[U.S.] Hostess on Strike

[Taboo Tongue]

http://bctgm.org/2012/11/bctgm-members-initiate-national-strike-at-hostess-brands/

On Friday, November 9 BCTGM members employed by Hostess Brands across the country began to strike. These workers, many of whom have worked at Hostess and its predecessor companies for decades, are on strike in response to the company’s unilateral imposition of a horrendous contract that was rejected by 92 percent of BCTGM Hostess workers in September.

On Strike
Billings, Montana
Memphis, Tenn. Jacksonville, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Peoria, Illinois
Northwood, Ohio
Columbus, Indiana
Biddeford, Maine
Lenexa, Kansas


Honoring Strike
St. Louis, MO
Emporia, KS
Philadelphia
Hodgkins, Ill.
Indianapolis, Indiana,

[erupt]

Now if we could only get people to not buy fuckin' Ho-Hos or Twinkies on the days of the strikes...

[sixdollarchampagne]

Reportedly, workers in Philly are honoring the strike, refusing to cross picket lines http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-11-11/philly-workers-honor-picket-line-at-hostess-plant The contract that Hostess Brands imposed reduces wages and benefits by roughly a third, and Hostess Brands workers face an immediate wage cut of nearly 10%. In response, the contract was rejected by nearly 95% of union members, a few months ago. Solidarity forever!

[Red Commissar]

The corporate suits decided to, instead of trying to reach an agreement with the strikers, shut down the whole fucking company. Cue the self-righteous pricks harping on about why unions shouldn't to on strike because it "hurts" everyone. The 18,000 workers are to be fired and the assets liquidated.

[erupt]

The corporate suits decided to, instead of trying to reach an agreement with the strikers, shut down the whole fucking company. Cue the self-righteous pricks harping on about why unions shouldn't to on strike because it "hurts" everyone. The 18,000 workers are to be fired and the assets liquidated.

Yes, I've noticed it in my county's newspaper's comments section on their online portion of their publication, ...let me take a breath now... and it blows me away, to be honest.

I can't fathom the reasoning behind blaming unionization on the macro level or the worker on the micro level, and not blaming corporatism on the macro or the upper management and board members of the company/conglomerate, on the micro.

What's worse is how much money they're going to make from selling around 18,500 employees down the river. Can anyone elaborate on US corporate bankruptcy rules/laws/regulations? I don't know what excuse it is, but they'll all be receiving big, big checks from the company they own, from what I understand.

[zimmerwald1915]

I can't fathom the reasoning behind blaming unionization on the macro level or the worker on the micro level, and not blaming corporatism on the macro or the upper management and board members of the company/conglomerate, on the micro.
Can't you, though?

[Os Cangaceiros]

I've heard some people having a good chuckle about this strike apparently backfiring spectacularly on the strikers. It's almost as if the owners of Hostess decided to do a little scorched earth warfare on their rebellious employees.

[cynicles]

The CEO all trippled their salaries within the last year before the strike broke out.

[Red Commissar]

The CEO all trippled their salaries within the last year before the strike broke out.

Do you have a source on that? It would be interesting to show those pricks bashing the unions that the management wasn't exactly innocent.

[Red Banana]

Does anyone know if the union might offer to buy some of the factories back?

[GoddessCleoLover]

The demise of Hostess will likely lead to some formerly Hostess products being produced and sold by the Mexican corporation, Grupo Bimbo. The internationalization of capitalism proceeds apace.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Haha, "Bimbo". They're all over the place in Mexico, cheap hostess knock-offs. I thought that Bimbo was a subsidiary of Wonderbread, though.

[GoddessCleoLover]

Grupo Bimbo is independent of Hostess/Wonderbread, and just as Kmart swallowed up Sears, Grup Bimbo is poised to swallow up Hostess/Wonderbread. International capitalism at its Schumpeterian "finest".