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madoka

Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:40 am Post subject: The end of Twinkies?!?!?!?! NOOOO! |
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Three days of labor strikes have prompted Hostess Brands Inc. to close three plants and mull a possible liquidation of the beleaguered baking company.
Hostess, which has been dueling with various labor groups for the past 10 months as it attempts to claw its way out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is seeing picket lines at about two-thirds of its plants, according to Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn.
The strikes were organized by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union, whose 5,680 Hostess workers account for about 30% of the company's total work force.
In September, the union rejected a Hostess proposal that called for deep labor concessions, but a judge later allowed the baking company to force the union to adopt the new collective-bargaining agreement.
The union said on Friday that it was kicking off the strike to protest the "horrendous contract" that Hostess imposed, which features wage cuts and limits workers' participation in pension plans.
Mr. Rayburn said Monday afternoon that Hostess would be shutting down plants in Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati as a result of the work stoppage. The plants produce everything from cakes to Nature's Pride and Wonder breads, and they employ 627 workers, all of whom will lose their jobs. "We don't have the manpower to maintain them during the strike," he said.
He also said that the company didn't have much more wiggle room in terms of shutting down additional plants and that the next step would probably be a complete shutdown.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hostess-shuts-3-plants-035700490.html
I haven't eaten a Twinkie in years, but now I'm thinking of stocking up and testing out the upper limits of the shelf life of Twinkies.
McClane: Oh, God...
Powell: Roy? Roy, you all right?
McClane: Just trying to fire down a 1,000 year old Twinkie. What do they put in these things, anyway?
Powell: Sugar, enriched flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, polysorbate 60, and yellow dye number five. Just everything a growing boy needs. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Last time I bothered to read the ingredients list on a Twinkies label, I think I saw lard or animal fat listed as a possible ingredient. (Possible because some products have more than one manufacturing recipe and it's just cheaper for the company to have the same label for all versions of that product.) |
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madoka

Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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newb
Joined: 27 Aug 2012 Location: Korea
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Obama was meeting with union leader(s) a few days ago. I guess the gov't is encouraging these strikes to better the economy. Way to go! |
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Jyang486
Joined: 25 Nov 2011
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:38 pm Post subject: |
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Please tell me these are joke auctions... |
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madoka

Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:53 pm Post subject: Re: The end of Twinkies?!?!?!?! NOOOO! |
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| madoka wrote: |
| He also said that the company didn't have much more wiggle room in terms of shutting down additional plants and that the next step would probably be a complete shutdown. |
Even the Teamsters agreed. Too bad the baker's union decided to strike for fear that other bakeries would also demand such concessions.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/hostess-liquidation-teamsters-bakers-union_n_2145851.html
Ken Hall, the Teamsters secretary-treasurer, said his union didn't doubt Hostess' claims after seeing its books.
"I think it's obvious there was no bluff," said Hall. "Our financial advisers had looked at their books, they had total access. We pushed them in negotiations to where we thought it was the absolute limit, that we would get the most for our members and [still] have a pathway back to prosperity for the company. The bakers' union disagreed with that."
"Frankly, I feel sick about what's going on here," Hall added. "It's a tragic day for 18,000 workers." |
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Dodge7
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Unions are a joke. Instead of taking a cut in pay and benefits the workers are going to lose 100% of their pay and benefits. Thanks unions! You slime. |
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madoka

Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 1:37 am Post subject: |
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| Jyang486 wrote: |
Please tell me these are joke auctions... |
From the Associated Press:
Twinkies are being sold on the Internet like exquisite delicacies.
Hours after Twinkie-maker Hostess announced its plans to close its doors forever, people flocked to stores to fill their shopping baskets with boxes of the cream-filled sponge cakes and their sibling snacks � Ding Dongs, Ho Hos and Zingers.
Late Friday and Saturday, the opportunists took to eBay and Craigslist. They began marketing their hoard to whimsical collectors and junk-food lovers for hundreds � and in some cases � thousands of dollars. That's a fat profit margin, when you consider the retail price for a box of 10 Twinkies is roughly $5.
Greg Edmonds of Sherman, Texas is among those who believe Twinkies are worth more now that Hostess Brands Inc. has closed its bakeries. He lost his job as a sales representative eight months ago, so he is hoping to make some money feeding the appetites of Twinkie fans and connoisseurs
After spending a couple hours driving around to stores Friday, Edmonds wound up with 16 boxes of Twinkies and Ding Dongs. He started selling them Saturday on eBay, advertising three boxes for a hefty price of $300.
"I could really use the extra money since I'm unemployed," Edmonds, 50, said. "I figure I better sell them pretty quickly because I am not sure how long this novelty is going to last."
Contrary to popular belief, Twinkies don't last forever. Most bought in stores Friday carry an expiration date of early December,
If buyers don't bite, Edmonds isn't sure what he will do with his supply. He doesn't even like them. "I do like to have a Ding Dong, every once in a while though," he said.
John Stansel of Tampa, Fla. blanches at the thought of eating a Twinkie. He's a self-described health nut.
Yet he, too, rummaged shelves late Friday at a neighborhood Walgreens and then again early Saturday at Target and a grocery store. He spent about $100 for 20 boxes of Twinkies and Ding Dongs. His goal: sell them for about $1,000 and put the money to good use.
"Maybe I will hire a personal trainer for myself or go do some shopping at Whole Foods or donate the money to a charity to fight diabetes," Stansel, 40, said. "No matter what, I figure I am getting sugar off the streets." |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 6:04 am Post subject: |
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| There is still hope yet. The company has just recently resumed talks with the labor union it has been having trouble with after previously saying it was going to sell off its assets. |
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