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robert38-55
Senior MemberDenver,Co.Posts: 3,621 Senior Member
The Unions have killed an American Icon,, the Twinkies.

Man what's this world comming to? I have enjoyed and ate Hostess brand and twinkies for all my life, and now I might not be able to get anymore of them? Well this justs bites a big Green one doesn't it. Just goes to show how organized Labor/Unions can tear up an anvil with a feather. I want my twinkies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The maker of Twinkies will ask a judge for permission to liquidate and close all operations as soon as November 20 if workers do not end the strike.
Hostess Brands Inc. said it will ask a U.S. bankruptcy judge for permission to liquidate if enough striking workers do not return to work by the end of Thursday to let the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread resume normal operations.
Wednesday's announcement escalates a bitter dispute between the 82-year-old company and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, whose members constitute about one-third of Hostess' nearly 18,000 employees.
A union spokeswoman said the union would have no immediate comment.
Workers at Hostess plants across the country had gone on strike or refused to cross picket lines on November 9 to protest pay cuts that Hostess had in bankruptcy court won the right to impose. That prompted the company at the time to raise the specter of liquidation in case of a widespread strike.
On Wednesday, Hostess said that if enough striking workers did not return to work by 5 p.m. ET the next day, the company would on Friday ask U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, who oversees its Chapter 11 reorganization, for permission to shut down and sell assets.
"We simply do not have the financial resources to survive an ongoing national strike," Hostess Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said in a statement.
The Irving, Texas-based company had previously reached agreement on pay and benefit cuts with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, its largest union.
Hostess said if it wins permission to liquidate, it will begin to close all operations as soon as November 20, two days before Thanksgiving, and fire all plant workers except those needed to prepare its facilities for sale.
Earlier this week, Hostess said the strike forced it to permanently close three of its 36 bakeries, costing 627 jobs.
The company said it has 565 distribution centers and 570 bakery outlet stores, as well as the 33 other bakeries.
Hostess filed for protection from creditors on January 11, its second bankruptcy filing in less than three years, after failing to win concessions on pension and health benefits. The company had about $860 million of debt at the time.
The case is In re: Hostess Brands Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-22052.
(Reporting by Phil Wahba and Jonathan Stempel in New York)
http://news.msn.com/us/hostess-may-close-down-for-good-if-workers-do-not-return-by-thursday
The maker of Twinkies will ask a judge for permission to liquidate and close all operations as soon as November 20 if workers do not end the strike.
Hostess Brands Inc. said it will ask a U.S. bankruptcy judge for permission to liquidate if enough striking workers do not return to work by the end of Thursday to let the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread resume normal operations.
Wednesday's announcement escalates a bitter dispute between the 82-year-old company and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, whose members constitute about one-third of Hostess' nearly 18,000 employees.
A union spokeswoman said the union would have no immediate comment.
Workers at Hostess plants across the country had gone on strike or refused to cross picket lines on November 9 to protest pay cuts that Hostess had in bankruptcy court won the right to impose. That prompted the company at the time to raise the specter of liquidation in case of a widespread strike.
On Wednesday, Hostess said that if enough striking workers did not return to work by 5 p.m. ET the next day, the company would on Friday ask U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, who oversees its Chapter 11 reorganization, for permission to shut down and sell assets.
"We simply do not have the financial resources to survive an ongoing national strike," Hostess Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said in a statement.
The Irving, Texas-based company had previously reached agreement on pay and benefit cuts with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, its largest union.
Hostess said if it wins permission to liquidate, it will begin to close all operations as soon as November 20, two days before Thanksgiving, and fire all plant workers except those needed to prepare its facilities for sale.
Earlier this week, Hostess said the strike forced it to permanently close three of its 36 bakeries, costing 627 jobs.
The company said it has 565 distribution centers and 570 bakery outlet stores, as well as the 33 other bakeries.
Hostess filed for protection from creditors on January 11, its second bankruptcy filing in less than three years, after failing to win concessions on pension and health benefits. The company had about $860 million of debt at the time.
The case is In re: Hostess Brands Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-22052.
(Reporting by Phil Wahba and Jonathan Stempel in New York)
http://news.msn.com/us/hostess-may-close-down-for-good-if-workers-do-not-return-by-thursday
"It is what it is":usa:
Replies
― Douglas Adams
Now with the fed system, or union is just how I feel it should be. We can't strike, we can't negotiate pay. We make sure the management's policies are fair and in line with federal laws. Trust me, if it wasn't for our union, my job would suck.
Thats how they got into trouble. The parent co (Interstate Brands IBC) bought a co (Continental baking CBC)that was going under, and inherited the unions which were running the other co down. They are stuck with them and they took the CBC leadership model (why do companies do this???) and ran it into the ground, then filed chapter 11 for restructuring. If they cant stay open then the jobs will go away. As far as I can tell, there is no niche that needs to be filled in this economy by a sugar and preservative company that isnt already covered. Other companies will pick up the slack but no one is going to spend the money to buy factories that just tanked.
BTW, the snowball is going to be the 18000 jobs that will be directly affected and the ones you never hear about like the corner store guy and the Jiffy Lube that used to be on the way to work.
As Ive said in the past, I am not exactly pro union, but in my state, and the others that I have researched, you can not legally be forced into a union any more, and if at any point you do not believe the union is properly representing you, you can opt out and if they punish you for it, they are in trouble with the law.
I do wonder how much of this is because of the union, and how much is because of poor management.
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
That's all correct in theory but in real life it doesn't always play out like that. I worked for General Dynamics in Fort Worth years ago and was a member of the IAM. (international association of machinists) You didn't have to be in the union but even if you weren't, you had the union dues taken out of your paycheck and you just didn't get any representation from the union if you had any management or harrasment issues. If you elected not to be in the union, the commiteemen made it a point to let everyone know and you would be shunned and discriminated against by all of your co workers. It would make for a very uncomfortable work environment.
I am not saying that you're wrong. But that sounds completely backward. Here, and I believe everywhere because of what I believe to be federal law (that was the way HR and the lead chair explained it when I hired on) if you opt to not be a part of the union you pay no dues, and they are still required to represent you. But you get no say in voting.
Back when I worked for Case I did join, but that was only because at the time I planned on being there for a while. It wasn't perfect, and there were issues that needed to be fixed. But I could have no part in fixing it if I wasn't a member.
There, the union can only strike if the company breaks the contract or while contract is under negotiation, and deliberation and has ran past the effective date the new contract was to take effect.
Cool, ya know where my 1845 is leaking hyd fluid offhand?
Actually, that does answer some questions. You must have been a bolt and nut putter, because I have to deform my arms to get to anything on this [expletive deleted] thing because the holes to get there are smaller than my arms. I figured they only hired long armed midget contortionists with 8 fingers per hand.
I never worked on the Skidsteers at all. But just like any hydraulic system there aren't many places it can leak. Is there any particular function that seems sluggish?
I hate to say this, because the hoes were pretty good pieces of machinery, but the skidsteers were crap. Shoulda bought a CAT.
:vomit:
:fan:
Out of curiosity. Is it a plain jane 45, or a B or C? Regardless, it hyd problems are all you're having you're pretty lucky. The last incarnation of the 1845 was built twelve years ago.
Since then, my old union seems to have gone the greed-head route, even endorsing Democrats (gasp) who support their demands for higher pay. I get the PBA newsletter and see the stories about their fight with the county over a number of issues. It seems much like the public sector unions in Wisconsin...unwilling to give up anything for the betterment of the financial conditions of the employer. Now that I'm just a private citizen, I see things a bit differently than I did back in those days.
Actually from field experiance the only real problem with the 1845's is the access hatches for the drive chains. Thing is a tank and its like a 30-06, it is the one others compare to. There are a few things that are annoying but those water sucking hatches are the only real flaw.
I am pretty sure that it is a fitting on the rt hand pump, had to get my son to get the belly plate bolts out.
Agreed, in the early 1900's they served a purpose. If you watched the recent series Men who made America on the Nat Geo ch. you could see why unions were needed as they really took advantage of the workers. But now days many non-union businesses realize that providing good pay and benefits will result in good workers.
Having seen much in businesses with unions and the ridiculous demands for workers by unions, they have exceeded their usefulness. Having worked in the Auto Industry I seem so much the UAW has done to harass Mgmt. and the efficiency of production. not to mention drinking on the job, hiding during work hours, having buddies punch you in when you are not there, punching in and then leaving the plant, etc. Not to mention sabotage the quality of the vehicle, etc.
I called on a Budweiser Plant and had to deal with Pipe fitters, Millwrights and Machinists when trying to make an adjustment to a pc. of equipment that would result in an hour when I could have done it in 5 min. One to remove 2 bolts to remove a cover and another to make an adjustment to a pneumatic valve, etc. First you had to find one, that was on his beer break, then after he removed the two bolts to remove the cover, then you had to find an wait for the other to come off his break, etc.
Once in contract negotiations with the UAW at the Lordstown Plant, they wanted to have a barber on site so they could get haircuts during working hours. Fortunately it did not pass.
IMO Government Unions should be outlawed. Elected politicians negotiate the contracts and do not care what the costs to the taxpayers. The Unions contribute to Politicians that will give them what they want which do not truly represent the taxpayers. In Private Businesses if they are not profitable they go out of business. The Government just increase taxes to pay for their mistakes.
One more added by Obama to the unemployment line...
He is not wrong. I had the same option when I was forced to be in a union - you pay and have representation or you pay and do not get representation. Either way, the DNC gets their share of your wages.
The problem comes in when management (either public or private) has been fighting the unions for so long that when they can stick it to the unions, they do. No realizing that the unions never suffer - they just pass it on to the workers. I was in a union for 3 years. Never saw a valid reason to give them $600 a year. They got shoddy employees rehired and did nothing for the good ones.
Now hold on there. Don't go missing with the snowballs. They're my favorite.
Rank does not concur privileges. It imposes responsibility. Author unknow
Snowballs!? SNOWBALLS!?!?!? Where's the bleeping TWINKIES?!?!?
Adam J. McCleod
How long ago? A lot of laws regarding unions changed between 04 and 09.
I hate coconut. Not the flavor, the texture.
Same here (WI) at least before Act 10 was passed. In the two years since Act 10 was proposed, we've had to go through several special elections, two sets of recalls, all of our democratic state senators fleeing to other states to avoid voting on (and thereby passing, strict party line vote with repubs holding the majority in both houses) Act 10, the takeover and occupation of the State Capital building for several months (yes, months) and two activist judges authoring injuctions to stop same. The state was required to take union dues out of each state employee's pay check regardless of the employee's status regarding membership. Private unions may be a different story (or not).
George Carlin
I can't speak to public sector unions in other states. Here public sector unions pay no dues.
Eggrolls and chopped suey!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks like I will have to switch over to "Ding Dongs."
I worked there from '04 - '07. It has changed there, but only due to Gov. Walker :cool2: