Hostess to close, lay off 18,500 after 'crippling' union fight

[Team Sergeant]

Sorry for your loss Dusty......

Hostess to close, lay off 18,500 after 'crippling' union fight
Published November 16, 2012
FoxNews.com

A small union's stubbornness in contract talks with Hostess is being blamed for the shutdown of one of America's snack food icons, the loss of 18,500 jobs just before the holiday season and much-needed tax revenue from hundreds of plants and shops across the country.

The privately-held company had reached a deal with the Teamsters, but a smaller union representing bakery workers refused to agree to concessions, prompting the mass layoffs and closing down of hundreds of plants, bakeries and delivery routes. That prompted harsh words from both the company and from Teamsters officials.

"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said in a statement. "Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders."

The company said it will continue to ship out its well-known products until inventory runs out.

The national strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) that began last week decimated the 82-year-old company’s ability to produce and deliver products at roughly 12 of its 33 plants. The company announced earlier in the week that the ax would fall on Friday if the strikers didn’t get back to work, but the union didn’t blink. BCTGM President Frank Hurt said Thursday that the crisis was the "result of nearly a decade of financial and operational mismanagement" and charged management was scapegoating workers to allow the Wall Street investors who own Hostess to sell.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/16...#ixzz2CPf1wU7O

[PSM]

"Ding Dong, the Ho-Ho's dead!"

I'm sure Moochelle is happy.

Pat

[Team Sergeant]

Brilliant work by the teamsters and other unions! How to vote yourself out of a job before the holidays.

Unions are attempting to take over Wal-Mart now. That should be fun to watch.

[JimP]

More evidence of the return of the feral liberal: they shit where they eat; they burn down their OWN houses when things don't go their way; and now they are killing their own jobs. Liberalism truly is a mental disorder. Too bad it is mass-afflicted as of late.

This is nothing....Atlas is Shrugging. You ain't seen nothin' yet!!!

[MtnGoat]

My Father was an Ironworker.. He loved to hate the Unions. Up north he hated those the most from what I remember.

[SF-TX]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

Brilliant work by the teamsters and other unions! How to vote yourself out of a job before the holidays.

Unions are attempting to take over Wal-Mart now. That should be fun to watch.

Surprisingly, the Teamsters had accepted concessions and were apparently imploring the Bakers Union to do the same.

The most interesting tidbit in the sad demise of Hostess is the fact that the Teamsters union ignored a strike by a fellow union and crossed the picket-line in a bid to save the company. The Teamsters, not exactly a shrinking violet, got a look at the company's books and realized the dire financial situation Hostess was in. They even implored the Bakers' Union, which called a strike, to accept wage concessions and get back to work. Alas, they didn't and now the company faces liquidation. The Bakers' Union ultimately accomplished what mere physics couldn't; they pushed the Twinkie past its sell-by date.

Link

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by SF-TX

Surprisingly, the Teamsters had accepted concessions and were apparently imploring the Bakers Union to do the same.

Yeah I read that but I'm sure it was the teamsters that made this strike a national strike.

Well dome teamsters.

[mark46th]

I wonder why they chose to shut down. I would have moved everything South of the border... Almost 20,000 jobs opening up in Mexico? Shit Howdy, er, Hola mierda....

[JimP]

You're going to see more and more of this in the next four years. If you haven't yet read it, go get a copy of ATLAS SHRUGGED, by Ayn Rand. It is spot-on. You'd think she wrote it with Obama in mind.

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by mark46th

I wonder why they chose to shut down. I would have moved everything South of the border... Almost 20,000 jobs opening up in Mexico? Shit Howdy, er, Hola mierda....

"Bimbo" probably would have hired Zetas to keep the competition out!

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

Yeah I read that but I'm sure it was the teamsters that made this strike a national strike.

Well dome teamsters.

I recall something along the lines of this in the 80's when Iacocca said to the UAW, "Look guys, I've got thousands of jobs at $18/hr - I've got NO jobs at $22. What do you want to do?"
That one came out differently, though.

I think NBC should send someone to get a human interest story from the poor oppressed union members.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Badger52

I recall something along the lines of this in the 80's when Iacocca said to the UAW, "Look guys, I've got thousands of jobs at $18/hr - I've got NO jobs at $22. What do you want to do?"
That one came out differently, though.

I think NBC should send someone to get a human interest story from the poor oppressed union members.

Geeeeez, did the Military ever have to buy a bunch of militerized Dodge trucks to keep that company afloat.

Probably still be able to find a few at some NG base out in the sticks.

[mark46th]

Bimbo is already up here. They bought out a Thomas's English Muffin facility a couple of miles away from me. Quieres unas galletas Gansita?

[44025]

Originally Posted by JimP

You're going to see more and more of this in the next four years. If you haven't yet read it, go get a copy of ATLAS SHRUGGED, by Ayn Rand. It is spot-on. You'd think she wrote it with Obama in mind.

great book. also check out Anthem as it relates to the current path were on.

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by mark46th

Bimbo is already up here. They bought out a Thomas's English Muffin facility a couple of miles away from me. Quieres unas galletas Gansita?

Bimbo Bakeries, USA*bought Sara Lee (and NObody doesn't like Sara Lee )so, maybe they'll buy up all the Hostess assets, too!

* They produce brands such as: Thomas (muffins), Arnold, Orowheat, Boboli, Entenmann's, EarthGrain, Mrs. Baird's, and Stroehman's... along with Sara Lee.)