Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    No More Twinkies? Hostess Workers Threaten Strike

    (Credit: Mark Lennihan/AP Photo)

    Workers at Hostess Brands, maker of Twinkies , Ho Hos and Wonder Bread, have threatened to strike if the company imposes "unfair" contract terms, including wage cuts.

    The Teamsters Union, representing about 7,500 of the company's 19,000 employees, said that more than 90 percent of its Hostess members voted to authorize a strike if "unfair contract terms" are approved as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.

    Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Jan. 11 and is  continuing to operate during bankruptcy proceedings.

    The company, which operates about 36 bakeries, has proposed new collective bargaining contracts for which a hearing is set on March 5. The U.S. bankruptcy judge will have 30 days to issue a ruling, the Teamsters Union said.

    Dennis Raymond, director of the Teamsters Bakery and Laundry Conference, said the vote shows that while the union's Hostess members are willing to "take significant steps to save the company, they can only go so far."

    Hostess, founded in 1930, filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and re-emerged in 2009. The company has about $860 million in debt.

    "Twice before, they have made sacrifices to help this company with no progress to show for it," Raymond said in a statement. "They need to see their sacrifices matched by other key stakeholders and they need protections to make sure their sacrifices are not made in vain again due to mismanagement. While we remain committed to finding a solution to save the company, it won't be done solely on the backs of our members and Hostess employees."

    A spokesman for Hostess declined to comment on the Teamsters' announcement.

    Members of 12 unions make up the majority of Hostess workers. Almost 92 percent of the union employees belong to one of two unions: the International Brotherhood of Teamsters or the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, the latter of which has about 6,000 members, according to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters.

    Also Read
     
    • python  •  Kansas City, Missouri  •  10 days ago
      You make twinkies! I really doubt that this is a skilled trade and with thousands of people out of work I would not strike and end up losing my job.My pension was froze 6 years ago and if you do your research you will find hardly any company even offers a pension.Good luck finding a job
    • MsKae  •  1 mth 9 days ago
      Please. Nothing, including world-wide nuclear conflagration, can kill a Twinkie.
    • Glenriven  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  3 mths ago
      why are half of the employees teamsters? They bake food for cryin out loud.
    • Fred  •  3 mths ago
      Yea, if you go on strike your going to cripple the country with no twinkies. It's articles like this where you just want to bang your head against the wall.
    • jayjay  •  3 mths ago
      I am sorry but they need to take back their union dues and get another job. Because when your company is in bankrupt conditions and your ignorant enough to believe that striking is going to get you want you want YOUR NUTS! Here is a lesson called LIFE 101 Bankruptcy Courts are designed to allow the company or individual a chance to restructure so that they can stay afloat. The trustee from the Bankruptcy Court could care less about your #$%$ not working that means more money paid on the companies debts. Don't threaten stupid things that will make it easy for those out there in the world who are willing to work for a decent wage. Especially at this time they would settle for minimum wage if they are out of unemployment benefits and have kids with mouths to feed. So grow up and deal with the issue at hand how to keep your company going so you can weather the storm together and build from there. After reading how stupid the employees are I am going to strike eating their snacks from our families choices. Now if I do that and everyone reading this does it, how long can your company last? Sadly this is the new world we have made. Now suck it up and get those Ho Ho's, Twinkines, and Ding Dongs done!
    • mark  •  St Louis, Missouri  •  3 mths ago
      They were hoping to be draw unemployment for the next several years.
    • mora  •  3 mths ago
      While I agree that executive pay and mismanagement is a major problem - you better not leave out your unions. If you thin executives are the only ones rolling in the profits, think again. Union leaders, along with their friends and family, make 6 to 7 figure salaries with your dues, regardless of the outcomes. If a company closes shop or takes it overseas, your union leaders can go elsewhere and get new members, but you will be left with no job. So if you think you are getting screwed from just one end - you better look the other end.
    • PERRY C  •  Niles, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      What a bunch of Ding-Dongs
      • Don 3 mths ago
        LMAO
      • Don 3 mths ago
        Reading all these posts it seem were on the same page. F the unions. They made the country and they'll ruin it.
      • Johnny V baby 3 mths ago
        lol
    • THE BANISHED  •  3 mths ago
      so now what we will eat after the zombie apocalypse?????
      • anonymous 3 mths ago
        How about Snowballs?
      • dogsoldier 3 mths ago
        I have already got a big stash of Twinkies and HoHo`s locked up in an air tight safe. I will survive.
      • Robert C 3 mths ago
        Hey i like Snowballs so dont eat all of them.
    • Andy  •  Monroe, Louisiana  •  3 mths ago
      Everybody, let's not panic! The shelf life of Twinkies is approximately 29.7 years, so there's no need to start hoarding them.
      • ChristopherH 3 mths ago
        You can not kill the Twinkie..

        - Apu
      • Hgldr 3 mths ago
        It's called the "half life".
      • Goliath 3 mths ago
        This is not true the filling is good for a very long time but the cake goes stale in a few weeks. Please stop spreading false info
    • Wilkinson  •  3 mths ago
      I too was a small business owner who for 35 years, ran a profitable business. I paid good wages and all benefits except health care. Couldn't afford it. Then one great day the teamster union came in and threw a letter on my desk saying that they were going to be the union in my business. My "friend" who had worked for me for 30 years was the one who called them and thought it would be good to be in the union. At 62 years old I closed the doors and told them all to go home. My "Friend" doesn't understand what happened. He thinks I should have let the union run my business. NO FREAKIN' WAY. I sold out...took my money and said goodbye. Oh yea by the way...my "Friend" has been on unemployment for weeks now. He can't understand why I don't want to talk with him...and oh yea...I am going on vacation and he isn't.
      • C and B 3 mths ago
        Good for you Wilkinson. It's a shame that more people don't realize that socialism does not build. It only destroys, and history proves it over and over again.
      • J M 3 mths ago
        Sure buddy, I believe that.
      • Dale 3 mths ago
        Great. Have a good time on vac.
    • Chica  •  3 mths ago
      Curious to know what the ufair terms are, and what the workers would consider to be fair.
      • Chica 3 mths ago
        *unfair
      • nunya 3 mths ago
        whatever you do, imagine going in to work and getting told you now work for half of your current pay. it might not be the right amount but it should give you an idea of what corporate overlords think IS fair
      • Jim 3 mths ago
        what they consider fair is anything they can screw the workerout of
    • JeffreyL  •  3 mths ago
      strike away and i will work for em its ok
    • M  •  3 mths ago
      Oh what ever you work at a Twinkie factory for crying out loud. And you should be glad to even have a job.
    • stevefrcali  •  Fairfield, California  •  3 mths ago
      Teamster contracts say work 3 and get paid for 8 so is that fair ?( local 85 teamster ) wonder why the company suffers ! Its from exstortion from the union i see it many times first hand i hope hostess reopens with a new name and non union people who have personal responsabilty- ill run that company gladly. from a right to work state.
    • Chuck  •  3 mths ago
      In related news, Hostess strike causes the US obesity rate to decline...
    • borderwar  •  Modesto, California  •  3 mths ago
      Hope they strike and all get replaced
    • Paul G  •  Wichita, Kansas  •  3 mths ago
      Go on strike......go out of business......walk as a group to the unemployment office.
    • William Johns  •  Washington, District of Columbia  •  3 mths ago
      Close the plants and reorganize and reopen without unions. These employee's and unions need to be taught a lesson on how their demands are hurting jobs and this economy. They need to experience a financial loss as these company's do. We can survive without Twinkies
      but they can't. No way should this company give in to their demands.
    • Gerald  •  Owensboro, Kentucky  •  3 mths ago
      I wonder if anyone told those dweebs, that the UE rate was 8.2%( if you believe Obama's numbers, anyway) Hostess will probably not be able to replace them in less than 10 minutes.
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]