Hostess, maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs, says closing business

reply to post by nixie_nox


So call their bluff. Let them liquidate the company, and let the employees go to work for the competitors, or create their own startup enterprises with the knowledge they've gained as employees, and let the executives starve. Let other companies that are concerned with staying in business avoid these executives like the plague, and let the unions languish and die. Let capitalism reign, and the innovative spirit that is sparked best from necessity once again drive this country forward.

In other words, screw them all, let the cards fall where they may, keep all the diddling government and special interest parties out of it, sink or swim, and hopefully somebody brings my TWINKIES BACK! I am the real victim here, LOL!

Originally posted by kawika
Wifey said we must bring a hostess gift to thanksgiving dinner.
But the twinkies and hohos are all sold out! What to do??

When I heard that Hostess had shut down operations, I went out and LITERALLY got the last of the twinkies and dingdongs in town. I have two boxes of twinkies and one box of dingdongs all set to take to the relatives house for Thanksgiving. And no .. I'm not selling them to anyone. I thought it would be nice for everyone to be able to have one last Twinkie ...

And they are locked up so don't even think about breaking in the house to get 'em!!

reply to post by FlyersFan


Sam's club here has a lot of them still in stock. I went to Walmart and got the last two boxes of Great Value Twinkies. I don't know if Hostess makes them or someone else, but later I happened to be at Sams and they had a lot of the real Hostess Twinkies on the shelf. I didn't buy any though.

reply to post by darkhorserider


I agree. Unfortunately you know those execs are going to make out some how.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
they want to take us back to the 1900s where you only have to pay an employee a nickel, and have them die on the job, so they can kill off someone else's family member, so 3 white guys can be rich.

- Hostess 'bakers' got on average $15.00 per hour. Not bad for unskilled labor that just pushes a button and moves boxes. REAL bakers ... those who have been to pastry or culinary school ... make twice that.

- What is it with liberals .. always ragg'n on white people. RACIST!

- List of Hostess Board of Directors and Executives . All very qualified .. all with lots of experience.

Originally posted by darkhorserider
I happened to be at Sams and they had a lot of the real Hostess Twinkies on the shelf.

Sam's Club - Twinkies
Sam's Club is still listing Twinkies on their web site.
I wonder how many boxes they have in storage.
People are selling them on ebay etc etc for a whole lotta' money.

Hostess and Union Agree to Mediation dealbook.nytimes.com... Back at the table judge refused the bankruptcy

reply to post by FlyersFan


It probably requires more skill, and especially endurance then you think.

And 15.00 isn't snot. You couldn't keep a family for that.

Minimalizing the labor force is exactly the kool aid that corporate wants you to drink.
And thinking that someone has to have a master's to be worth something is exactly what the for profit education system is the kool aid they want you to drink.

It is that very elitist attitude that is hurting the workforce all over america and putting Americans out of jobs.

If the execs were so skilled, they wouldn't of run the company into the ground, while giving themselves 300% raises. The laborers probably had more sense then they did.

When you work for a company, you enter a business arrangement with them. You expect them to provide you a salary, in return for work.

You don't expect them to cut your wages and benefits, and then million dollar salaries to execs who make terrible decisions and run the company into the ground.

Unions rules killed the company.

Drivers were not allowed to load or help load their own trucks. Bread products had to be loaded on trucks by one union and and cake products had to be loaded by a different union. Even if both products were being delivered to the same locations bread products had to be delivered by bread trucks and cake products had to be delivered by a second truck. That translates in to two trucks instead of one, two dockworkers instead of one and two ramp spaces instead of one, twice as much fuel and so on.

Essentially that's what unions do. Union shops won't allow you to change a simple light bulb in your own work area if it goes out - you have to put in a request. Meaning no work gets done until they show up.

reply to post by verylowfrequency


What about the CEO?

He saved it?

Maybe they would have more profits if the cut back on the millions they give to the executives. After all it is not just their pay. It is also their benefit package.

So it is OK to pay an executive millions, but it is not OK to pay a peon $15 an hour..

This is a mutli, multi million dollar company. There is no reason that they cannot operate and pay a worker a decent wage.......that is unless you are a greedy executive and you thunk that the profits just aren't good enough.

The CEO is the driver of the corporation. If the corporation crashes it is the driver's fault.

reply to post by liejunkie01


In the end it doesn't really matter who's fault it is. Dead is dead. Apparently nobody was interested enough to do anything to prevent the death

Regardless it appears lower wage workers from Mexico might be making some of their products in the future.

Originally posted by verylowfrequency
Unions rules killed the company.

Drivers were not allowed to load or help load their own trucks. Bread products had to be loaded on trucks by one union and and cake products had to be loaded by a different union. Even if both products were being delivered to the same locations bread products had to be delivered by bread trucks and cake products had to be delivered by a second truck. That translates in to two trucks instead of one, two dockworkers instead of one and two ramp spaces instead of one, twice as much fuel and so on.

Do you not read anybody elses posts? If you read back a couple of pages Johnnycanuk posted a news article explaining what happened......it's called venture capitalism.
VULTURE CAPITALISM
Quote from arrticle:

Hostess was smashed by vulture capitalists — “a management team that,” in the words of economist Dean Baker, “shows little competence and is rapidly stuffing its pockets at the company’s expense.”

Essentially that's what unions do. Union shops won't allow you to change a simple light bulb in your own work area if it goes out - you have to put in a request. Meaning no work gets done until they show up.

That is how you prevent accidents and death. Electricans apprentice for 4 years to change a lightbulb not the immigint floor sweeper who grew up in a mud hut with no power. If the company used 2 forklift operators to load different products, its because of inventory control.

The American labor movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all America. Those who would destroy or further limit the rights of organized labor--those who cripple collective bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized--do a disservice to the cause of democracy." John F. Kennedy