Hostess Mediation Fails, Furious Laid Off Workers Now Turn On Labor Union

[Vette_Newb]

Ya just can't make this shit up..

Last week, when discussing the next steps for the company, and specifically the hope that mediation may resolve the epic animosity between management and workers, we stated that "What makes a mediation improbable is that the antagonism between the feuding sides has certainly hit a level of no return: "Several unions also objected to the company's plans, saying they made "a mockery" of laws protecting collective bargaining agreements in bankruptcy. The Teamsters, which represents 7,900 Hostess workers, said the company's plan would improperly cut the ability of remaining workers to use sick days and vacation." Sure enough, moments ago we learned that mediation has now failed and the liquidation may proceed. And since in America nobody understands that proper sequence of events involved in a bankruptcy liquidation, where the valuable parts always end up being acquired by someone, in this case the Twinkie brand and recipe, let the pointless Ebay bidding wars over twinkies continue. As for what really happens next, if indeed Bimbo is prohibited from acquiring the assets in the Stalking Horse auction due to anti-trust limitations, then the buyer will almost certainly be a "financial", i.e., another PE firm, whose coming means the end of any hopes and dreams of preserving union status at fresh start Hostess, or whatever the new firm will be named.

From the WSJ:

Hostess Brands Inc. said Tuesday night it would proceed with liquidation plans after mediation fails.

Earlier Tuesday, the head of the bakers union whose strike precipitated Hostess liquidation plans didn't attend a last-ditch mediation session and wasn't hopeful about its prospects, he said.

"I'm not too optimistic about this mediation," Frank Hurt, president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, said when reached earlier Tuesday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. He said he couldn't get to New York, where the session was taking place; instead, he said, the union's secretary-treasurer was attending.



The mediation came at a judge's suggestion after the Twinkie maker said Friday that a week-long strike by the bakers left the company no choice but to seek a bankruptcy judge's approval for liquidation.



The judge, Robert Drain, urged mediation, citing among other things the hope for saving some 18,500 jobs. The company filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in January.



The judge indicated Monday that if mediation wasn't successful, Hostess could return to court Wednesday to pursue its liquidation plan.



Doug Mansky, a Hostess driver in Detroit and a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was in the process of moving to a cheaper condominium on Tuesday, after his union had agreed to an 8% pay cut that he said would shave $200 a week from his income. After Judge Drain cleared Hostess to impose the same new labor terms on the bakers union, they went on strike.



"I hope things work out. I'm going to be 49 and trying to find a job in a market that's terrible," Mr. Mansky said.

Sadly, the reality of learning just how bad the labor market truly is, all smoke and mirrors of a recovery aside, will now have to be experienced by not only Mr. Manksy but 18,499 of his fellow co-workers, who may have been duped into hoping by their union that by holding out a hardline stance, they would gain something.

They have now lost everything. And not too unexpectedly, the workers are now turning on the Union!

[S]ome Hostess workers in another union awaiting the
mediation results criticized Mr. Hurt, the 20-year president of the
bakers union, who defended his decisions and actions during the
company's bankruptcy process.



Scott Quenneville, a Hostess truck driver represented by the Teamsters, said he feels his colleagues were misled by Mr. Hurt into believing that a buyer would swoop in for the company. Mr. Hurt on Sunday said he thought there was a good chance a buyer would emerge who would give union members their jobs back.



"Frank misled a lot of people. He was not going to settle for anything less than closing the company down, because they didn't want that 8% pay cut," said Mr. Quenneville. "If you don't want the job, leave the job. Why ruin 18,000 jobs?"



"I didn't mislead anybody on anything," Mr. Hurt said. He said he didn't tell workers preparing to strike that a buyer for Hostess was definitely waiting in the wings.



Mr. Hurt said, "I don't want anybody to think that anybody is guaranteeing anyone anything, but we did know that there were people taking a look at this company."

This would be a truly fantastic drama, if people's lives were not at stake. And no, not one former Hostess worker will retain their job at the new company: that much is certain.

As we said, if only people had a basic understanding of how bankruptcy truly worked, and what the real state of the economy was, then Hostess' workers may have had a chance and some amicable comrpomise would have been possible.

Then again, if people in America actually understood economics and simple finance, then the "Ohio outcome", and many others, would have likely been quite different.

Now we can only hope we were not correct about the ultimate outcome too: namely that the US government will effectively hijack the bankruptcy process, and in doing so "bailout" a junk food maker, just so 18k votes can be preserved at the expense of creditors and making yet another mockery of the bankruptcy process, and property rights in the US.

Then again, this is precisely what the Union was likely hoping for all along, because once the government starts bailing everyone out, just where does it draw the line?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-1...-turn-labor-un

[Poncherello]

As President of this union he could not find the time to make it to NYC for mediation? That right there should tell his members something about where his priorities are.


I'd strike your ass and bring your company down.

[RJ80]

Originally Posted by Vette_Newb

Ya just can't make this shit up..

Last week, when discussing the next steps for the company, and specifically the hope that mediation may resolve the epic animosity between management and workers, we stated that "What makes a mediation improbable is that the antagonism between the feuding sides has certainly hit a level of no return: "Several unions also objected to the company's plans, saying they made "a mockery" of laws protecting collective bargaining agreements in bankruptcy. The Teamsters, which represents 7,900 Hostess workers, said the company's plan would improperly cut the ability of remaining workers to use sick days and vacation." Sure enough, moments ago we learned that mediation has now failed and the liquidation may proceed. And since in America nobody understands that proper sequence of events involved in a bankruptcy liquidation, where the valuable parts always end up being acquired by someone, in this case the Twinkie brand and recipe, let the pointless Ebay bidding wars over twinkies continue. As for what really happens next, if indeed Bimbo is prohibited from acquiring the assets in the Stalking Horse auction due to anti-trust limitations, then the buyer will almost certainly be a "financial", i.e., another PE firm, whose coming means the end of any hopes and dreams of preserving union status at fresh start Hostess, or whatever the new firm will be named.

From the WSJ:

Hostess Brands Inc. said Tuesday night it would proceed with liquidation plans after mediation fails.

Earlier Tuesday, the head of the bakers union whose strike precipitated Hostess liquidation plans didn't attend a last-ditch mediation session and wasn't hopeful about its prospects, he said.

"I'm not too optimistic about this mediation," Frank Hurt, president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, said when reached earlier Tuesday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. He said he couldn't get to New York, where the session was taking place; instead, he said, the union's secretary-treasurer was attending.



The mediation came at a judge's suggestion after the Twinkie maker said Friday that a week-long strike by the bakers left the company no choice but to seek a bankruptcy judge's approval for liquidation.



The judge, Robert Drain, urged mediation, citing among other things the hope for saving some 18,500 jobs. The company filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in January.



The judge indicated Monday that if mediation wasn't successful, Hostess could return to court Wednesday to pursue its liquidation plan.



Doug Mansky, a Hostess driver in Detroit and a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was in the process of moving to a cheaper condominium on Tuesday, after his union had agreed to an 8% pay cut that he said would shave $200 a week from his income. After Judge Drain cleared Hostess to impose the same new labor terms on the bakers union, they went on strike.



"I hope things work out. I'm going to be 49 and trying to find a job in a market that's terrible," Mr. Mansky said.

Sadly, the reality of learning just how bad the labor market truly is, all smoke and mirrors of a recovery aside, will now have to be experienced by not only Mr. Manksy but 18,499 of his fellow co-workers, who may have been duped into hoping by their union that by holding out a hardline stance, they would gain something.

They have now lost everything. And not too unexpectedly, the workers are now turning on the Union!

[S]ome Hostess workers in another union awaiting the
mediation results criticized Mr. Hurt, the 20-year president of the
bakers union, who defended his decisions and actions during the
company's bankruptcy process.



Scott Quenneville, a Hostess truck driver represented by the Teamsters, said he feels his colleagues were misled by Mr. Hurt into believing that a buyer would swoop in for the company. Mr. Hurt on Sunday said he thought there was a good chance a buyer would emerge who would give union members their jobs back.



"Frank misled a lot of people. He was not going to settle for anything less than closing the company down, because they didn't want that 8% pay cut," said Mr. Quenneville. "If you don't want the job, leave the job. Why ruin 18,000 jobs?"



"I didn't mislead anybody on anything," Mr. Hurt said. He said he didn't tell workers preparing to strike that a buyer for Hostess was definitely waiting in the wings.



Mr. Hurt said, "I don't want anybody to think that anybody is guaranteeing anyone anything, but we did know that there were people taking a look at this company."

This would be a truly fantastic drama, if people's lives were not at stake. And no, not one former Hostess worker will retain their job at the new company: that much is certain.

As we said, if only people had a basic understanding of how bankruptcy truly worked, and what the real state of the economy was, then Hostess' workers may have had a chance and some amicable comrpomise would have been possible.

Then again, if people in America actually understood economics and simple finance, then the "Ohio outcome", and many others, would have likely been quite different.

Now we can only hope we were not correct about the ultimate outcome too: namely that the US government will effectively hijack the bankruptcy process, and in doing so "bailout" a junk food maker, just so 18k votes can be preserved at the expense of creditors and making yet another mockery of the bankruptcy process, and property rights in the US.

Then again, this is precisely what the Union was likely hoping for all along, because once the government starts bailing everyone out, just where does it draw the line?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-1...-turn-labor-un

An 8% cut is $200 per week for a truck driver?! No wonder the company is broke paying truck drivers $2500 a week or $130K per year.

[The Torch]

Originally Posted by RJ80

An 8% cut is $200 per week for a truck driver?! No wonder the company is broke paying truck drivers $2500 a week or $130K per year.

That is exactly what I was thinking. Even if the driver works 60 hours a week, with OT pay that is still over $35 an hour plus you know he is getting benefits

[Fluffy]

Apparently, the unions had obtained that those who touch the bread can't touch cakes. So for all routes, there were always two trucks: one for the bread, the other for the cakes.

[Texdentist]

For the first time in history, bakers may be the target of lynchings. If they don't value their job and the jobs of their co-workers any more than this, they deserve to be on the street IMO.

[walleyfisher]

[Bill Davies]

Originally Posted by RJ80

An 8% cut is $200 per week for a truck driver?! No wonder the company is broke paying truck drivers $2500 a week or $130K per year.

Yeah. I did that math too. Maybe I'll go to truck driving school...

[ironhorse]

Originally Posted by RJ80

An 8% cut is $200 per week for a truck driver?! No wonder the company is broke paying truck drivers $2500 a week or $130K per year.

Driving a truck is an honorable profession. However, to pay someone $130k a year, TO DELIVER CAKES is F*ing nut's...to quote Marie Antoinette "LET THEM EAT CAKE".......

[DarthAWM]

I'm going introduce a possibility.

The driver may be an owner operator, if so he is paying for fuel, repairs and the truck on top of his personal expenses.

Of course being union, I doubt it but its not impossible.

[Texdentist]

Originally Posted by DarthAWM

I'm going introduce a possibility.

The driver may be an owner operator, if so he is paying for fuel, repairs and the truck on top of his personal expenses.

Of course being union, I doubt it but its not impossible.

I think he would only be doing that if he was an independent contractor. And if he was, he wouldn't be in the union. There is one other possiblity -- that he exaggerated how much he was going to be losing. That wouldn't be unexpected in a disgruntled employee about to be out of a job. I can't imagine he really made $130k/yr driving a bread truck.

[Geneus]

Originally Posted by Texdentist

I think he would only be doing that if he was an independent contractor. And if he was, he wouldn't be in the union. There is one other possiblity -- that he exaggerated how much he was going to be losing. That wouldn't be unexpected in a disgruntled employee about to be out of a job. I can't imagine he really made $130k/yr driving a bread truck.

I could believe it...not only do they get a salary, but they get a commission on each loaf of bread/package of hotdog-hamburger rolls they sell. All it takes is a couple of large stores and they are rolling in the dough...so to speak. I was a bread delivery guy during my summers in college. I was averaging $500/week over the 10 weeks of summer...back in 1975!

The guys with cake routes make even more. No doubt that the Entenmann's Cake drivers are making on average over $100K/year with the best routes making $150K-$175K/year.

[Poncherello]

This Thanksgiving I was a hero for bringing a box of Twinkies to dinner.

[the machine]

Originally Posted by Poncherello

This Thanksgiving I was a hero for bringing a box of Twinkies to dinner.

Wow a super-hero that brings twinkies...and thus was born


Captain Twinkie.

[Ducati117]

Originally Posted by RJ80

An 8% cut is $200 per week for a truck driver?! No wonder the company is broke paying truck drivers $2500 a week or $130K per year.

That's gotta be wrong in some way shape or form.

There's no group of truck drivers makin 130k and livin in condos in detwat.



Let time run it's course.