Twilight for Twinkies? Hostess Workers Strike as Company Struggles

[BroomWagon]

Also, the Bakers went on strike, this would seem to mean others not in the strike get stiffed of jobs.

 

[tomarin]

It is possible that the disappearance of the Hostess Potato Chips brand is what allowed the maker of Twinkies to rename themselves Hostess Brands a few years ago.

Gee, Dale, is there any minutae on any subject matter that you don’t have at your fingertips? You’re a veritable walking Wikipedia. Sir, I am in awe.

 

[Cider]

Also, the Bakers went on strike, this would seem to mean others not in the strike get stiffed of jobs.

There are multiple unions at the company. Only the Bakers union did not come to an agreement with management, the others did. Sadly the Bakers are going put all the workers out of work.

 

[SamH]

I don’t complain about the current players because they have their own union that has collectively bargained for their pay and benefits. It is the NFL owners that have grabbed the cash and ran while leaving retired players to face debilitating injury and paying low wages to the concession workers. It is shameful to see how those workers and retired players are treated while watching the owners pocket billions and continue to complain about how they aren’t making enough.

Make as much money as you want, just don’t stomp on the needs and rights of others while you do it.

So it would be OK if the CEOs had a union?

 

[SamH]

There are multiple unions at the company. Only the Bakers union did not come to an agreement with management, the others did. Sadly the Bakers are going put all the workers out of work.

That should make them very popular with the Teamsters.

 

[SVP]

Twinkies…designed to survive a nuclear blast but not this economy. Seems the union traded an 8% pay cut for 100%.

That is it in a nutshell. The unions are playing hardball with employers who might want to scale back and survive. The union position seemed to be no surrender even if it means losing 18000+ jobs in one shot.

Perhaps union workers should rethink what exactly it is that their union really does for the worker. It isn’t always in the best interest of the worker.

Hostess would have likely had to shut down production within a year anyway. The unions just pushed the decision to the week before Thanksgiving. How’s that union turkey taste?

 

[irishpatrick]

That is it in a nutshell. The unions are playing hardball with employers who might want to scale back and survive. The union position seemed to be no surrender even if it means losing 18000+ jobs in one shot.

Perhaps union workers should rethink what exactly it is that their union really does for the worker. It isn’t always in the best interest of the worker.

Hostess would have likely had to shut down production within a year anyway. The unions just pushed the decision to the week before Thanksgiving. How’s that union turkey taste?

I expect the company to close and then reopen in a different country. That country will get the jobs, and the Twinkies will just be imported into the USA, perhaps for a lesser price too. See a pattern yet?

Americans want $100 DVD players, and they also want a very good wage to build them. Yet, the two often do not go together. If we want American made DVD players, then we need to be ready to pay 3-4 times as much.

Americans want perfect prices and great wages, and they want it built in the USA so the jobs stay here.

 

[ChemicalBean]

Perhaps union workers should rethink what exactly it is that their union really does for the worker. It isn’t always in the best interest of worker.

I’m sure they think long and hard about striking. It seems many people here don’t actually know that collective bargaining is a very American, very democratic, institution.

The union elects (yes, elects) itself into existence in accordance with law. It elects leaders to represent the membership and run the organization. Those elected leaders negotiate the terms of labor with corporate representatives in order to hammer out a contract that will be acceptable to the membership. The individual members vote to accept or reject that contract. If rejected, the leadership takes this vote back to the negotiating table. It is only when this process has totally broken down, and the membership has usually been without contract by some agreed-upon date, that a union can strike. A strike, a legal bargaining tool, is only as good as its ability to bring the company back to negotiations because it has been hit where it hurts: the bottom line. A strike is both initiated and ended by the democratic majority vote.

Most people today, unfortunately, don’t realize that when they work, they are in business to profit for themselves and their families. When you sign any work contract, union or not, you sell your labor (time, skills, knowledge, industry) for some agreed-upon price. The employer, then, is the consumer of your labor. And just as they are free (within constraints of the law) to shop around, you the producer of labor, are not obligated to sell your labor at a loss. Just as it is within the interests of United and American Airlines to offer pretty much the same prices and service levels on similar flights (so as to cover their operational expenses and hope to profit), it is likewise within the interest of the worker to sell the same work for the same price (so as to psy for one’s past/current/future costs of living and to accumulate wealth).

The takeaway: If a union votes to strike, they have weighed the costs and decided that the cost of lost work is less than the long-term cost of a bad contract. It’s a capitalism thing.

 

[BroomWagon]

Glad we all know that Unions require ID for any of their elections! But our nation doesn’t in much of the country. .

 

[JimG]

Glad we all know that Unions require ID for any of their elections! But our nation doesn’t. .

But do they have a secret ballot, like the rest of the country?

 

[ChemicalBean]

But do they have a secret ballot, like the rest of the country?

Actually, yes. Under current regulation by the NLRB, it is done by secret ballot. In the current climate it is quite difficult to organize, given the legal waiting periods which allow time for employers to intimidate and “educate” employees. But the justice and merits of that system vs. card-check is worthy of another thread.

 

[simple_soul]

I thought I heard that this was actually the second bankruptcy that Hostess was in?
Anyone know for sure if this is true?

 

[iloveangels]

I thought I heard that this was actually the second bankruptcy that Hostess was in?
Anyone know for sure if this is true?

Yes, it was. They went through bankruptcy and reorganized just a few years ago. They just could not afford to keep the doors open any more this time.

 

[iloveangels]

I’m sure they think long and hard about striking. It seems many people here don’t actually know that collective bargaining is a very American, very democratic, institution. …

The takeaway: If a union votes to strike, they have weighed the costs and decided that the cost of lost work is less than the long-term cost of a bad contract. It’s a capitalism thing.

Tried to bleed it dry and they killed it. Nice job. :whacky::whacky::whacky:

It’s a capitalism thing, all right. Can’t run a business that doesn’t cover costs. Ever think of that?

 

[simple_soul]

Yes, it was. They went through bankruptcy and reorganized just a few years ago. They just could not afford to keep the doors open any more this time.

From what I also heard the employees took a half cut in pay as part of that restructuring…is that true too?

 

[iloveangels]

From what I also heard the employees took a half cut in pay as part of that restructuring…is that true too?

People don’t go through bankruptcy court for their edification and amusement.
If business is down, business is down. They’re going out of business. It happens.

 

[ProVobis]

If business is down, business is down. They’re going out of business. It happens.

Most companies eventually go out of business. How many depression era companies are still around? And if they are, how many sell the same product or have the same name? Even banks are into oil and other stuff these days.

 

[simple_soul]

People don’t go through bankruptcy court for their edification and amusement.
If business is down, business is down. They’re going out of business. It happens.

*I thought businesses were into making money,…and from the income that the executives were making, if the figures shared earlier are accurate, obviously the company was making money…so why was it not able to make ends meet…pay there bills and pay their employees a descent wage? That is a question I would like to see get answered…

The other questions and I believe some of the other posters have already brought it up is why did the union, if they are there for the employee, allow this company to be run like this? If the Union is supposed to be “protecting” the interests or welfare of the employee to ensure they are not taken advantage of why was their wag ever cut in the first place?*

 

[gamewell45]

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.

The company ran the business into the ground; remember the executives are the ones calling the shots. Obviously over the years, the executives made some very poor decisions and as a result both union and non-union employees suffered. You need to at least spread the blame out equally. The union had made numerous concessions over time so one cannot pin the blame solely on them…

 

[oldcelt]

The company ran the business into the ground; remember the executives are the ones calling the shots. Obviously over the years, the executives made some very poor decisions and as a result both union and non-union employees suffered. You need to at least spread the blame out equally. The union had made numerous concessions over time so one cannot pin the blame solely on them…

If it is still possible for Hostess to be profitable, the workers may be the ones to but the assets. It has happened before.