Salaries of the Bakers Union

Now, don’t hold it against me, but I’ve never eaten a Twinkie, and now I never will.

I do believe though I have eaten a Ho Ho or two.

It’s been all over the news that Hostess will have to shut its operations and lay off 18,5000 people.

On the night of November 15, 2012, Hostess Brands recognized a sufficient amount of employees had not returned from an ongoing strike to continue operations.

The company announced on Nov. 16, 2012 that it would be shutting down and filing bankruptcy. This decision comes after a nationwide strike of its employees under the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), initiated a nationwide strike that crippled the Company’s ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities. By Nov. 15th enough employees had not returned to work in order for normal business to resume. Hostess cited, “The BCTGM in September rejected a last, best and final offer from Hostess Brands designed to lower costs so that the Company could attract new financing and emerge from Chapter 11. In an effort to preserve assets the company is closing 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores throughout the United States.

This is going to hurt a LOT of families.

But, I thought you might like to see that the Union people won’t be hurting.

Found here

However, Frank Hurt, President of BCTGM says corporate greed is the reason Hostess Brands is forced to shut down:

Our members were aware that while the company was descending into bankruptcy and demanding deep concessions, the top ten executives of the company were rewarding themselves with lavish compensation increases, with the then CEO receiving a 300 percent increase.

Our members decided they were not going to take any more abuse from a company they have given so much to for so many years. They decided that they were not going to agree to another round of outrageous wage and benefit cuts and give up their pension only to see yet another management team fail and Wall Street vulture capitalists and “restructuring specialists” walkaway with untold millions of dollars.

Hostess Brands will always be a nostalgic reminder of childhood pleasures especially for kids growing up in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. The company’s Dolly Madison brand items often featured the Peanuts gang on the packaging, doubling the memories of days gone by.

Other reading here:
It’s not just the twinkies!