112 replies to this topic

[Lord Method Man]

linsook, on 16 November 2012 - 17:09, said:

hostess brand is not going anywhere.... durrr. someone else will pick up the brand.

And hopefully hire non union labor.

[Jason Stillion]

Wonderbread sales have been declining for a long time. They use to be they iconic bread to buy but that's not been the case for a long time.

[Reacon]

Asrokhel, on 16 November 2012 - 13:20, said:

This is exactly how the TTC operates here in Toronto! Yet, if they are told they are not getting money, they go on strike until the City caves, and fares are raised to give them more money. Yet, the TTC spends the money on frivolous things, like doing the same track replacement for the streetcar on the same stretch of tracks two years [2000 & 2001] in a row.

Government programs have budgets, but they are not rewarded when they save money. If they do not use their budget, it gets reduced. As such, you see many government programs doing useless things with money.

[hagjohn]

Skyfrog, on 16 November 2012 - 16:47, said:

No need to stock up, Twinkies are not going anywhere. They'll continue to be produced and sold by whichever company buys them.

Probably but in the mean time, there won't be any in the stores because the factories are shut down.

[majortom1981]

Jdawg683, on 16 November 2012 - 13:56, said:

this is why Union's should be illegal. from their unwillingness to concede, 18.5k people are out of work. way to go.

as a reminder - businesses do not exist to serve employees. believe it or not, the business doesnt care about you. they exist to provide a product to the economy and make profit. making profit is their number one concern. Hostess was doing everything it could to stay afloat, but the Union did not understand this fact. they think the business should take care of them when that's not what businesses do. they provide employment to better serve, or expand, their scope and influence. that is all. you are not special.

as cruel as that sounds, it's the truth. i would LOVE to believe that businesses care about their employees. in reality, all that 'caring' is just HR stuff they have to do so they dont get sued.

Unions haven gotten you a lot of the things you think are normal. You know like 8 hour work days and getting any kind of lunch at all. Things like atleast getting one day off.

Go look at working conditions under Rockefeller and Carnegie and tell me you rather go back to that?

[Routerbad]

They can't hire replacement workers, the union wouldn't allow it.

jakem1, on 16 November 2012 - 12:57, said:

So you're advocating undermining workers rights so you can have junk food? Nice.

Workers have the right to strike, and businesses have the right to hire strikebreakers to replace them. It would be a violation of the business owners' rights to prevent them from doing as such.

They were already trying to go through chapter 11 to reorganize and cut costs, so I doubt they were able to afford to replace 1/3 of their workforce with scabs. They plan on selling all of their resources so twinkies most likely will just be spun off to another company.

[Lord Method Man]

majortom1981, on 16 November 2012 - 17:27, said:

Go look at working conditions under Rockefeller and Carnegie and tell me you rather go back to that?

We have these things called laws in place now to prevent that.

This is why I don't bother conversing with union people. You can't have any type of discussion on reining in union power without them claiming it would result in having 8 year olds working 14 hour days in the salt mines.

The workers threw a tantrum, now they're out of jobs. Sad they had to take the company down with them though.

[Charisma]

I hear Twinkies last forever anyway, so just stock up now, they'll still be good (well, not "good" in any useful sense of the word, but "the same as they are now") in 10 years

[majortom1981]

Lord Method Man, on 16 November 2012 - 17:45, said:

We have these things called laws in place now to prevent that.

This is why I don't bother conversing with union people. You can't have any type of discussion on reining in union power without them claiming it would result in having 8 year olds working 14 hour days in the salt mines.

The workers threw a tantrum, now they're out of jobs. Sad they had to take the company down with them though.

WHO GOT YOU THOSE LAWS?

Also I also like how you are IGNORING the fact that the company was in bankruptcy since January . Also the fact this is their 2nd bankrupty and 3rd owners

ALSO you blame the union when all execs got 80 percent raises in 2011.

[+Chris123NT]

warwagon, on 16 November 2012 - 16:07, said:

I learned about it via my Facebook feed. A bunch of fat chicks were complaining about it. They were saying how "they LOVE Twinkies and now they are going to be totally lost." ... or weigh a little less.

LOL exactly, I was coming in here to say oh no, now what will all the fat people eat?

Apparently fat people in canada are safe though lol.

[Lord Method Man]

majortom1981, on 16 November 2012 - 17:51, said:

WHO GOT YOU THOSE LAWS?

People 100 years ago.

Union shlubs of today have nothing to do with it. Now they just use union membership as an excuse to be lazy and greedy.

Enjoy unemployment now.

[majortom1981]

Lord Method Man, on 16 November 2012 - 17:54, said:

People 100 years ago.

Union shlubs of today have nothing to do with it. Now they just use union membership as an excuse to be lazy and greedy.

Enjoy unemployment now.

As the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy earlier this year, the then-CEO of Hostess was awarded a 300 percent raise (from approximately $750,000 to $2,550,000) and at least nine other top executives of the company received massive pay raises. One such executive received a pay increase from $500,000 to $900,000 and another received one taking his salary from $375,000 to $656,256.


So go ahead and lie to yourself stating it was the unions who closed everything down when the execs themselves did it. if your in bankruptcy how do you go from having a 700k a year salary to 2million a year salary ?

Also if its not for unions the laws would be repealed. Just look at whats happening in wisonsin. they took away womens rights to the same salary as a man.

http://www.thedailyb...-for-women.html

"The Equal Pay law wasn’t just about women—it also offered protection from discrimination based on race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors. But it was enacted largely in response to a large gap between men and women’s compensation, one that was worse than average in Wisconsin—in 2009 the state ranked 36th in the country in terms of workplace gender parity."

If they were able to afford giving the exec a 2 million dollar pay raise why couldn't they have just put that money towards their employees benefits or the modernization of the factories. The place it was supposed to go in the first place?

[seta-san]

muggerfugger, on 16 November 2012 - 12:45, said:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hostess Brands -- the maker of such iconic baked goods as Twinkies, Devil Dogs and Wonder Bread -- announced Friday that it is asking a federal bankruptcy court for permission to close its operations, blaming a strike by bakers protesting a new contract imposed on them.

The closing will result in Hostess' nearly 18,500 workers losing their jobs as the company shuts 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers nationwide. The bakers' union represents around 5,000.

Hostess will move to sell its assets to the highest bidder. That could mean new life for some of its most popular products, which could be scooped up at auction and attached to products from other companies.

"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," said CEO Gregory Rayburn in a statement.

The company had given a 5 p.m. ET deadline for the bakers to return to work or face a shutdown of the company. The unions at Hostess could not be reached immediately for comment on the decision.

Hostess filed for bankruptcy in January, its second trip to bankruptcy court since 2004. It previously emerged from restructuring in 2009 after a four-and-a-half year process.

The company is now controlled by a group of investment firms including hedge funds Silver Point Capital and Monarch Alternative Capital.

In September, one of its major unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, voted narrowly to accept a new contract with reduced wages and benefits. The bakers' union rejected the deal, however, prompting Hostess management to secure permission from a bankruptcy court to force a new concession contract on workers.

The new contract cut salaries across the company by 8% in the first year of the five-year agreement. Salaries were then scheduled to bump up 3% in the next three years and 1% in the final year.

Hostess also reduced its pension obligations and its contribution to the employees' health care plan. In exchange, the company offered concessions, including a 25% equity stake for workers and the inclusion of two union representatives on an eight-member board of directors.

http://money.cnn.com...ostess-closing/


NO!! i want my Twinky!! Damn protesters. I always wonder why companies just don't hire new workers to replace the ones on strike. People want the jobs. And i bet alot of the protesters would've rather of kept what they had than lose their job completely.

what's wrong. suddenly the effects of liberal institutions like unions are starting to sink in? They unions wanted it all and now everybody gets nothing.

majortom1981, on 16 November 2012 - 18:02, said:

As the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy earlier this year, the then-CEO of Hostess was awarded a 300 percent raise (from approximately $750,000 to $2,550,000) and at least nine other top executives of the company received massive pay raises. One such executive received a pay increase from $500,000 to $900,000 and another received one taking his salary from $375,000 to $656,256.


So go ahead and lie to yourself stating it was the unions who closed everything down when the execs themselves did it. if your in bankruptcy how do you go from having a 700k a year salary to 2million a year salary ?

Also if its not for unions the laws would be repealed. Just look at whats happening in wisonsin. they took away womens rights to the same salary as a man.

http://www.thedailyb...-for-women.html

"The Equal Pay law wasn’t just about women—it also offered protection from discrimination based on race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors. But it was enacted largely in response to a large gap between men and women’s compensation, one that was worse than average in Wisconsin—in 2009 the state ranked 36th in the country in terms of workplace gender parity."

If they were able to afford giving the exec a 2 million dollar pay raise why couldn't they have just put that money towards their employees benefits or the modernization of the factories. The place it was supposed to go in the first place?

on a company that size that amount of money is nothing. All that was was looting what was left of a mostly dead company.

Lord Method Man, on 16 November 2012 - 17:16, said:

And hopefully hire non union labor.

that only works in 'right to work states'.

[Newinko]

muggerfugger, on 16 November 2012 - 12:45, said:

The company had given a 5 p.m. ET deadline for the bakers to return to work or face a shutdown of the company. (...) The new contract cut salaries across the company by 8% in the first year of the five-year agreement.

Blackmailing and strong-arming employees into accepting drastically lower wages and pensions. How sweet!

[Shane Nokes]

FloatingFatMan, on 16 November 2012 - 13:35, said:

Twinkies are not food. At best, they're a collection of dodgy chemicals dipped in sugar. Good riddance to it, I say!

Shame about the jobs, though.

It's creme filled sponge cake. Have you ever even seen a Twinkie?