Union Wins! Hostess Out of Business

[moreluck]

Union Workers Bleed Company Dry…

Union: 'Bain-style' killing of Twinkie - Kevin Cirilli - POLITICO.com

 

[texan]

Yes they are

Not all are Teamsters. There is the Bakers Union also involved.

I "heard" sorry I have not looked it up, that the Teamsters agreed with the terms, but the
Bakers Union said no, they chained the doors today.

I also did not read the thread, as I should, start to here.

I am also very sad, and will admit I have not eaten their product for over 35 years maybe.

American Icon, 20,000 people out of work. I mourn for this.

 

[The Other Side]

Hostess is just another victim of VENTURE CAPITALISM.

Plain and simple. Kill the company, sell it off at a profit.

Peace

TOS

 

[CaptainObvious]

Hostess is just another victim of VENTURE CAPITALISM.

Plain and simple. Kill the company, sell it off at a profit.

Peace

TOS

I may not agree with the majority of TOS's post but in this instance I do.
It wouldn't have mattered if the workers went on strike or not. Hostess was doomed either way.

 

[over9five]

Hostess is just another victim of VENTURE CAPITALISM.

Plain and simple. Kill the company, sell it off at a profit.

Peace

TOS

BS.
Hostess died because its management team never adjusted for a changing market. They kept making junk food that people were eating less and less of.
Perhaps if they had re-tooled their company to make healthy snacks, they may have survived.

 

[trickpony1]

30+ years of "Venture"?

 

[bluehdmc]

If you want to call the truth "talking points" so be it. I'd imagine that snack food market is not one of huge margins, and in fact they are probably slim margins which have gotten slimmer over the years. The employees could have given their company a little breathing room to get back to good financial health, but they decided against it. Now 18,500 workers are out of a job.

It makes a nice sound bite for FAUX news to say it's all the unions fault, this is from Yahoo Finance/The Atlantic:
In short: the smart money guys larded Hostess with too much debt and never figured out a real plan for fixing its business. And they're going to lose their investments as a result.
As far as the unions go: You can blame them for not making enough concessions. You can blame the bakers for administering the final death blow. But you can't blame them for management's strategic incompetence, or the decision to try to run a flailing company on debt, hope, and empty calories.
There's more than enough blame in this story for everyone involved to have a taste.

The bakers union also said the CEO's wages were outrageous.

I think the baker's union had had enough cuts/concessions.

 

[pickup]

Hostess is just another victim of VENTURE CAPITALISM.

Plain and simple. Kill the company, sell it off at a profit.

Peace

TOS

Tos has a good point.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Hostess is just another victim of VENTURE CAPITALISM.

Plain and simple. Kill the company, sell it off at a profit.

Peace

TOS

BS.
Hostess died because its management team never adjusted for a changing market. They kept making junk food that people were eating less and less of.
Perhaps if they had re-tooled their company to make healthy snacks, they may have survived.

I agree with you Over. No doubt this played a big part in the demise of this company. But I honestly think had the workers there conceded to give back concessions to the company it would have only been a temporary fix. They took cuts back in 2004 when the company filed for bankruptcy and Upper management lined their pockets with it. I wouldn't have taken the bait again either.
I thought this article was a good non-biased analogy of Hostess' problems.
http://m.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/11/whos-to-blame-for-the-hostess-bankruptcy-wall-street-unions-or-carbs/265357/

 

[pickup]

It makes a nice sound bite for FAUX news to say it's all the unions fault, this is from Yahoo Finance/The Atlantic:
In short: the smart money guys larded Hostess with too much debt and never figured out a real plan for fixing its business. And they're going to lose their investments as a result.
As far as the unions go: You can blame them for not making enough concessions. You can blame the bakers for administering the final death blow. But you can't blame them for management's strategic incompetence, or the decision to try to run a flailing company on debt, hope, and empty calories.
There's more than enough blame in this story for everyone involved to have a taste.

The bakers union also said the CEO's wages were outrageous.

I think the baker's union had had enough cuts/concessions.

no like button available for your post for some reason, but you said pretty much(and probably better than) what I was going to say

 

[MenInBrown]

Hostess has been attempting to bust the union for over two years. They wanted to lower pay and benefits and eliminate health care, you know, what ALL REPUBLICAN business owners would like to do across this country.

The union chose this fight and did what they could do to stand up to this company. The company has chosen to hurt the american workers and BK the plants and shut them down.

Yes, the workers will lose this battle, but the owners of this company will show the country that they do not care about american workers.

Peace

TOS

Its called BANKRUPTCY...the reason a company wanted to lower pay is because they had no money...just shows ignorance on behalf of their union workers...As far as eliminating healthcare, UPS is gonna be doing that as well. I know its hard for you to understand, but a business that cannot make money does not stay open. So in this case it was the American Worker who hurt the plant and shut it down. Hostess is not in the business of handouts, thats Obama!

 

[moreluck]

"BS.
Hostess died because its management team never adjusted for a changing market. They kept making junk food that people were eating less and less of.
Perhaps if they had re-tooled their company to make healthy snacks, they may have survived...." (Over)

Apply this same thinking to G.M. They didn't adjust to the changing market. Everyone wanted economical cars, electric, small, etc.

G.M. continued to build the monsters....Suburbans, Tahoes and trucks. Then along came the gov't to rescue them.

So, the gov't doesn't want to be in the "snack business"? Why aren't they running to rescue the Twinkie too ????

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

As I understand it the Teamsters agreed to the concessions but the Bakery Union did not.

 

[Brownslave688]

As I understand it the Teamsters agreed to the concessions but the Bakery Union did not.

And what does this add to the conversation?

 

[menotyou]

 

[The Other Side]

Its called BANKRUPTCY...the reason a company wanted to lower pay is because they had no money...just shows ignorance on behalf of their union workers...As far as eliminating healthcare, UPS is gonna be doing that as well. I know its hard for you to understand, but a business that cannot make money does not stay open. So in this case it was the American Worker who hurt the plant and shut it down. Hostess is not in the business of handouts, thats Obama!

Its becoming clearer and clearer that you get your opinions from Limbaugh instead of from actual circumstances. This fight has been going on for a while, and the venture capitalist who invested in Hostess years ago bought the existing debt, created MORE and took the company straight down the tubes in order to sell each unit of the company to another company at a huge profit.

THE BK will merely out the employees along the way.

The executives involved with hostess will eventually end up with one of the units at the new company.

A win win for the board and the vultures who did this.

Peace

TOS

 

[The Other Side]

"BS.
Hostess died because its management team never adjusted for a changing market. They kept making junk food that people were eating less and less of.
Perhaps if they had re-tooled their company to make healthy snacks, they may have survived...." (Over)

Apply this same thinking to G.M. They didn't adjust to the changing market. Everyone wanted economical cars, electric, small, etc.

G.M. continued to build the monsters....Suburbans, Tahoes and trucks. Then along came the gov't to rescue them.

So, the gov't doesn't want to be in the "snack business"? Why aren't they running to rescue the Twinkie too ????

What is there to save?

Its JUNK FOOD. I havent bought one of those products in probably that last 20 years and my kids dont eat that junk either.

The hostess products are NOT DEAD. They will be sold separately to another bakery outfit and produced by a new company. Dont R.I.P. the twinkie just yet.

Give it some time for the venture capitalist to sell off each unit moreluck.

Peace

TOS

 

[Babagounj]

Hostess Brands, the company better known as the maker of Butternut, Ding Dongs, Dolly Madison, Drake’s, Home Pride, Ho Hos, Hostess, Merita, Nature’s Pride, and of course Wonder Bread and Twinkies .

[h=1]Teamsters Cross Picket Line, Fail to Save Twinkie[/h]
[h=2]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.[/h] Hostess said its wind down would mean the closure of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores in the United States.
The Bakers' Union only represented around 30% of the company's total workforce. All other workers had already accepted wage concessions and changes to the company's work-rules. 70% of the workforce accepted pay cuts of around 4% over five years. Given the general state of the economy, that seems very modest and would have allowed the company to continue operating. But, the Bakers' Union instead went on strike, without even offering counter-demands. As a result, they have forced 100% pay cuts on all employees.

? Who will save this company ? Who should ? bhos or Bain ?

 

[moreluck]

What is there to save?

Its JUNK FOOD. I havent bought one of those products in probably that last 20 years and my kids dont eat that junk either.

The hostess products are NOT DEAD. They will be sold separately to another bakery outfit and produced by a new company. Dont R.I.P. the twinkie just yet.

Give it some time for the venture capitalist to sell off each unit moreluck.

Peace

TOS

I never buy guacamole !!! Ever !!!!! Should we do away with it?

Lots of people bought Hostess products against their doctor's orders. Just because you didn' tbuy them........what's so special about you??

Archie Bunker had Twinkies packed in his lunchbox lovingly by Edith every day!!!!

Don't worry, Mooch, the anti-fat first lady wouldn't allow Brack to touch a Twinkie or a Ho-ho or a Snowball..... He's a ding-dong guy!!!

 

[wkmac]

Twinkies are gone and it's the fault of everyone.