Mismanagement tops underlying problems
Hostess Brands, Inc., an iconic American company, has had some financial problems. It filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January — its second in a decade — and it recently tried to cut union workers’ pay, health and pension benefits. Union workers wouldn’t stand for that, so what does Hostess do? It threatens to liquidate its assets instead of playing fair leaving the status of classic and iconic American brands like Wonder Bread, Ho Hos or even Twinkies uncertain, along with about 18,000 jobs.
But there’s no reason to fear. On Monday, the judge presiding over the bankruptcy case urged both Hostess and the union to try and mediate their conflict. It’s possibly the last chance for both sides to come together and reach an agreement, and hopefully it’ll head off the liquidation. Otherwise, Hostess would collapse, and then other companies would have to fight like vultures for the remaining scraps.
It’s easy to point fingers at the union for being too demanding in these situations, but enough is enough. The fault for this conflict mainly lies with the company itself, particularly management. Hostess has mismanaged its funds on a constant basis, and it shouldn’t constantly try to shortchange union workers to fix its mistake.
Unions are supposed to protect the common man from being taken advantage of, and Hostess’ actions are unacceptable. Let’s just hope this forced mediation works, for not only the future of Twinkies, but the future of union worker rights as well.
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