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DING DONGS

Did Unions Kill The Twinkie?

Strikes blamed for Hostess downfall

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by David Mark

Editor-in-Chief t

Image: AP

Hostess Brands says it is going out of business, closing plants that make Twinkies and Wonder Bread and laying off all of its 18,500 workers, USA Today reports. The Irving, Texas, company says a nationwide worker strike crippled its ability to make and deliver its products at several locations.

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Are unions to blame for the demise of the Twinkie?

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  • u
    stimpy
    !
    If the expiration date is the end of the world, then I guess they are fixing to expire next month. Hey , I get it now. The Myans were right, this is what they meant by the end of the world. No Twinkies. It's the apocalyps.
  • u
    EMS_Servant
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    Good luck, I tried to find a box of plain vanilla or just a double pack today and it seems nobody has them in stock. Tallahassee must be stocking up...
  • Keyjo
    !
    It's bullshirt. They are going to parcel out to various bakeries, restructure and hire non-union. Just like greedy capitalists always do. Did you notice how the boss made fun of pensions? "Do you think this is 1962!?", he says. What an a-hole. Yeah, the bottom line is all about reducing everyone to minimum wage and no benefits. Then they'll cry about so many people being on food stamps.
  • LGRepublican
    !
    Corporations are first and foremost responsible for maximizing shareholder equity. I'm sure the people who could lose their shirts on this investment could care less about some over paid union "worker" (and I use that term loosely). If they can restructure, bring the same quality product to the market while cutting costs and making investors money, I say more power to them!
  • Keyjo
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    @LGRepublican
    Oh right! Those who actually make the product, ship the product, are over paid. But of course the management isn't overpaid and the investor isn't over paid. Really hard work sitting behind a desk or in a hot tub with some hooker.
  •
    LGRepublican
    !
    @Keyjo Evidently THE OWNERS don't agree with you and after all, theirs is really the only opinion that matters. BTW, if this union's cause is so noble and just, why are the Teamsters criticizing them?
  • View all 72 replies >
  • u
    RobertJHarsh
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    I doubt they single-handedly killed the company, but they were a major factor considering they did not want to work to save the company and instead stayed on the picket line, forcing the company into liquidation. Now they'll complain "the rich owners closed the company on purpose to put people out of work". Most workers do not understand the logistics and issues a business owners or owners must deal with to keep a company open and running.
  • marine1
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    If it is so damn easy, why doesn't the union take it over, bring everyone back to work and give them all a 50% pay raise. I mean hell, they seem to think they know how it could be.
  • o
    Zoe2012
    !
    Oh yes, and add in Obama and the democrats! I am more upset about Zingers no longer being available. How stupid can 18,500 people be? Oh well, now they can go work at a car wash, thrift store or even a nursing home as an nursing assistant.
  • u
    RobertJHarsh
    !
    Zingers are the best. I guess I had better hit the store and buy up all that stuff just in case someone doesn't buy the company and move all the operations to China.
  • o
    Zoe2012
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    @RobertJHarsh I agree, will have to run to Walmart, Kroger and Giant Eagle. I will buy all of the Zingers and put them in the freezer!
  • DerivePI
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    Public Unions will go nowhere but up. Today's politicans promise tomorrows pensions that our children get to pay.
  • Thunderchicken
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    @DerivePI

    Till the city (county, state or country) can no longer borrow. When that happens the lender is in control and tomorrows pensions may be worthless.
  • DerivePI
    !
    @Thunderchicken its happened with several towns/cities but not states and never the fed. Trying to find out which states were bailed out but cant find a source.
  • Thunderchicken
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    @DerivePI

    There's a first time for everything. No one can possibly think that IL. or CA. are able sustain their spending and remain solvent. If the citizenry of whatever jurisdiction allow their elected reps to drive them deep enough in debt, sooner or later they'll find their limit. I pity the citizens when that happens because they're on the hook for their reps irresponsibility.
  • u
    Hireman
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    @jessejaymes When the employer goes out of business, they don't look at strike as a final status -- it's only a negotiation tactic. These strikers will get unemployment, just like the management they faced off against.
  • jessejaymes
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    @Hireman While the strike was on they don't get unemployment. If the company is in fact going out of business (and the bankruptcy court still has to allow this) THEN at that point they get unemployment.
  • u
    tomincali
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    i seen the same thing happen to a couple of local cotton oil companies in my area.the unions refused to take cuts even with the companies falling apart,now those companies sit vacant and all those union workers are out of a job.
  • Thunderchicken
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    I saw the same thing with union warehouse workers in St. Louis. The union wanted more than warehouse owners could pay. The result was a lot of warehouses were shuttered for a long time.
  • u
    tomincali
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    @Elliotsreport that oil is in all sorts of things,from sardines to cooking oil and salad oil.

    those companies also used to take the rest of the cotton stuck on the seeds off and bail it then the hulls were used for livestock feed, those seeds were worth more than the cotton itself. between having to compete with cheap imports after nafta then had the unions refused to take a pay cut so they could stay open.
  • u
    tomincali
    !
    @tomincali i do look for another company to step up. alot of folks like those products so a new owner could start it back up,kind of like those companies who started making the older candies some of us grew up with.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @tomincali
    I'd seen it mentioned on food products but wanted more info. Thanks for proving it. Sounds from your answer that the real problem was Nafta, and corporate outsourcing for cheaper labor, or importing cheaper cotton oil, which put pressure on the company to cut cost...
  • View all 9 replies >
  • u
    Realthinker
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    Hostess has liabilities of $1.4 billion dollars and has apparenty already tried to sell itself to 9 other companies. In this economy, I can't imagine any company wanting to take on such massive debt, especially when you combine the debt with a declining market for their type of snack foods. I think the union made a huge mistake in thinking a buyer would come along and honor their current contract.

    http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/954c5b8c-2ff0-...
  • LGRepublican
    !
    Absolutely they're to blame. Let's see, why don't we go on strike and cripple the company that employes us, causing them great financial harm, all the while refusing to consider concessions that would allow them to keep their jobs and keep the company open. Talk about cutting off one's nose to spite their face. Typical union mentality. Hey former Hostess employees, how's that non-job making current wages working out for ya? Bet that pay cut and HAVING A JOB looks pretty good now.
  • Keyjo
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    Do you suppose management was willing to take a pay cut? Incidentally, you mentioned investors, but Hostess is a private company. They have been in and out of bankruptcy since 2004. Makes you wonder if it wasn't simply poor management. Or maybe this union is just a scapegoat for them wanting to quickly liquidate.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostess_Brands
  • LGRepublican
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    @Keyjo Just because a company is private doesn't mean there aren't numerous investors or shareholders. My guess is that if they've been trouble since 2004, it has a lot to do with constantly having higher labor costs than their non-union competitors.
  • Keyjo
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    @LGRepublican
    Well, if there are numerous investors or shareholders, then they can't just suddenly liquidate the company, now can they?
    My guess is just poor management. Hostess is one of the largest, if not THE largest bakery in the country. They don't have that much competition. Plus, I'll bet they bake a lot of the generics.
  • Denizen_Kate
    !
    @Keyjo - Poor management, and perhaps a better-informed consumer who reads labels. Hostess is not famous for making healthy foods, and most of us are at least trying to eat better.

    That said, I'm going to stock up before they're all gone. ;-)
  • View all 9 replies >
  • DARSB
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    The thing about questions concerning unions and owners is that they tend to ignore the bargaining process. Both parties negotiate the union contract and both agree to its terms. If the company is unable to meet obligations it has agreed to then I'd assume that's a management deficit, not the result of diabolical maneuvers by a shop steward.
  • Bobolinsky
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    @DARSB-- What does that have to do with the management of Hostess throwing up its hands? They'll find jobs somewhere else without all the union headaches. I mean, it's not like the management is a behemoth named "Corporation". The unions don;t show up for work? The people who work in management decide to find work elsewhere and leave the building to be auctioned off?

    No people? No corporation. Liquidation.
  • KoolD
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    If you are a Dem it is Bush's fault. So all Obamites repeat your Mantra, Bush's Fault, Bush's Fault. Unions good. Twinkies Bad. Sorry Woody no more Twinkies.
  • mimi57
    !
    Yes, Unions started out with a good and useful cause, now they are more a part of the problem instead of the solution, and have been since they've been taken over by mobsters.. in NY. and NJ., they were turning non union
    utility trucks away, despite the fact millions were out of power. That's what they do, they "bully" their way into
    plants and factories, bully the companies, and bully the employees who have to join them, even when they do
    not want to join, take their union dues and get paid big bucks to do nothing but use "thuggery" in the guise of
    "helping" the workers. In the mean time factories will close because they can go elsewhere where 'thugs' are not
    welcomed.
  • o
    hertz_doughnut
    !
    Top stories? War imminent in middle east as no one respects Obama would be a better title. As a middle aged man I only care that Twinkies filling contains minoxidil.
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