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Old 11-18-2012, 10:10 AM
 
5,252 posts, read 4,657,929 times
Reputation: 17362

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Anti union sentiment appears in a lot of todays ostensible "news" stories. Lest we forget, the Media itself is simply one of the voices that would love to stifle organized labor's advances over the last fifty years.

I've always found it odd that most American's are unaware of the fact that media represents a crucial segment of that vitriolic anti union crowd, after all, they have had some monumental battles with their own unions. Newspapers and TV networks are huge conglomerates that have built in bias's against labor, their pathetic coverage of union strikes dwell mostly on those whose lives are adversely affected by those strikes, live coverage at the local airport, the reporters are speaking with disgruntled passengers who spin the workers plight in terms of their own transient discomfort, customers in the supermarkets expressing their anger over a truckers labor dispute, this is the usual way in which labor's interests are viewed by the press.

Is the union wage structure the cause of Hostess's failure? No, it isn't, this company has been around for a very long time, their union relationship is an old one, their market share is severely challenged by a heightened health awareness among consumers who have opted out of the low end baked goods consumption habit in favor of a more healthy diet. Seattle had a lot of good bakeries in the past, some have survived, some haven't, they were all unionized, they were all productive, they were successful, unions don't dictate the direction of economies, they simply respond to the economic realities.

For those who think that the answer to these labor/management struggles allow for the workers to always concede their earnings to poor corporate performance or a diminishing market share, consider the scenario take to it's extreme. Workers AND companies need to be compensated to the degree that both feel the work required for sustainment is worth doing...Workers can't and shouldn't bargain for a reversal of fortune, for that matter how many companies have been willing to cut prices to the bone and add their shareholders to the list of those injured by market realties? Companies routinely go broke, workers are routinely unemployed, their is no certainty in business or labor, companies charge what they feel the market will bear, workers do the same, failing companies rarely are saved by restructuring their wage agreements.......
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Old 11-18-2012, 11:25 AM
 
12,268 posts, read 6,440,885 times
Reputation: 9418
Quote:
Originally Posted by tickyul View Post
Good for the unions....doing the same as they did to the steel industry.
I don`t recall any steel mills closing over a contract issue and fyi we`re still making steel in Pgh. The companies that invested in their plants are still here.
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Old 11-18-2012, 11:27 AM
 
12,268 posts, read 6,440,885 times
Reputation: 9418
This article in business friendly conservative Forbes magazine tells us what really happened to Hostess. They were Bained.
Who Killed Hostess Brands and Twinkies? - Forbes
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Old 11-18-2012, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Deepest Darkest NZ
717 posts, read 646,596 times
Reputation: 446
What was this last/best/final offer? You'd never know by watching the main stream media tell the story. So here you go...

1) 8% hourly pay cut in year 1 with additional cuts totaling 27% over 5 years. Someone making the top rate of pay in the Bakery, $16.12 would drop to $11.26 in 5 years.
2) The management get to keep the $3+ an hour forever.
3) Doubling of weekly insurance premium.
4) Lowering of overall quality of insurance plan.
5) TOTAL withdrawal from ALL pensions. If you don't have it now then you never will.

Would YOU take the deal?

While the CEO walks away with a 300% raise and bonuses, would YOU take the deal?
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Old 11-18-2012, 12:23 PM
 
Location: Planet Eaarth
8,954 posts, read 20,642,392 times
Reputation: 7193
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.drew View Post
The union was asking too much. It's not like they were wanting to pay minimum wage to everybody. They want to find good help and pay them what they were worth.
Some posters can't tell when a discussion jumps beyond their ability to participate.................

Last edited by Grandpa Pipes; 11-18-2012 at 12:31 PM..
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Old 11-18-2012, 12:50 PM
 
193 posts, read 457,541 times
Reputation: 214
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwimac View Post
What was this last/best/final offer? You'd never know by watching the main stream media tell the story. So here you go...

1) 8% hourly pay cut in year 1 with additional cuts totaling 27% over 5 years. Someone making the top rate of pay in the Bakery, $16.12 would drop to $11.26 in 5 years.
2) The management get to keep the $3+ an hour forever.
3) Doubling of weekly insurance premium.
4) Lowering of overall quality of insurance plan.
5) TOTAL withdrawal from ALL pensions. If you don't have it now then you never will.

Would YOU take the deal?

While the CEO walks away with a 300% raise and bonuses, would YOU take the deal?
wait for it... "but you're lucky to have a job"

Wages go down, prices and inflation go up... so when adjusted it's far greater than the cut illustrated! makes 27% less 5 years from now, ya where can I sign up for THAT deal? The ship was sinking, period. Most folks I have come across who are anti union are either jealous that their boss has them over a barrel and they don't have any protection whatsoever, or they are the bosses that wish they had employees over a barrel.
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Old 11-18-2012, 02:16 PM
 
1,018 posts, read 3,373,804 times
Reputation: 588
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwimac View Post
What was this last/best/final offer? You'd never know by watching the main stream media tell the story. So here you go...

1) 8% hourly pay cut in year 1 with additional cuts totaling 27% over 5 years. Someone making the top rate of pay in the Bakery, $16.12 would drop to $11.26 in 5 years.
2) The management get to keep the $3+ an hour forever.
3) Doubling of weekly insurance premium.
4) Lowering of overall quality of insurance plan.
5) TOTAL withdrawal from ALL pensions. If you don't have it now then you never will.

Would YOU take the deal?

While the CEO walks away with a 300% raise and bonuses, would YOU take the deal?
I would not, but if i had the option of taking this or loose a job, i would accept it.

its still better than min wage even after 5 years. most of those jobs at hostess probably doesnt require much skills unless theyre someone who fixes the machines.


the hostess brand wont die, i think some company will buy their name and recipe, and keep it going. twinkies has too much history to die.
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Old 11-18-2012, 02:29 PM
 
193 posts, read 457,541 times
Reputation: 214
Quote:
Originally Posted by civic94 View Post
I would not, but if i had the option of taking this or loose a job, i would accept it.

its still better than min wage even after 5 years.
But, not better than collecting unemployment... whoomp there it is.
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Old 11-18-2012, 02:29 PM
 
Location: Yucaipa, California
9,894 posts, read 21,976,453 times
Reputation: 6852
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwimac View Post
What was this last/best/final offer? You'd never know by watching the main stream media tell the story. So here you go...

1) 8% hourly pay cut in year 1 with additional cuts totaling 27% over 5 years. Someone making the top rate of pay in the Bakery, $16.12 would drop to $11.26 in 5 years.
2) The management get to keep the $3+ an hour forever.
3) Doubling of weekly insurance premium.
4) Lowering of overall quality of insurance plan.
5) TOTAL withdrawal from ALL pensions. If you don't have it now then you never will.

Would YOU take the deal?

While the CEO walks away with a 300% raise and bonuses, would YOU take the deal?
The CEO is the root of all evil.
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Old 11-18-2012, 02:35 PM
 
9,639 posts, read 5,997,710 times
Reputation: 8567
Quote:
Originally Posted by steel7 View Post
The CEO is the root of all evil.
Private equity had ownership, that was your root. Unions are just taking the blame because private equity conviently tends to avoid any attention.
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