It is a sad day in snackdom. It was announced today that Hostess, the makers of the famous Twinkie, Ding Dong and Wonder Bread has filed a motion in Bankruptcy Court to close their doors and sell off all their assets. The unionized workers at 33 plants across the nation walked off their jobs and started picket lines due to disagreements on medical costs and pension cuts. Hostess filed for bankruptcy for the second time siting increasing pension and medical costs for it's 18,000 workers. The company, founded in 1930, is fighting battles beyond labor costs,
however. Competition is increasing in the snack market, while Americans
are increasingly conscious about healthful eating. Hostess also makes
Dolly Madison, Drake's and Nature's Pride snacks. There you go, I knew all of this healthy eating crap would eventually end in disaster. No wonder our economy is in the Ding Dong. Before you know it Tasty Cake and Coke will go belly up.
In reality, the big reason Hostess is shutting the doors is due to the insane thinking of the unions. There are several unions such as The Teamsters, The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. No wonder they are in deep trouble. If one union wasn't enough, there are at least three tugging on the financial coat tails of this once profitable company. Wedrick Hollingsworth, business agent for Local 372-B of the bakers
union, said union members took wage and benefit concessions four years
ago and are unwilling to accept further wage cuts and reductions in
health and pension benefits sought by the company. "It's just too much
for these employees to accept. We gave concessions four years ago." John
Smith, a wrapper operator at the plant who has worked for Hostess for
22 years, said he's at peace with his decision to join the strikers.
"You have to take a stand for what you believe in. They gave us a
take-it-or-leave-it deal. We can't take the financial abuse." Hollingsworth, warmly dressed in coveralls and a hooded sweatshirt, said
union members would man the picket line outside the plant
round-the-clock. Workers erected a tent and were burning wood fires in
two grills to help stay warm.
What always baffles me is that these idiotic unions think that by going on strike and forming 24 hour picket lines they can change the mind of a company like this so they can get exactly what they want. No dice Devil Dog! Instead of making a few more concessions, these pin heads would rather lose their jobs in a bad economy where jobs are scarce. They would rather latch onto the teat of the system to collect unemployment for 2 years plus than to go back to work and take a small financial hit. Great way to think you morons. The union workers will follow their leaders to the ranks of unemployment like a heard of Lemmings to the cliff. Do Lemmings actually travel in a heard or is it a pack or a pod or a gaggle? The bottom line here is the Hostess Company cannot stay in business without it's workers making a few more concessions. Since the unions are unwilling to budge, the company will close it's doors and the Twinkie will become a thing of the past. The Smithsonian staff is now looking for one to put into their museum. The once famous Wonder Bread will no longer be the bread of choice when people storm the shelves before a snow falls. No more Ding Dongs because of the union Ding Dongs. As of today, Twinkie The Kid will be riding off into the sunset.
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