Omg! Twinkies Are On Their Death Bed.

[Shamu]

Hostess Foods filing for bankruptcy. Could it be the end of the Twinkie?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jKw6xX6Ztc

[7Toes]

yes i seen the news no more twinkies it time to end it all

Edited November 16, 2012 by 7toes_ky

[DramaLlama]

gotta love unions...........

 

 

time to stock up on Hostess snack foods.

Edited November 16, 2012 by DramaLlama

[deerejon]

Jennifer Joyce is quite the Twinkie...yum....

 

Dont eat twinkies but would make an exception....

 

I will miss wonder bread though.....

[PimpedOutPete]

Lol well, the ones on the shelf are designed to last til 2023... So don't worry, there will still be a few at your local truck

K stop...lol

[HarryWeezer]

A business is suffering because of the economy in part, but also because it can't afford union compensation. But rather than take any cuts in compensation to keep themselves employed, to keep food on the table, the union workers walk. And so now, they are out of a job. Good!!

Sadly, two-thirds of Hostess employees are non-union, and they, too, are out of a job.Typical.

[Robdiego]

better less sweets instead of more and more unacceptable loans.

twinkie is a product of hostess brands, owned by a group of investmentfirms.

total revenue´08 was 2,7 bln $.....if they really wanted to go on, they could just shrink.

but they declare bankrupcy so that the investors could sell all assets for a cheap and fast dollar for the last quarter.

because they dont give a shit

 

never ever undermine a union pls. one of a few tools to raise your voice as a worker/citizen.

 

peace

[Shamu]

never ever undermine a union pls. one of a few tools to raise your voice as a worker/citizen.

 

peace

 

First understand that I am a retiree of the United Auto Workers union just so you do not think I am coming from a biased position. I also served as an elected union official.

 

Very often unions are their own worst enemy through restrictive job classifications and even the seniority system which allows drones to continue to work while more competent union members are laid off.

 

Unions are not without fault in jobs leaving this country for more a more favorable economic position.

 

Unions members need to realize that the company must make money and must remain competitive with non union or foreign competition. Until the two sides realize they need each other to succeed we in the U.S. will continue to lose work to non union shops and foreign competition.

 

A good start would be opening the books for a fair and honest review of the companies competitive position, in it's industry, prior to contract negotiations or demands.

 

And don't even get me started on public service employees who hold students and the general public hostage with their demands.

 

PS; I would add since you are from Germany that some of our old school journeymen German Tool and Die makers were among the best tool makers I have ever encountered. Their work ethic was outstanding and they knew how to teach an apprentice. Pride in craftsmanship set them apart. You just don't see it like that anymore. I still can see them in their bib overalls and bow tie along with outstanding personal care of their tools.

Edited November 16, 2012 by Shamu

[Evil-Monkey]

the bakers union have no one to blame but themselves for this one.WoW they wouldnt except a 8% cut in pay which means instead of $50.000k a year they would only make 47.000k a year.is that so unreasonable ?(My brother is a union labor )and i know alot of union HVAC guys since that is what i do .i dont hate unions .but damn it i want my twinkies...lololololoolol

[HarryWeezer]

I contend that a company's profits and its balance sheet are not the business of its employees, period. A highly profitable company owes nothing more to its employees than what it already has agreed to pay them. If the owner of a company decides to take all of his profits in cash, and go out in the back yard and burn it, that's not the concern of his employees.

 

Employees offer skill sets to an employer, who reimburses them for use of those skill sets. Employees work for a compensation package they agree to upon being hired - their decision whether to accept that offer of unemployement under those terms. If the company makes twice as much money as it intended in a year, that's its money to keep - or share among investors, whatever. Employees aren't owed any part of excess profits. They've already been compensated for their work. They may unionize, and then attempt to coerce an employer to give them more of the employer's profits on threat of strike. But if they in fact do strike, I believe the employer should be able to fire them at will, and replace them with employees who will accept the current compensation package.

 

An employer should be free to cut hours, wages, or contributions to a retirement plan for any reason. If an employee finds that unacceptable, he can leave and seek other employment. He is owed nothing more than what he has been paid for his skill sets. He didn't start the company. He didn't make that investment or take that risk. And he has no claim to excess profits and if employment conditions change, he has the option to take his skill sets elsewhere.

 

I heard my father, a machinist, curse the union he was forced to join when it went on strike. All he wanted to do was work and feed his family and he was content with what he was paid. But that strike, and a subsequent one, where the union demanded more and more and more, finally prompted the company to fold, which left him out of a job.

[Sammy]

Business vs unions is never an easy proposition. As in all things there should be a balance. But all the 'unions are bad' talk seem to think businesses have proverbial halo's over their heads. They dont.

 

Business wants to pay workers as little as they can get away with.

Unions wants as much pay as they can squeeze out of the employers.

 

Both need to meet somewhere in the middle, which seems to be the exception rather than the rule these days. The hard part is finding what that middle is.

[djMot]

The clip in the OP is already dated. The CEO was on the Today show this morning saying "it's over."

 

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/TODAY/49852946/

[pancakes]

Buy all the twinkies now!!! THEY WILL BE THE NEW CURRENCY!!!

[Robdiego]

hi shamu

 

never ever undermine a union pls. one of a few tools to raise your voice as a worker/citizen.

 

peace

 

First understand that I am a retiree of the United Auto Workers union just so you do not think I am coming from a biased position. I also served as an elected union official.

 

Very often unions are their own worst enemy through restrictive job classifications and even the seniority system which allows drones to continue to work while more competent union members are laid off.

 

Unions are not without fault in jobs leaving this country for more a more favorable economic position.

 

Unions members need to realize that the company must make money and must remain competitive with non union or foreign competition. Until the two sides realize they need each other to succeed we in the U.S. will continue to lose work to non union shops and foreign competition.

 

A good start would be opening the books for a fair and honest review of the companies competitive position, in it's industry, prior to contract negotiations or demands.

 

And don't even get me started on public service employees who hold students and the general public hostage with their demands.

 

PS; I would add since you are from Germany that some of our old school journeymen German Tool and Die makers were among the best tool makers I have ever encountered. Their work ethic was outstanding and they knew how to teach an apprentice. Pride in craftsmanship set them apart. You just don't see it like that anymore. I still can see them in their bib overalls and bow tie along with outstanding personal care of their tools.

 

 

totally agree, but

 

unions need to be a kind of opposition. and i would assure that the majority know exactly how far they could go before the company start loss-making.

and no ceo on that planet like strong unions. so they use the economic freedom to go abroad into countries with less rights and cheaper productive forces

 

but when it ends in 2 part.time jobs for the average citizen just because its a law of free market. then the market is just sick.

in germany we say "properties bound"(hopefully the right translation )...that means u have a huge responsibiltiy even for your workers.

its an ongoing process of establishing laws for minimum wages, so that even the competitor,within the country, have the same conditions.

and yea, u can also reach the jobs-abroad-problem with punitiv tariff, to beware the national market suffer under inflation of prices for goods, and theirfore the average loan because your work-force

is not too expensive anymore.

e.g. apple is btw a shame. 2012 :73k staff, and the average aquired profit of one worker was 573k$ and all know the loans of a chinese worker. would that be an american job, with 30k.per anno, wouldn´t be to much to stay wealthy and grow.

and all struggle to get one of these 600$ phones...i dont get it.

 

and i struggle talking about politics in english ...lol

[Sammy]

and i struggle talking about politics in english ...lol

 

Dont worry. Alot of native English speakers struggle talking about politics in English.

[Robdiego]

 

If the company makes twice as much money as it intended in a year, that's its money to keep - or share among investors, whatever. Employees aren't owed any part of excess profits. They've already been compensated for their work.

 

 

naah

 

when it turns out that the work force of the employee was able to provide an unexpected profitable good , it wasnt just "any" work-force, it was his/her work-force.

a bonus is a must to honor that. that keeps motivation high and the quality. if u dont do so, the most employee someday won´t give a fuck of the quality they produce.

[Shamu]

and i struggle talking about politics in english ...lol

 

Dont worry. Alot of native English speakers struggle talking about politics in English.

 

I agree, we can confuse ourselves with BS or just the desire to disagree with whatever is said.

[Twinkie 13]

Do i have to change my name now. RIP Twinkies

[HarryWeezer]

Where's the bailout for this union? Aren't Twinkies too big to fail?

[Warface]

ill take a box of twinkies over a silverado any day

[TheLastColdBeer]

[Spartacus]

The Union Striking Workers Gets My "Happy Now?" Award!

Freakin' Idiots Now Can Depend On Baracka-Claus...

 

[Sammy]

I suppose this should go into a politics section. I am surprised there havent been any comments in the various forums about how Santa Claus is not a US born citizen.

 

Twinkies will be back. The name is too well known for it to just disappear. Of course whoever buys the name and sells them again probably wont have those pesky union workers to worry about. Which was probably the goal anyways.

[Shamu]

@ Harry;

 

Your position may work in a right to work state or a non-union shop. However in union shops you are bound by contract which in turn requires the management and union to negotiate. Many companies have been much more open about the companies financial position in order to resolve contract disputes.

 

Also understand the workings of some union contracts and I will reference auto workers. Did you know that Ford, Chrysler and GM were at one time restricted from outsourcing any work to non-union supplier shops by contract? So if you were to be a supplier to the auto industry, even in a right to work state, you had to allow your workers to be unionized. From personal experience I am familiar with a major supplier located in Kentucky, a right to work state, that had to allow unionization in order to retain work from Ford.

 

I am not saying I agree with it but it's just how it was. Unionize or lose all Ford work which would essentially close the plant. Some of you might be amazed at the controls the Big 3 can exercise over the supplier industry. And believe me the supplier industry is big. It can go right down to if your employees are wearing their safety glasses or not.

 

That is not to say all workers had to join the union but I believe they still paid the dues and received a contract usually closely based on the lead contract negotiated with one of the big 3 depending on who was selected for the initial contract negotiation which set the pattern for others in the industry to follow.

 

I also readily admit I am 15 years removed from active contract negotiations and much has changed. I did however see a much closer relationship between union and management start to take hold as both sides realized they both, in some way, needed each other and needed to find common profitable grounds.

[Shamu]

I suppose this should go into a politics section. I am surprised there havent been any comments in the various forums about how Santa Claus is not a US born citizen.

 

If it were to go to politics as a registered user you would not see it.

 

Besides, it's not political, it's more about the economy driving the actions of both management and unions and a very real situation here in Philly for the Hostess employees.