How could we let this happen? Hostess goes out of business

[ICEE]

http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/16/news/companies/hostess-closing/index.html
How could we let this happen? or to be more accurate, how could this possibly happen? Aren't twinkies like the national dish of 'merica?

I am legitimately confused by this shocking turn of events

[PopeAK49]

I can't remember the last time I had a twinkie.

Anyways, I think of Zombieland when this topic came up.

[InnerGoat]

no actually those things are nasty and nobody easts them anymore. nothing of value will be lost.

[Zeph]

Hostess made plenty of things other than twinkies that were actually delicious.
Twinkies going away is sad only from an urban legend point of view.

[=sw=warlord]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px-CBHd0miI

[Tnnaas]

If only our grandchildren would be capable of knowning what we experienced in our lifetime.

[TVTyrant]

Swiss cake rolls were their only good product.

[Rainbow Dash]

http://wonkette.com/490001/america-mourns-death-of-snack-food-murdered-by-union-thugs

[DarkHalo003]

My question is this:

How justified was the strike? I can't seem to dig up a straight answer.

[Sanctus]

With Twinkies gone, there will be nothing for archaeologists of the distant future to wonder what we used as building materials, or currency. :(

[ChemicalFizz]

If Hostess really does liquidate its assets, then does that mean all its sub-brands cease to exist, too? Does this mean Wonder Bread is no more? All the brand items from Drake's, Nature's Pride, Blue Ribbon, Eddy's? They all technically belong to Hostess Brands, Inc.

[Donut]

Wonder Bread

vLcF84iotVg#t=256s
4:16

[n00b1n8R]

If the company liquidates, their brands will be bought. No way you could kill something like Twinkies.

[rossmum]

My question is this:

How justified was the strike? I can't seem to dig up a straight answer.
Extremely if the company has been in financial turmoil for that many years and yet still given payrises to its chiefs. You can bet that was coming off of the actual workers' wages.

[TVTyrant]

Lil' Debby is better anyways.

[t3h m00kz]

Her donut hole is far sweeter

[jcap]

Extremely if the company has been in financial turmoil for that many years and yet still given payrises to its chiefs. You can bet that was coming off of the actual workers' wages.
Shooting from the hip here, based on what I remember reading this past week.

The strike was actually not justified. The unions were being greedy as fuck, and they killed the company. The company was not in financial ruin due to the executives bleeding the company dry with absurdly high salaries. In fact, the CEO made only $1.5 million while managing a company of 20,000 employees which generated 2.8 BILLION in revenue per year. He was brought in to restructure the company and he did manage to bring it out of bankruptcy. However, the problem currently was that the unions were demanding more, when the company actually needed to cut worker pay. The unions weren't willing to compromise, so management had no choice but to liquidate the company to pay back as much debt as possible. Now because the unions didn't want to take a small pay cut yet remain employed, 20,000 people are out of jobs. If the court had dissolved the union contracts back in 2008 or so when the company initially ran into financial trouble, they would probably be profitable today, and 20,000 people would still have their jobs. It's greed on the union's part, not on the CEO's. Even if the CEO took a cut, it would be pennies compared to the total revenue and wouldn't make a difference to the company. Besides, they're lucky they even had a guy who was being paid so little to manage a dying company.

Also idc about Hostess because Tastykake is GOD. The rest of the US/world doesn't know what they are missing.

[Tnnaas]

Also idc about Hostess because Tastykake is GOD. The rest of the US/world doesn't know what they are missing.
If I give you my home address and send some money your way, will you ship me a package?

[ICEE]

Shooting from the hip here, based on what I remember reading this past week.

The strike was actually not justified. The unions were being greedy as fuck, and they killed the company. The company was not in financial ruin due to the executives bleeding the company dry with absurdly high salaries. In fact, the CEO made only $1.5 million while managing a company of 20,000 employees which generated 2.8 BILLION in revenue per year. He was brought in to restructure the company and he did manage to bring it out of bankruptcy. However, the problem currently was that the unions were demanding more, when the company actually needed to cut worker pay. The unions weren't willing to compromise, so management had no choice but to liquidate the company to pay back as much debt as possible. Now because the unions didn't want to take a small pay cut yet remain employed, 20,000 people are out of jobs. If the court had dissolved the union contracts back in 2008 or so when the company initially ran into financial trouble, they would probably be profitable today, and 20,000 people would still have their jobs. It's greed on the union's part, not on the CEO's. Even if the CEO took a cut, it would be pennies compared to the total revenue and wouldn't make a difference to the company. Besides, they're lucky they even had a guy who was being paid so little to manage a dying company.

Also idc about Hostess because Tastykake is GOD. The rest of the US/world doesn't know what they are missing.

SHHH come on man we had a good thing going bashing corporations

I mean god damn. Ruining a good spree like that

[Rainbow Dash]

SHHH come on man we had a good thing going bashing corporations

I mean god damn. Ruining a good spree like that

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/11/16/1203151/why-unions-dont-shoulder-the-blame-for-hostesss-downfall/

but no, it's those fucking union commie thugs, they killed the corporation!!!!

[rossmum]

In fact, the CEO made only $1.5 million


when the company actually needed to cut worker pay.
sorry, what

[Rook]

twinkies aren't gone holy fuck these are the EXACT same thing

http://bacon.modacity.net/img/images/freshsleys.jpg

[Donut]

but they soak the cake in a different kind of gelled fat! IT DOESNT TASTE THE SAME :gonk:

[jcap]

sorry, what
What don't you understand? Even if you managed to zero out his salary, you would net the workers a whopping extra $75 per year without actually addressing the issues that are putting them into bankruptcy.

[Zeph]

sorry, what
CEOs aren't content with economic profit.
Believe it or not, bosses of a company generally pull in a good percent of their company's revenue as salary.
They're able to do so because the company's product pays for its own production and then some.
Companies go out of business when the product costs more to make than it can sell for.
Breaking even in business is called economic profit.

When your CEO's salary is .03% of your revenue and you're at negative income your business is in trouble and getting rid of his salary won't help.

[rossmum]

What don't you understand? Even if you managed to zero out his salary, you would net the workers a whopping extra $75 per year without actually addressing the issues that are putting them into bankruptcy.
Perhaps if the workers saw the heads of the company getting more reasonable pay closer (or heaven forbid, equal) to their own, they would be less inclined to strike until the crisis had been averted?

[TVTyrant]

Perhaps if the workers saw the heads of the company getting more reasonable pay closer (or heaven forbid, equal) to their own, they would be less inclined to strike until the crisis had been averted?
I think the point is that the company was already going under and that their strike helped no one, not even themselves since they lost their jobs.

It's one thing to pick a fight when the company you work for is making 400% profits every quarter and you aren't making crap, and another to strike against a company that literally is already going out of business. You get nothing from the latter.

[n00b1n8R]

Ross has become the champion of poor people problems lmao

[Rainbow Dash]

That's because ross isn't a socially backwards fuckwit???

[Rainbow Dash]

http://wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/dead-twinkie.jpg (http://wonkette.com/490200/the-atlantic-finds-hostesss-real-victims-private-equity-guys-who-might-lose-their-investment)

[DarkHalo003]

CREME FILLING.

[rossmum]

http://wonkette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/dead-twinkie.jpg (http://wonkette.com/490200/the-atlantic-finds-hostesss-real-victims-private-equity-guys-who-might-lose-their-investment)
holy christ

[Kornman00]

Twinkies, what a bunch of fail www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/twinkie-ceo-admits-company-took-employees-pensions-and-put-it

[Sanctus]

It shouldn't be legal what they're doing. I can't even think why a judge would allow it on top of that.

[=sw=warlord]

'Merica.

[Sanctus]

'Merica.

Not exclusively. Big Business

[Pooky]

The guys getting bonuses out of this should all be hung.

[Bodzilla]

They're praised and rewarded for working the system to their advantage.

This is all that capitalism breeds. the more unregulated the market the more the abuse.

[Warsaw]

Except regulation only works if the regulating party isn't also under the control of the parties to be regulated.

And this, boys and girls, is why every single attempt has thus far failed or is in the process of failing in every single nation that does so. Bam. The USA is affected in this fashion, European countries are affected in the fashion, the USSR was affected in this fashion, Cuba, and China...the list goes on.

This is why revolutions happen. Because one party gets control of the governing infrastructure, breaches the social contract, and people get unhappy with that set-up. Until you can come up with or demonstrate a system that precludes the possibility of business and government becoming one and the same, please withhold the rhetoric.

[Bodzilla]

how about you make it illegal based on a conflict of interest similar to health care.

that was hard wasn't it

[Warsaw]

That would be dandy if that was effective. Hint, it's not. There is no single, current example on the face of the world that has been even remotely successful at that. So you got away with it on one aspect of your local society. Awesome. But, how's that telecoms industry working out? Now, try to nationalize EVERYTHING in your country to enforce that theoretical, universal "conflict of interest" clause and tell me how well it works out. Here's another hint: any Russian national will be able to tell you the result.

And since we're on healthcare, it used to be affordable in the USA, then Medicaid and other government subsidies happened. Yup, true story.