Oh NO!

[downtownv]

Did Obamacare go too far? Is the costs too high?

[MW surveyor]

Most probably.

From what I heard on the radio the other day.......Hostess was in bankruptcy and attempting to restructure. The baker's union wanted an 8% raise and Hostess replied that if the union did not back off on the 8% raise, they would just fold. Evidently the union did not back off from their demands so..............no more "Twinky" defense in the future.

[jocko]

and to add to that

Most probably.

From what I heard on the radio the other day.......Hostess was in bankruptcy and attempting to restructure. The baker's union wanted an 8% raise and Hostess replied that if the union did not back off on the 8% raise, they would just fold. Evidently the union did not back off from their demands so..............no more "Twinky" defense in the future.

they were ask to take an 8% cut and they said no. Hostess has a bunch of unions in the copany and in early this year they filed bankrptcy ad the courts ruled in Hostess favor against one of the unions. This union now that strukc hostess roguht the entrie comapny to a hald.

The union bosses even sent their accouning people in to hostess and did their due diligence and basically found what Hostess was telling the members was dear true. They even went asw far as to come out and tell the union workers they should take a BALLOT VOTE (which is unheard on in union voting as u well know for it is the intimidation factor that drives union members to stick together), anyway the Union bosses told the membership that Hostess was not bluffing and would indeed shut the place down and the members basicaly tld the union bosses FOKK U. so no twinkies this week for ol jocko. No doubt the big ame products made by Hosterss will be bought up by different bakeries but u can truyst they willnot be unionized or certainly not be rehiring the striking workers. A shame. U can blame the union, , the company, the economy but one thing is for sure 18K workers are out of a job in an enviroment that IS JUST NOT HIRNG. And if u have been a bekr for 22 years, then just what skills do u hav eto go lookng elsewhere.

If I recall the unions in Canada, called Caterpillars bluff about 6 months ago, and cat closed the plant and came to Indiana to build their locomotives etc.

Not sure how obummer can step inb here and do jack sh!t . He got reelected so he really cold care less now about the average worker. Remember he is after those 1% ers now

Course tomaybe we can blame obummers wife for the downfall of Hostess as that fat slug has campaingend against junk food and hostess brands was one of her targets to. Just sayin

[muggsy]

Two of my golf buddies drove for Hostess. Both good union men. Both voted for Obama. They'll have a lot more time for golf now, but I think that they are going to be spending that time reevaluating their vote.

[CrabbyAzz]

Hostess has been flirting with bankruptcy for the last decade, can't blame on Obama. Also, what kind of cuts were management planning to take. Probably none...

I don't much care for unions, but I try not to judge them till you know the whole story. Maybe they have been taking cuts for years now.. Don't know. I remember the year my company gave us across the board 10% pay cut because economic times were bad. Then we found out everyone manager level and above got a 20% bonus. I'm not talking CEO's, I'm talking rank and file managers which accounts for about 30% of the employee's. Basically they turned us upside down and shook out our pockets..

[HalfCocked]

They were asked for a 8% pay cut, the second pay cut. Not a raise. Also the company took their pension fund, which the employees had paid into. In addition upper management voted themselves a pay raise and bonus while all the time never updating their product or marketing. Nobody wins but some will loose more than others..... not a Obama thing or even a union thing.

[Longitude Zero]

They were in bankruptcy proceedings long before the election. I am sure Odummercare might thave helped but the primary issue was intransigence on the part of certain employees. I know workers in the local facilities that were more than happy to take the cuts in order to keep their jobs.

75% of something is better than 100% of unemployment. Certain employees called the companies bluff and lost. This was an easily forseen event by educated individuals.

[yqtszhj]

Go buy all the Twinkys you can find. They will be a collectors item and it's been proven that there are enough additives that they will last as long as the pyramids

[jocko]

not sure

They were asked for a 8% pay cut, the second pay cut. Not a raise. Also the company took their pension fund, which the employees had paid into. In addition upper management voted themselves a pay raise and bonus while all the time never updating their product or marketing. Nobody wins but some will loose more than others..... not a Obama thing or even a union thing.

that is right. The company stopped funding their penion fund 2 years ago. they didn't to my knowlkedge take their pension fund.

It's over for the employees, they can go on unemployment now and live off the goverment for awhile. I would have thought though that when the union itself went in with their accountig people and came out with the conclusinon that Hostess was indeed not bluffiing, tha their membership would have understood it was serious. the sad thing IMO is that if they had had a ballot sealed membership vote, they would be back to work today, to much intimidation within the unions. Call management what u want taking no pay cuts, we don't really know that but, what about the union exec's who live off the sweat and blood of the workig membership. U sure never hear of them sacrificing jack sh!t either...

difference of most companies and our govrnment is that most companies can't tax their people into prosperity, where as our government thinks they can..

[Bawanna]

Its payback for all the unions supporting Obummer. Mine did too. I'm sure he's celebrating on the golf course as we speak.

I have zero use for unions. It's almost like liberal government, perfect for people who don't want to work for their money.

My last warehouse job, management wanted to pay me more money because I was producing and assigned special orders because I didn't make mistakes.

Union wouldn't allow it, said if they paid me more they had to pay everyone more.

Company offered to match everything the union did and then raises based on merit with no layoffs and starting pay stayed the same etc. The guys wouldn't go for it. They were all convinced we'd all be fired as soon as we signed.

Stupid people.

I guess in government work it might not be bad since there really is no owner, just another employee who is appointed the boss and gets to deal the cards. Sort of a no dog in the race situation. But in the private sector unions suck.

[jocko]

good post great one. If Hoffa was such a great union guy and not a slug, he would not be under some driveway today. Trrumpka is no different either, course one big difference waS when Hoffa talked he was talking in front of 50,000 union people. today guys like trumka are talking to 100 give our take and most of those are ordered to be there even. this Hostess thing will set the unions back even more years. they ain't history yet but theire story very shortly will be something like "ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS THESE GROUPS OF PEOPLE WHO CALLED THEMSELVES UNION PEOPLE, yadda yadda yadda. There was an article in USA about a week ago that stated the 30 states that have the RIGHT TO WORK LAW, has hired more people in the past 5 years than the other 20 states in the past . Does that tell anyone anything??? I don't know, just askin. U can read into it ahything u want

a young entreprenaur and two others 2 years ago francised a KY fried chickena nd taco bell under the same roof, u-p on the hillby our local \wal-mart. I was talking to him yesterday abou the economyt etc and he siad, when they started business they hired 47 peole to work there, today 2 years later only 2 of the original are left. He siad so many came in higher than akite, some sold drugs inside the business, some were drunk, some stole. He said this busines venture was the worst investment he ever made, not that they did not have two good products, but help was just the pits.. and tho thinbk he was sharing the profits withg two other partners, ..

[OldLincoln]

I don't understand the union thinking here. On the one hand it's 92% of what they were getting, on the other hand it's 0%. Is that stubbornness, greed, irresponsible to families, or do they consider that an act of valor, honor, going down with the ship.

Years ago my BIL owned a small record company and had a guy that was really good. He told the guy that he needs a bigger label and move up. Buck Owens offered him a contract whereby he would get 50% of net and promote the guy making him a star. The guy was insulted at the 50% offer, still singing in bars, and regrets that decision every day. He told my BIL he finally figured out that 50% of millions is more than $500 a week in bars.

Anyway, back to the union.... with all those new unemployed, is Obama going to blame the unions? Nah....

[jocko]

can u blame obummer???In a way u sure can. the uncertailyt of the cost of obummer care, the taxes going up on small business owners. the cost of doing business today due to goverment over regulation and enviromental changes causing power to cost more, gas to cost more, certainy insurance to cost more and thenb add to that the city's themselves having ti raise city and county taxes to keep their infrastrucre going, and again abiding by new government regulations.

A good example, this small town of our's has had for a 100 years what most cities call CSO lines. common sewer lines,where run off water also went into our sewer treatment plant. Government says no no u can't do that any more u gotta separate the two lines. It is costing our little small ass town millions in borroed money to sepaerate these lines. Is it good for the enviremont, ???Hell maybe it is, but again is it good for these small towns to have to come up withg the funding to do this sh!t when for a 100 years, it has seemed to work OK. Add up the local taxes u pay for property tax, sales tax, city tax, and then federal tax, and then state tax and then if indeed ur a payer of all of these in some way or anutter, then ask yourself, are u ready to PAY ALITTLE MORE, as Harry as$wipe reed seems to think is OK, but oh no lets not ask anyone under 250K of income to pay ALITTLE MORE

[Bawanna]

O isn't gonna blame the union no way no how. He took too much of their money to get in office AGAIN.

[muggsy]

I feel for the working man. He screwed by the employer if there isn't a union and screwed by the union if he votes one in. I was treated much better in nonunion shops, but only because the threat of a union hung over them. I guess a man just does what he can. Sometimes to have to go along to get along.