Twinkie Offense: Unions kill off Hostess Brands

Nov. 19, 2012

By Jennifer Kerns

They were the Hostess with the mostest. The most labor headaches.

Last week Hostess Brands shut its doors after 82 years in business following a food fight with its bakers’ union over wages and benefits.

Citing concerns over finances, the company asked its bakers to take an 8 percent cut in wages for three years. After that, salaries would be bumped up 3 percent. Then an additional 1 percent a year in later years.

Hostess also sought to reduce its pension obligations and healthcare liabilities. In return, the workers would have received a whopping 25 percent equity stake in the company. And two union representatives would have been placed on the company’s eight-member board of directors.

The union said “No,” however, and 18,500 workers were fired.

As an excuse, maybe the unions will take the Twinkie Defense.

Shelf life

Several years ago, a colleague with whom I worked in the healthcare industry in Orange County wrote an article warning consumers about the unnaturally long shelf life of a Twinkie.  The story was met with much media attention and a cease-and-desist letter from the Hostess Brands corporation which vigorously defended its product.

Now Hostess has given up the fight. It seems the makers of the snack food that could nearly withstand a nuclear holocaust could not withstand another term of anti-market policies.

Who can blame them?

During his 2012 election bid, President Obama promoted “tax the rich” fiscal polices. And the president clearly has telegraphed which side of labor disputes he comes down on.

It was just over one year ago that the administration intervened on labor union matters at Boeing.  The National Labor Resources Board filed a complaint to block the company’s relocation of an airplane production line from Washington state to South Carolina because the Palmetto State enjoys right-to-work laws.

Although the dispute eventually was settled and Boeing opened its new facility, the dispute had one chilling effect: It signaled the brass-knuckles stance of Obama’s NLRB, which had gained Democratic majority status following the 2008 Election.

So, nevermind that noise you hear. It’s the crinkle of the wrapper on my last Twinkie as I bid adieu to a great American institution — and to an era gone by, when we respected the right of every American company to make dough, and got out of their way.