non-union) are paying for it. Not every union can likewise afford to purchase up businesses whose management has left by the trash barrel.
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In banckrupcy court. Everyone is supposed to get a hair cut. So, there is a pallor of doubt over these proceedings. For the unions part. They have made concession, after concession to the company. Each time, the company has promised to reinvest. But, they divide the funds amongst themselves. This very same tactic is playing out all over the country.

Kudo’s to the workers for taking a stand!👍
 
Mickey_Finn said:
In banckrupcy court. Everyone is supposed to get a hair cut. So, there is a pallor of doubt over these proceedings. For the unions part.
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Basically all contracts are dissolved. It’s not, however, true that everyone gets a hair cut equally. Unless there is a preapproved bk, the courts normally use a pecking order that includes the top get satisfied first. Taxes, banks, bonders, preferred shareholders, and then common shareholders. (I forget where wage payables get placed.)

The system is ripe for abuse, however. After the repeal of Glass-Steagall, banks could invest money in other than loans. That means they could sell the common shares short (after an event like 9/11), exacerbating the panic, and then force a bk, collecting on their own loans and the short sell. And good luck to the bonders and employees if anything’s left. Great system, huh?
 
OK I need to know just exact what the real big fuss is over the loss of eating Twinkies?
Sure I’ve eaten a few of them before. No big deal nor is there a great difference from eating Little Debbies brand name Cloud Cakes, Twinkies biggest competitor.
I find that the food dye coloring in both brands give them a semi-bitter-sweet taste aside from the Cloud Cakes having more cream ratio than cake itself in comparison to the Twinkie
Yuch! terrible. Not a fan of either really.

If I’m really that hard-up craving a of sweet pastry type cake etc I’d far rather give my patronage to the American Franchise Dunken Donuts or the Canadian Tim Hortons Donuts.
Both retail specailty pastries aside from coffee and donuts.
 
And people wonder why I have such a dim view of Big Labor? It’s high time we started flipping the unions the bird and passed more right-to-work laws. I’m sick of these guys running companies into the ground.
 
Mickey_Finn said:
In banckrupcy court. Everyone is supposed to get a hair cut. So, there is a pallor of doubt over these proceedings. For the unions part. They have made concession, after concession to the company. Each time, the company has promised to reinvest. But, they divide the funds amongst themselves. This very same tactic is playing out all over the country.

Kudo’s to the workers for taking a stand!👍
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Oh yes, because fat union perks are more important than the company staying profitable so the workers can actually have a job to go to in the morning.

Big Labor has got to go!
 
torch621 said:
Oh yes, because fat union perks are more important than the company staying profitable so the workers can actually have a job to go to in the morning.

Big Labor has got to go!
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Big labor? What are you going on about?* I would take this moment to point out the Catholic Church supports the labor movement. So do I.*

The workers at hostess have given many concessions. only to see the money wasted.

ATB
 
Mickey_Finn said:
Big labor? What are you going on about?* I would take this moment to point out the Catholic Church supports the labor movement. So do I.*

The workers at hostess have given many concessions. only to see the money wasted.

ATB
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Big Labor, aka the foolish unions who only care about getting theirs at the expense of the company. Apparently, seeing that their members have jobs is less important than wages the company can no longer afford to give.

And do you honestly think the Catholic Church approves of a union threatening to drive the company into bankruptcy or out of business entirely because they feel it’s not enough to be paid $25 an hour to screw in light bulbs (to use a hypothetical), or the VIOLENCE committed by unions to further the union’s activities? Unions are not immune from criticism, and if you’re not going to criticize them, I will.

Pax.
 
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