From where I stand, the union and management brought this on themselves. Here's how I see it, you can agree with it or not. When Hostess goes into bankruptcy for the second time since 2009 there's something amiss in the finances. This past year Hostess gave pay increases to it's executives. Take the top wage earners for instance:
Brian Driscoll, CEO, around $750,000 to $2,550,000.
Gary Wandschneider, EVP, $500,000 to $900,000.
John Stewart, EVP, $400,000 to $700,000.
David Loeser, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256.
Kent Magill, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256.
Richard Seban, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256.
John Akeson, SVP, $300,000 to $480,000.
Steven Birgfeld, SVP, $240,000 to $360,000.
Martha Ross, SVP, $240,000 to $360,000.
Rob Kissick, SVP, $182,000 to $273,008.
This looks like Bain capitalism at it's worst. Cut pensions and wages for the workers and increase wages and benefits for the executives, then use bankruptcy as a bargaining tool during contract negotiations. In March of this year, Brian Driscoll, CEO for Hostess resigns his position in fear that the company will go bankrupt again and be forced to sell off its assets.This is when the Union should have done their financial homework by reading the yearly financial report each company has to furnish to it's stockholders. There is a time to strike and walk a picket line but this wasn't one of them. Union members thought the first time bankruptcy bluff was the same the second time around. Most seem to go on the assumption that the company would fold over and give in to their proposals. If they would have been more financially schooled on the profitability of their company they would have made concessions to their already dismal outlook.
For 30 years I was a member of a Union and they have their good and bad points. I've been on strike and walked a picket line in the cold and I can say it's not a glamorous thing to do. I've been through layoffs, downsizing and hour reductions. I've seen company buyouts and management changes. I'm sure those Union members at Hostess have seen the same things over the years. What I don't understand is that they knew this was coming and they decided to go forward with the strike and risk all they had as far as wages and benefits go. A strike is never a good thing to do unless you know in all certainty that you have the upper hand otherwise your just walking on the street with no paycheck. Who's to blame for the Twinkie demise and the fall of Hostess........everyone that worked for the company. There was no right or wrong side but there are winners and losers and the winners will walk away with money in their bank account while the losers walk away to the unemployment line. So be the death of the American "Twinkie" icon.
Will the Twinkie live on? Possibly under the guise of another snack company but if it does will it hold the same iconic state of it's past? We'll just have to wait and see, until then, gather up your boxes of golden creamy treasure cause the once mighty Hostess which was ran by a bunch of Ding Dongs and Twinkies has been chewed up and devoured by it's own greed and lack of restraint.
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| Rest in peace, Twinkie the Kid |
After reading more on this subject. The Teamsters Union urged the Bakers Union to not go into a strike after reading the financial report on Hostess. The Teamsters also cited that Hostess' warning of liquidation was not an empty threat or a negotiating tactic but a certain outcome if workers remained striking. The problem with the workers is that they failed to stay on the job through the bankruptcy and thus lost all wages and benefits due to the liquidation of Hostess assets. If they would have remained on the job during the bankruptcy it would have gave the company a chance to restructure and possibly sell the company as a whole to a buyer including the working staff. The workers put themselves in a losing situation and remained blind to the fact that the company was going under. That's too bad for the 18000 workers with families. Unfortunately they were led down the road of no information and dropped off at the nearest bus stop.
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