Bye bye Twinkies. Union to blame?

[jdl xstar]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-1...er-strike.html

Not that I ate Hostess cakes much, perhaps once a year, I am still disturbed that a company such as this is going bankrupt. I'm still trying to find out if the union or management is to blame. My kneejerk reaction is to lay blame on the union since it was indeed their walk out that ultimately caused the company's demise but if management had conceded more, then maybe they would still be working. Not sure yet but I would think that those 18k people getting pink slips would rather be working than not just over some better benefits/slight raise, etc.

Anyone out there in a union who can relate to this situation?

Or if you don't want to opine on this subject, at least let us know which hostess cake was your favorite! Me? Twinkie.

[jdl xstar]

Hostess website statement:

Hostess Brands is Closed.

We are sorry to announce that Hostess Brands, Inc. has been forced by a Bakers Union strike to shut down all operations and sell all company assets. For more information, go to hostessbrands.info. Thank you for all of your loyalty and support over the years.

http://hostessbrands.com/Closing.aspx

[ttu]

yep!!

if you want to make them at home the tulsa world has recipe!

http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/default.aspx/17788

can you say obese!

[jdl xstar]

Hmmm.. stockpiling twinkies... Their shelf life is probably in the years so this may be a good idea. Or sell on ebay.

[mikeg205]

Stockpile twinkies, peanut butter, canned tuna and bottled water...

[bturner2]

From what I read the Teamsters settled but the bakery boys didn't. Also read that the Teamsters were not happy with their bakery brothers. Here in Michigan we have a term for this called Union Mentality. At it's worst it's a sense of entitlement that ends up bringing down the ship (think auto unions and all they did for that industry). It also has to do with pushing for more without end and protecting those that should not be protected (everyone here has a story about a drugged out drunk guy getting caught and the union saving his job).

Now that I have all the Union brothers hating me let me state that I truly believe that unions play a very important role and that without them a lot of people would be "owing their soul to the company store". All one need to do is look at the great Henry Ford and see how he handled the work force and the riots that ensued soon after (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Hunger_March) to see why unions can be a good thing. The problem is that there is never an end to demands, no way to quench the thirst for control and power unions wield.

In the end it all ends up being a balancing act. When unions are working correctly employees make a good living with fair benefits and wages. When they're out of balance you get this. A bunch of people out of work because they couldn't see past their own pride.

While I can't remember the last time I had one of their products I will miss the idea of them and will somehow relate this to the whole Obamanation of America. The land of false pride and entitlement.

[GoneBoatN]

Here's what I know of Unions. I grew up in Pittsburgh PA - truely a "Steel town" in its hay day. While in the beginning they were for unfair labor conditions (low wages, little to no medical, unsafe conditions, etc.) in the end it got to be too much of a good thing. I knew some steel workers who made almost as much money by not going to work as they did going to work because of their union benifits. They would hope to be call in to work a week so that they would then be laid off and get great benifits for the next several weeks. The end of the story is that there is not one single mill operating inside the city. Yes, there is a very big plant nearby. Not sure what the numbers are today but an interesting fact (from about 2000) was that while employing far fewer workers, the US steel industry produced more steel than ever before. I also was pretty disturbed by the fact that they imported quite a bit of steel for the new span of the SF Bay bridge from China.

So boy, would I like to be in a Union that protected my benifits and salary. Also, I would like to abolish the teacher's union so that the could get rid of a few of the really crappy teachers in our school system. That last comment is not to take away from all of the dedicated people who work in that profession.

[FrankSchwab]

I guess the nuclear option is always one approach to dealing with a labor strike. Seems a bit petty on the Company's side, but as far as I'm concerned it's an issue between Hostess and the Baker's Union, similar to a major layoff done in order to outsource production to another country.

The one I've been more pissed off by is Buckyballs.

Driven out of business by the CPSC over 22 injured children since 2009. There are probably more injuries than that from the forks kids use at dinnertime, much less cars, boats, dogs, tubs, pools, footballs, baseballs and bats, soccer, pencils, and projectile weapons. Ever been in front of a fully loaded high-power NERF gun?

/frank

[GoneBoatN]

Oh, you can get just as much calorie loaded food by going to your local baker and that supports the good folks who have started local businesses in your hometown.

[mikeg205]

Company was over-leveraged and all were at fault...management and unions...who suffers, the workers and the twinkie addicts...