Those unions watching out for their workers...

[SonOfTheWest]

The same dog and pony show that companies have done since there were companies, looking at their workers and screaming, "Why do you keep getting mad when we exploit you?!"

 

[MSBS]

The company blames it on the union. however, ask yourself this:

When is the last time you saw someone eat a twinkie? It's been years for me. Likewise with wonderbread. They are trying to sell products that are simply no longer in demand. It's the exact same thing that happened with the American auto industry. they wanted to keep making the same cars after people stopped wanting to buy them.

Then the union/employees needed to realize that they are working for a company that is losing customers, and that in order to stay competitive, they needed to take pay cuts. Regardless of who is at fault, how does it help any of the employees to be out on their butts without a job now? At the very least, it would have benefited them to take the hit and keep working while they explored other employment opportunities. As it stands, now a bunch of people with similar skills are all going to be looking at once, in a crappy job market.

And, as union workers, they were probably making a pretty good wage and had decent benefits. Good luck to them finding anything even close to what they were making in this job market.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/16/news/economy/hostess-jobs/

 

[TheBear]

To me, it looks like the execs knew the company was going under, last year, and decided to give themselves a huge chunk of change before the gravy train ended, then filed bankruptcy, then was exposed so they rolled back their pay, then asked the workers to take a pay cut, and now their done.

 

[Vylo]

Then the union/employees needed to realize that they are working for a company that is losing customers, and that in order to stay competitive, they needed to take pay cuts. Regardless of who is at fault, how does it help any of the employees to be out on their butts without a job now? At the very least, it would have benefited them to take the hit and keep working while they explored other employment opportunities. As it stands, now a bunch of people with similar skills are all going to be looking at once, in a crappy job market.

And, as union workers, they were probably making a pretty good wage and had decent benefits. Good luck to them finding anything even close to what they were making in this job market.

The issue is the workers being asked to take a cut while the management receive raises instead, including a 300% pay bump for their CEO. That's insane. The increase in his salary could have paid for nearly another 40 middle wage workers.

 

[Vylo]

I'm suddenly realizing what a huge boon this is for my company. We are doing well and are in the same area of business. Chances are some of those brands and workers are coming our way.

 

[TheBear]

I'm suddenly realizing what a huge boon this is for my company. We are doing well and are in the same area of business. Chances are some of those brands and workers are coming our way.

Is your company union or non-union?

 

[Rion]

They went into bankruptcy in the first place because of poor management skills. The fact that the union gave up quite a bit shows how bad it was at Hostess. The fact is that junk food is becoming less popular as eating health gains steam. Hostess thought the only way to be competitive was to cut employee pensions and benefits.

Actually, I was mistaken. The unions have been uncooperative since they went into bankruptcy.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

You are attempting to take the culmination of a series of misteps, over many years, by the company and place it all at the feet of the Bakers Union.

Because right now they are forcing the company to close.

Do you know the harassment people face when they don't vote with the union?

 

[Vylo]

Is your company union or non-union?

Non-union mostly. Some plants have unions in them though.

Unions are great for us as they keep our pay high, but we aren't paying dues ourselves .

Our company isn't immune to the greed that pervades much of large corporations, but they do have a comparatively better track record by a large margin. The disparity in pay isn't nearly as great between management and workers, the family takes a relatively meager profit margin in order to keep expanding, and the managers aren't kept tucked away somewhere. You walk by their desks on your way to your workstations, you are in the locker rooms with them. They are still your boss, but you feel like you can talk to them, and I really do think that creates a better environment, where workers aren't just numbers and production values, but people. Bosses won't hesitate to come down on you if you screw up, but are reluctant to fire for simple "cost cutting" reasons.

They also seem to take considerable interest in promoting people's growth. There are well paying hourly jobs in the plant, and they want people's goals to be to get there at minimun before retirement.

 

[TheBear]

The reason I ask is union workers get an average of 28% higher wages than non-union workers in the same industry. If your company increased it's entire payroll by 28%, what would be the impact?

 

[MSBS]

The issue is the workers being asked to take a cut while the management receive raises instead, including a 300% pay bump for their CEO. That's insane. The increase in his salary could have paid for nearly another 40 middle wage workers.

Excepting that those raises where all rolled back last year, with some of the execs taking pay cuts down to $1 a year.

Regardless, even if it's all true, how does 18500 people out on their butts without jobs help any of that?

 

[TheBear]

Excepting that those raises where all rolled back last year, with some of the execs taking pay cuts down to $1 a year.

Regardless, even if it's all true, how does 18500 people out on their butts without jobs help any of that?

It could be poor management. Or, maybe they're hocking garbage in a day and age where people are more health conscience. Or maybe the competition pushed them out of the marketplace. Or maybe a combination of all.

Scoop up those Twinkies and Ho-Ho's while the gettin is good. Many markets are sold out already!

 

[Vylo]

Excepting that those raises where all rolled back last year, with some of the execs taking pay cuts down to $1 a year.

Regardless, even if it's all true, how does 18500 people out on their butts without jobs help any of that?

Thing is, they rolled them back, but were willing to give them in the first place. That says something about their priorities, and finance is apparently not one of them.

 

[Vylo]

The reason I ask is union workers get an average of 28% higher wages than non-union workers in the same industry. If your company increased it's entire payroll by 28%, what would be the impact?

We pay about the going union rate actually. I've seen several union positions for my job that are below my current payscale.

Our business pays based on cost of labor, aka what other people in the area are paying for similar or same jobs.

 

[Trogool]

Twinkies were mediocre and hideously unhealthy. Why people here think that Hostess failed primarily due to a strike than their product being terrible is beyond me.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

 

[TheBear]

We pay about the going union rate actually. I've seen several union positions for my job that are below my current payscale.

Our business pays based on cost of labor, aka what other people in the area are paying for similar or same jobs.

That's good. I got that 28% figure from the SEIU. Your company seems like one of the rare exceptions to the rule.

 

[SimplyMe]

The company blames it on the union. however, ask yourself this:

When is the last time you saw someone eat a twinkie? It's been years for me. Likewise with wonderbread. They are trying to sell products that are simply no longer in demand. It's the exact same thing that happened with the American auto industry. they wanted to keep making the same cars after people stopped wanting to buy them.

Given Hostess' product line, and greater consumer awareness about nutritional value, it doesn't seem like they could remain a stand-alone company anyway (see their sales trends in the article ...)

Twinkies were mediocre and hideously unhealthy. Why people here think that Hostess failed primarily due to a strike than their product being terrible is beyond me.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

You need to look at what Hostess actually is. It is much more than just Twinkies; Twinkies is just getting all the attention because of it being a part of Americana.

The brands owned by Hostess that are now out of business are:

• Baker's Inn
• Beefsteak
• Blue Ribbon
• Bread du Jour
• Butternut Breads
• Colombo
• Cotton’s
• Di Carlo
• Dolly Madison
• Drake's
• Dutch Hearth
• Eddy’s
• Good Hearth
• Holsom
• Home Pride
• Hostess
• J.J. Nissen
• Merita
• Millbrook
• Mrs. Cubbison'sFoods
• Nature's Pride
• Parisian
• Standish Farms
• Sweetheart
• Twinkie
• Toscana
• Wonder Bread

They didn't only make junk food that was empty calories.

 

[TheBear]

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

 

[quilbilly]

What a strange country I live in
Washington state just legalized marijuana now twinkies and ho hos are going away
Proof once again that no good deed goes unpunished

 

[Trogool]

You need to look at what Hostess actually is. It is much more than just Twinkies; Twinkies is just getting all the attention because of it being a part of Americana.

The brands owned by Hostess that are now out of business are:


[*]Baker's Inn
[*]Beefsteak
[*]Blue Ribbon
[*]Bread du Jour
[*]Butternut Breads
[*]Colombo
[*]Cotton’s
[*]Di Carlo
[*]Dolly Madison
[*]Drake's
[*]Dutch Hearth
[*]Eddy’s
[*]Good Hearth
[*]Holsom
[*]Home Pride
[*]Hostess
[*]J.J. Nissen
[*]Merita
[*]Millbrook
[*]Mrs. Cubbison'sFoods
[*]Nature's Pride
[*]Parisian
[*]Standish Farms
[*]Sweetheart
[*]Twinkie
[*]Toscana
[*]Wonder Bread

They didn't only make junk food that was empty calories.

The only brand I recognized was wonder bread and that only by reputation.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner