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Rickenbacker
11-16-2012, 08:27 PM
Yeah, it's junk food & apparently, it'll still be around under a different name (if anyone buys em up), but a little sad to see a part of so many of our childhoods go. I was *big* on the fruit pies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoJgV1DNSxE

tom unbound
11-16-2012, 08:31 PM
Where the plook am I going to get Zingers now ??

Scott Bails
11-16-2012, 08:42 PM
I don't understand anything I've heard about this story.

meimjustalawnmower
11-16-2012, 08:52 PM
I never ate that shit.

Rickenbacker
11-16-2012, 09:00 PM
I never ate that shit.

What shit *did* you eat, Tom? ;)
Really? Not even one Ring Ding back in the day?

Progbear
11-16-2012, 09:18 PM
Where the plook am I going to get Zingers now ??

They’ll be around, I’m sure. They used to be made by Dolly Madison until Hostess bought them out. Remember the commercials on the Peanuts specials?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9m61oMqPKY

There’s also online recipes showing you how to make your own.


Really? Not even one Ring Ding back in the day?

Did you mean “Ding Dong”?

-------------
MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

‘“What blow, Goblin?” said Corinius.’ --E. R. Eddison

N.P.:nothing

meimjustalawnmower
11-16-2012, 09:33 PM
What shit *did* you eat, Tom? ;)
Really? Not even one Ring Ding back in the day?

I don't even know what a Ring Ding is/was, back in the day or otherwise.

meimjustalawnmower
11-16-2012, 09:42 PM
Did you mean “Ding Dong”?
Not goin' there. :lol

Jimmy Giant
11-16-2012, 09:49 PM
I need to fill my pickup with Ho Ho's!!!

Scott Bails
11-16-2012, 09:52 PM
As opposed to just ho's? ;)

Scott Bails
11-16-2012, 09:57 PM
All right...this is kinda getting out of hand. (http://www.ebay.com/sch/?_nkw=twinkies&clk_rvr_id=411695380862)

East New York
11-16-2012, 10:09 PM
(giggling like all hell) Amy...? Hey, Amy!!!! :lol

FrippWire
11-16-2012, 10:51 PM
I just got the last package (not BOX but PACKAGE) of Twinkies from my Local 7-11. The Hostess run is on!

Amy
11-16-2012, 10:58 PM
If you've never peeled the foil off of the dark, rich chocolate of a Ring Ding or a Yodel (as opposed to these days, ripping off the plastic over some diluted-brown sponge), then you really haven't lived at all. ;)

Twinkies are (were?) good, but man, nothing beat those vintage Yodels and Ring Dings. And I'm sorry, but Ho-Hos and Ding Dongs are nothing but pitiable wannabees. That is just fact.

rcarlberg
11-16-2012, 11:08 PM
I'm laying in a hundred-year supply tonight.

UnephenStephen
11-17-2012, 05:52 AM
didn't they make Devil Dogs too? those were my favorite along with Ring Dings..

actually it was Drake's. but they were a Hostess brand name (Drake's cakes) so same company.

http://www.drakesdevildogs.com/images/DD16PK.jpg

Vic2012
11-17-2012, 06:55 AM
Been reading about this for the last couple days. I'm sorry that so many people are losing their jobs, but I won't be sad to see this company shut down. Yeah, I have the same nostalgia as most of you about Twinkies, Ho Hos, Sno Balls, etc. My personal favorite was this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Hostess-Cupcake-Whole.jpg/220px-Hostess-Cupcake-Whole.jpg

I always took the top layer of chocolate frosting (or whatever that is) off and ate it before eating the rest.

These were pretty good too:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Hostess-Sno-Ball-WS.jpg/250px-Hostess-Sno-Ball-WS.jpg

It's the "mindless pop" of food :lol

RIP Hostess. I'm kinda sad to see this brand go but I'm not sad that a company that produces junk food is closing shop. It won't change anything. Junk food will still be produced, but maybe this is a start.

Rune Blackwings
11-17-2012, 11:15 AM
i am very very sad....no more twinkies or funny bones...

Brian Griffin
11-17-2012, 12:35 PM
Neither Fox News or CNN is using Strawbs "Part of the Union" as a bed for this story

Major missed opportunity

BG

Gruno
11-17-2012, 12:35 PM
I never ate that shit.

I ate that shit and still do!

I just polished off a box of Ding Dongs two weeks ago. In the summer I was going through the Cherry Pies (made from car wax) at least one every other day for a while. I love my junk food! There is a Hostess factory about 15 minutes from me. There were also Hostess shops that had every product from them. Those closed down a few years ago. I would get a bunch of stuff from there. I called the place -- Heaven.

Jay G
11-17-2012, 01:14 PM
Sorry folks but I always found Hostess stuff to be awful. Not even close to Tasty Kakes which are the only true baked snack cake. All other are fried in garbage.

Vic2012
11-18-2012, 07:24 AM
Someone should start a thread about junk food. That should be hilarious. Or maybe we can just do that here on this thread. I don't have a sweet tooth, and I have to watch my glucose, so if all the bakeries in the world that produce junk food went belly up, it wouldn't bother me at all. Now, if Taco Bell takes a shit then I'll be very unhappy. ;)

Nothing like a couple o' these after you've been doin' this :beer + X) for a few hours:

http://fastfood.ocregister.com/files/2012/02/taco_bell_doritos_tacoshell.jpg

It's called a "Loco Taco" ..... Dee-lish :lol

UnephenStephen
11-18-2012, 07:57 AM
not made by Hostess but does anybody remember the Scooter Pie (aka Moon Pie)? loved these as a kid.

http://afoodieaffair.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/scooter-pie.jpg

i think they're still around. originally made by Burry, i think they're made by Salerno now.

here's an interesting and appropriate article..

junk food (http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2104472_2104473_2104484,00.html)

Vic2012
11-18-2012, 07:59 AM
Hell yes I remember Scooter Pies. Man, when I think of all the junk we ate and drank as kids, it's no wonder that we're so obese in this culture. But we had a lot of fun eating all that junk too. ;)

ForeverAutumn
11-18-2012, 08:04 AM
If you scroll down this article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostess_Brands#Brands, it lists all the brands made by Hostess. They include Drakes as well as Wonder Bread.

80s were ok
11-18-2012, 09:23 AM
It'll be a shame to see all those products go. Twinkes have changed a bit over the years so I don't like them anymore, but all the Drakes stuff is really good- Yodels are still good, Funny bones etc (that is if DRAKES is part of Hostess....didn't know that, only going by an above post). These were GOOD snacks and if you never had one or if you want to sit on a high horse and say "you shouldn't eat that shit", that's fine..unless you drink alcohol, then you don't have a leg to stand on.

ronmac
11-18-2012, 10:29 AM
Sorry folks but I always found Hostess stuff to be awful. Not even close to Tasty Kakes which are the only true baked snack cake. All other are fried in garbage.


QFT

80s were ok
11-18-2012, 10:35 AM
Tastycake products are pretty darn good. They've recently gone through some kind of change too - either the were sold off or something - I believe they are/were located around the Philly area.

ronmac
11-18-2012, 10:46 AM
Tastycake products are pretty darn good. They've recently gone through some kind of change too - either the were sold off or something

Soylent Green.


I believe they are/were located around the Philly area.

I believe you're right. I grew up with them in eastern PA (can't eat them now, though), but when I moved to western PA, nobody seemed to know about them. They have since made it to these parts, but only in the last 20 years.

Wanna talk about the worst? That would be Little Debbie snacks. They don't even look like real food.

Scott Bails
11-18-2012, 09:47 PM
Tastycake products are pretty darn good. They've recently gone through some kind of change too - either the were sold off or something - I believe they are/were located around the Philly area.


They were bought out a few years ago, and they're definitely different now - and not for the better.

And yes, they're a Philly brand.

But even though they're different, they still kick Hostess/Drake's asses - and yeah, there's a reason why Little Debbie is the cheapest snack in the aisle.

notallwhowander
11-18-2012, 10:51 PM
I remember Tastycake from my tender years in Allentown, PA. Even as a kid I liked that they didn't sugar-coat their pies (also a lot less greasy), and really enjoyed the jelly-filled krumpets. When we relocated to California, the East PA diaspora used to always bring back Tastycakes when they made the cross-continental trip.

Adios Hostess, you have gone the way of the humble cassette tape and the hotel room key!

Scott Bails
11-18-2012, 11:04 PM
Adios Hostess, you have gone the way of the humble cassette tape and the hotel room key!

Actually, from what I'm hearing, they're more going the way of Enron and Lehman Brothers. They're not obsolete, they just have immensely greedy and incompetent executives.

WHORG
11-18-2012, 11:25 PM
We were much too poor (when I was a child) to eat snacks like that . . . and when I finally ate a Twinky later in high school, it was just fucking revolting.

Jimmy Giant
11-19-2012, 12:43 AM
They're not incompetent. Just concentrated evil.

http://www.nationofchange.org/hostess-blames-union-bankruptcy-after-tripling-ceo-s-pay-1353255416

Hostess Blames Union for Bankruptcy after Tripling CEO’s Pay

“While the company was filing for bankruptcy, for the second time, earlier this year, it actually tripled its CEO’s pay, and increased other executives’ compensation by as much as 80 percent.”

At the time, creditors warned that the decision signaled an attempt to “sidestep” bankruptcy rules, potentially as a means for trying to keep the executive at a failing company. The Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union pointed this out in their written reaction to the news that the business is closing:

BCTGM members are well aware that as the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy earlier this year, the then CEO of Hostess was awarded a 300 percent raise (from approximately $750,000 to $2,550,000) and at least nine other top executives of the company received massive pay raises. One such executive received a pay increase from $500,000 to $900,000 and another received one taking his salary from $375,000 to $656,256.

Gruno
11-19-2012, 01:03 AM
even though they're different, they still kick Hostess/Drake's asses

You can take your pansy-ass, east coast sappy excuse for a good rut-gut, mass-produced pastry known as Tastcake, and shove it in your creamy white filling arse! Hostess/Dolly Madison will live in the cavities (and later dental fillings) of humans forever! Ding Dongs for life!

http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/ad308/goblynzgroove/misc/506321287_69ffec57b9.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd1jRpGwVFU

Scott Bails
11-19-2012, 08:12 AM
You can take your pansy-ass, east coast sappy excuse for a good rut-gut, mass-produced pastry known as Tastcake, and shove it in your creamy white filling arse! Hostess/Dolly Madison will live in the cavities (and later dental fillings) of humans forever! Ding Dongs for life!



Your loyalty is admirable, if misplaced. You only need to look at each company's fruit pies to see who's the better snack. Tasty actually bakes their pies - y'know, like your grandmother always did. Hostess fries their pies and then covers them in some sort of sickening glaze, just like.....I dunno. Who does that?

ForeverAutumn
11-19-2012, 09:58 AM
Vachon is the king of snack cakes. We grew up on Joe Louis, Half Moons, Flakys, and Ah Caramels. They all kick Twinkies ass. http://www.vachon.com/en/

Gruno
11-19-2012, 10:35 AM
Hostess fries their pies and then covers them in some sort of sickening glaze

It has been likened to car wax!!! LOVE IT!!!

tom unbound
11-19-2012, 11:56 AM
I was FORBIDDEN (Her word, not mine) to eat Ding Dongs(or was it Ring Dings or whatever..) by an old girlfriend ! She used to work at the plant in NJ once upon a time....

Whenever the contractor* I used to work with signed a big contract, it was Twinkees all around to celebrate !


(*really great people, we had fun. This is NOT them being cheap, they never were.)

Dave the Brave
11-19-2012, 12:26 PM
I'm laying in a hundred-year supply tonight.

Well at least they won't go stale.

D t B

yogibear
11-21-2012, 04:46 PM
kind of dumb how the unions dictate how the company runs its business. i am pro union but this seems like way too much power.

Scott Bails
11-21-2012, 09:13 PM
I don't think you're getting the whole story, yogi.

Adrian
11-21-2012, 09:34 PM
^ From what I've read, it seems like there's plenty of blame to go around. On one side, a union that would rather put people out of work than back down, and on the other, execs who give themselves fat bonuses while the company is in financial peril. Just a big mess.

As for all those iconic brands, I'm sure some other company will buy them. The Twinkie will rise again. ;)

Vic2012
11-22-2012, 07:14 AM
As for all those iconic brands, I'm sure some other company will buy them. The Twinkie will rise again. ;)

No doubt. Brand names are what sell. I'm surprised that some brands from my youth are still around. Someone at work gave me a Rocky Road Candy Bar yesterday.

http://www.candywarehouse.com/assets/item/regular/image-127146.jpg

Had no idea this thing was still around. I don't remember the wrapper being red though. I think this brand was only popular on the west coast.

rushfan
11-22-2012, 09:44 AM
Did not realize until this thread that Drake's were a Hostess brand. Ring Dings were the only one of these that I still eat. Hopefully they will not become extinct.

tom unbound
11-22-2012, 11:06 AM
I don't think you're getting the whole story, yogi.

From Forbes :

"Hostess lost $341 million last year. The money for the compensation that the bakery union wanted simply wasn’t there. Even the Teamsters union, whom nobody would ever accuse of wimping out during contract talks, looked at Hostess’ books and acknowledged that the only way to keep the operation afloat would have been for workers to accept lower compensation.

The bakery union, however, would have none of it."

Well, the union called their bluff. Trouble was, it wasn't a bluff for 13,000 workers. Now pieces of the company are sold off, and the workers might be offered their old jobs back.... for far less money and no benifits.
Obama saved GM. Can he save Twinkees ???? I don't think so. Another American icon bites the dust. Maybe China will step up, save the day and buy Hostess. :mad

Vic2012
11-22-2012, 11:11 AM
Trouble was, it wasn't a bluff for 13,000 workers. Now pieces of the company are sold off, and the workers might be offered their old jobs back.... for far less money and no benifits.


And all the fat cat execs make millions and laugh all the way to the bank. But that's life in the jungle. It's survival of the fittest.

Gruno
11-22-2012, 04:02 PM
I love Twinkies (and Ding Dongs) sooo much... my mom bought this for me many years ago.

Official Twinkie® The Kid Twinkie® Holder

http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/ad308/goblynzgroove/misc/twinkie1_zpsa4925c95.jpg

Sits on my desk at home.

Vic2012
11-22-2012, 06:41 PM
^ Damn, you and your "memorabilia" :lol. Dude, you're sick man. SICK! :lol

Scott Bails
11-22-2012, 09:17 PM
From Forbes :

"Hostess lost $341 million last year. The money for the compensation that the bakery union wanted simply wasn’t there. Even the Teamsters union, whom nobody would ever accuse of wimping out during contract talks, looked at Hostess’ books and acknowledged that the only way to keep the operation afloat would have been for workers to accept lower compensation.

The bakery union, however, would have none of it."

Well, the union called their bluff. Trouble was, it wasn't a bluff for 13,000 workers. Now pieces of the company are sold off, and the workers might be offered their old jobs back.... for far less money and no benifits.
Obama saved GM. Can he save Twinkees ???? I don't think so. Another American icon bites the dust. Maybe China will step up, save the day and buy Hostess. :mad

Unmentioned in your quote is the millions that Hostess executives took as bonuses after they filed for bankruptcy in January.

So, Step 1: File for bankruptcy.
Step 2: Give out million dollar bonuses to executives - y'know, the guys responsible for the losses.
Step 3: Claim that you can't afford to pay your workers.


Both sides are at fault here.

JKL2000
11-23-2012, 01:47 PM
Twinkie the Kid is now a rhinestone cowboy, turning tricks to make a living...

tom unbound
11-24-2012, 10:28 AM
Quote---Unmentioned in your quote is the millions that Hostess executives took as bonuses after they filed for bankruptcy in January.

See post # 34.

Gruno
11-24-2012, 10:49 AM
^ Damn, you and your "memorabilia" :lol. Dude, you're sick man. SICK! :lol

Taken as a compliment -- thank you! http://www.studiogruno.com/emoticons/kiss.gif

notallwhowander
11-25-2012, 12:16 PM
There's this implication that the union kept the workers from working. In my experience unions are closer to the workers than the executives. A strike has to actually be observed by the workers or else it doesn't happen. So the strike had to be on some level an expression of the worker's rejection of an intolerable contract. The terms pitched by management had to be pretty odious for the workers to keep the strike action going. But I notice in many of the articles that blame the intransigence of the union, the details of the actual contract are kept vague.

This is the kind of thing that gets to me in many discussions about labor: that one job is as good as another. X many jobs were lost, X many jobs were created. It is better that people have a job than don't. But there is a huge difference between living well and just getting by. What we've seen is the loss of good paying jobs, the constant devaluing of labor, companies who in effect say, your life (the irretrievable hours/days/months/years you spend working for us) isn't worth all that much, and we expect you to sell yourself short so we can continue to do business. You can work for less and less, while I'll make more and more. That's what was happening at Hostess, after all. No wonder the workers, via the union, told the execs to stuff it.

There's a certain level of social reciprocity that is rationalized away by economic formulas and jargon. But there is just no way a CEO can triple his salary into the millions while asking everyone else to take a hit. It's just too insulting to anyone who has a smidgen of self-respect.

ronmac
11-25-2012, 02:02 PM
In case this hasn't been posted and some here are willing to open their eyes to what the workers had gone through, I suggest reading this from one of those who is far more able to discuss this than any of us:

Inside-the-Hostess-Bankery (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/18/1162786/-Inside-the-Hostess-Bankery)

Perhaps, we can not act like the mainstream media and not obsess on the loss of the fucking Twinkies and focus on what's really being lost in this and similar cases.

Hal...
11-25-2012, 09:04 PM
not made by Hostess but does anybody remember the Scooter Pie (aka Moon Pie)? loved these as a kid.

...originally made by Burry...

What ever happened to Burry? IIRC, they were the original baker of Girl Scout Cookies. When another company took over, the "Scot Teas" weren't made anymore, which was really too bad. I loved those things.


Wanna talk about the worst? That would be Little Debbie snacks.
Most Little Debbie snacks, maybe. But Little Debbie Nutty Bars are the fuckin' bomb!


You only need to look at each company's fruit pies to see who's the better snack. Tasty actually bakes their pies - y'know, like your grandmother always did. BFD.


Hostess fries their pies and then covers them in some sort of sickening glaze...
That glaze is what made their pies. :up


The last time I had a Twinkie I didn't really enjoy it. Loved them as a kid. One Hostess snack I discovered recently that I thought was really good was the Golden Cup Cake. Yellow cake with chocolate topping.

My favorite snack as a kid, though, was the Dolly Madison Gem... the one with the coconut:

560

Scott Bails
11-25-2012, 09:11 PM
BFD.

That glaze is what made their pies. :up



This is really sad. :(

notallwhowander
11-25-2012, 09:19 PM
That glaze is what made their pies......disgusting! :P

Really, I ate them like any other suburban kid. But the greasiness eventually did them in for me. The sugary filling was great, but even coated in sugar that crust was nothing but a lard delivery system. The Tastycake pies had great filling too (and a larger variety of flavors), and your tongue didn't feel dipped in Crisco afterward. I mean, how nasty must it be if it makes a seven year-old take notice?

PeterG
11-26-2012, 01:10 PM
Heck, no mention of Zombieland yet???? Blimey, one of my fav zombie films. I can't believe no one's mentioned this yet. He spends most of the film searching for twinkies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeS6DvyLScE

Hal...
11-26-2012, 06:43 PM
This is really sad. :(

...disgusting! :p

Hey, I like what I like, so bite me. :p

Progbear
11-26-2012, 09:04 PM
If you thought the Hostess fruit pies were bad, that’s because you never had these inflicted on you:

573

They made Hostess pies taste like gourmet pastry. So very nasty!

-------------
MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez

N.P.:nothing

Dave (in MA)
11-27-2012, 05:25 PM
578

I bought one of these last week thinking that it would be a good treat for my parrot. She hates it.

UnephenStephen
12-09-2012, 08:17 AM
i was at Stop & Shop yesterday and when i went by the snack aisle, something looked different. then i realized what it was and said to myself "where's all the Hostess stuff?". then it hit me. duh. but they were replaced with plenty of TastyKake boxes so not all was lost.

Klonk
12-09-2012, 10:54 AM
I can't believe the mother of all Hostess delights wasn't mentioned yet...

750

Gruno
12-09-2012, 11:11 AM
i was at Stop & Shop yesterday and when i went by the snack aisle, something looked different. then i realized what it was and said to myself "where's all the Hostess stuff?". then it hit me. duh. but they were replaced with plenty of TastyKake boxes so not all was lost.

Not into Tasty Kake! I am in mourning each time I pass by the snack & pastry aisle.


I can't believe the mother of all Hostess delights wasn't mentioned yet...

750

Never had one of those!

Klonk
12-09-2012, 11:44 AM
Never had one of those!

What??? Are you in Al Qaeda?!

;)

tom unbound
12-09-2012, 11:57 AM
578

I bought one of these last week thinking that it would be a good treat for my parrot. She hates it.

That's because parrots are usually (well, maybe always) smarter than people.

(I 'worked' at a 'bird farm' for about a year. 20 pairs of various macaws, 10 or so pairs of Cocatoos, Amazon pairs ,various conure pairs, cocatiels galore, and all kinds of lovebirds. No Yellow-Crested African Greys though. ;) )

Gruno
12-09-2012, 12:06 PM
What??? Are you in Al Qaeda?!

;)

They wouldn't have me.

moecurlythanu
12-09-2012, 12:39 PM
BCTGM members are well aware that as the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy earlier this year, the then CEO of Hostess was awarded a 300 percent raise (from approximately $750,000 to $2,550,000) and at least nine other top executives of the company received massive pay raises. One such executive received a pay increase from $500,000 to $900,000 and another received one taking his salary from $375,000 to $656,256.

I believe the technical term for this practice is "Looting."

Scott Bails
12-09-2012, 02:34 PM
I'd call it outright theft.

enpdllp
12-09-2012, 03:56 PM
I believe the technical term for this practice is "Looting."

Although the executives of Hostess substantially raised their salaries, an even larger chunk of money was taken by the Wall Street venture capitalists that purchased Hostess in the early 2000s and loaded the company with debt via a leverage buyout. It is a shame that most of the journalists have been focusing on the unions and the Hostess executives instead of the vultures from the private equity firms that purchased Hostess and loaded it with debt (Bain Capital style).

The following links have more details on the Hostess mess:

http://www.bctgm.org/2012/11/giving-thanks-for-hostess-workers/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-macaray/labor-union-hostess-twinkies_b_2161368.html

It is a longish article, but if anyone likes to see how a leverage buyout works, check out the following link (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/greed-and-debt-the-true-story-of-mitt-romney-and-bain-capital-20120829). The detailed explanation starts halfway of page two and continues through page three.

Scott Bails
12-09-2012, 04:42 PM
That may be true, enpdllp, but that doesn't excuse the executives stealing from the company and then blaming the unions for putting them out of business.

enpdllp
12-09-2012, 05:14 PM
That may be true, enpdllp, but that doesn't excuse the executives stealing from the company and then blaming the unions for putting them out of business.

Trust me, I was not trying to excuse the executives from any wrong doing. Most of the time the executives are in collaboration with the private equity managers by accepting from them very lucrative incentives and salary raises in exchange of layoffs and benefit reductions from the workforce of their companies to increase profits. It is a pretty messed up way of conducting business. I wish there could be some regulations implemented to reduce that kind of business practices.

Scott Bails
12-09-2012, 05:28 PM
I wish there could be some regulations implemented to reduce that kind of business practices.

There could be, if legislators weren't all in bed with big business.

Thank God we didn't elect a business man president.

notallwhowander
12-09-2012, 06:24 PM
It does seem that the execs saw the ship going down, and stuffed their pants with cash before the whole thing crashed.

Lino
12-12-2012, 02:14 PM
What??? Are you in Al Qaeda?!

;)

:lol

I'm reading this thread with the knowledge that as i speak, the office manager ...an elderly Sicilian woman... is unwrapping a box of cannoli that she brought in for all of us. THANKFULLY, there's only enough for one each. :D

Lino
12-12-2012, 02:31 PM
As I type, residual cannoli dust splashes off the keys... ;)



Wonder Bread runs deep in my family. I started at Interstate Bakeries in 1999 in Waterloo, Ia after the birth of my first daughter. I asked my father in law who to talk to for an interview. He had spent his entire adult life there, eventually retiring in 2007. His father drew retirement from the very same bakery. My wife and her sisters experienced a truly middle class Midwestern upbringing, complete with a safe home environment, college educations, and health insurance. He went to work everyday knowing he would be able to retire and draw his pension. He was even able to pass the job down to his son in law.

I love Wonder Bread. It has supported our family financially and medically for the last 14 years. When my wife wanted to attend graduate school we found a university near a bakery and moved to Lawrence, KS, home of the greatest basketball team in the history of ever. I will miss the overwhelming smell of baking bread and the friendships I built at both bakeries. Including with engineers, truck drivers, supervisors and managers who have also lost their jobs.

Many of them likely blame the Bakers Union, me. Most understand that this was inevitable. There has been no confidence in the leadership of this company at any level of any department for years. We have watched 6 CEO's come and go since 2002 and all of them left the company worse than when they took over. All of them got paid, not just the salaries they agreed to, but bonuses and increases all along the way. Including the current joker, who announced he was leaving with less than a year on the job, before he even submitted this last contract offer to us.

When I received my first paycheck from then Interstate Bakeries in 1999 it had a memo stapled to it. The memo announced that Wonder had just had the most productive quarter in baking history. It stated that the health of the company and brand had never been better. The break room was buzzing with excitement because our contract was soon to be up for renegotiation and this would surely mean smooth sailing. A few weeks later we got the 'oops' letter. Turns out it was all an 'accounting' error and the company was failing miserably.

Conveniently though, CEO Charles Sullivan and the board managed to sell their stock before word got out about the bad news. No jail time of course. In fact, Sullivan was brought back as a consultant after his resignation. Enron happened a few years later and at the bakery we were amazed how much attention they got compared to us.

The company of course used it's 'oops' letter to justify asking for concessions from the Union. We gave nothing and gained nothing that year after a 45 minute strike. The status quo continued and I proudly joined the middle class for the first time in my life. I made $14 an hour and had insurance. I even went on vacations for the first time. I had great pride in my job, and the products. We bought a new car for the first and only time in my life. In 2003 I transferred to the Lenexa, KS bakery.

In 2005 it was another contract year and this time there was no way out of concessions. The Union negotiated a deal that would save the company $150 million a year in labor. It was a tough internal battle to get people to vote for it. We turned it down twice. Finally the Union told us it was in our best interest and something had to give. So many of us, including myself, changed our votes and took the offer. Remember that next time you see CEO Rayburn on tv stating that we haven't sacrificed for this company. The company then emerged from bankruptcy. In 2005 before concessions I made $48,000, last year I made $34,000. My pay changed dramatically but at least I was still contributing to my self-funded pension.

In July of 2011 we received a letter from the company. It said that the $3+ per hour that we as a Union contribute to the pension was going to be 'borrowed' by the company until they could be profitable again. Then they would pay it all back. The Union was notified of this the same time and method as the individual members. No contact from the company to the Union on a national level.

This money will never be paid back. The company filed for bankruptcy and the judge ruled that the $3+ per hour was a debt the company couldn't repay. The Union continued to work despite this theft of our self-funded pension contributions for over a year. I consider this money stolen. No other word in the English language describes what they have done to this money.

After securing our hourly cash from the bankruptcy judge they set out on getting approval to force a new contract on us. They had already refused to negotiate outside of court. They received approval from the judge to impose the contract then turned it over to the Union for a vote. You read that right, they got it approved by the judge before ever showing to the Union.

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. Currently, I make $16.12 an hour at TOP rate of pay in the bakery. I would drop to $11.26 in 5 years.
2) They get to keep our $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.

Remember how I said I made $48,000 in 2005 and $34,000 last year? I would make $25,000 in 5 years if I took their offer.
It will be hard to replace the job I had, but it will be easy to replace the job they were trying to give me.
That $3+ per hour they steal totaled $50 million last year that they never paid us. They sold $2.5 BILLION in product last year. If they can't make this profitable without stealing my money then good riddance.

I keep hearing how this strike forced them to liquidate. How we should just take it and be glad to have a job. What an unpatriotic view point. The reason these jobs provided me with a middle class opportunity is because people like my father in law and his father fought for my Union rights. I received that pay and those benefits because previous Union members fought for them. I won't sell them, or my coworkers, out.

We may have forced the companies hand but they were going to smack us with it anyway.

.

East New York
12-12-2012, 03:12 PM
:lol

I'm reading this thread with the knowledge that as i speak, the office manager ...an elderly Sicilian woman... is unwrapping a box of cannoli that she brought in for all of us. THANKFULLY, there's only enough for one each. :D

:cool As One Of The Tribe, I thank you for knowing that "cannoli" is plural, not "cannolis"...as I'm sure you know that "cannolo" is singular!

Dave (in MA)
12-12-2012, 03:13 PM
:lol

I'm reading this thread with the knowledge that as i speak, the office manager ...an elderly Sicilian woman... is unwrapping a box of cannoli that she brought in for all of us. THANKFULLY, there's only enough for one each. :DLeave the gun.

Trane
12-12-2012, 06:31 PM
Is this the same "Hostess" brandname than the potato chips that dominated the market in the 80's??

Lino
12-13-2012, 11:34 AM
:cool As One Of The Tribe, I thank you for knowing that "cannoli" is plural, not "cannolis"...as I'm sure you know that "cannolo" is singular!Right on sista' paesan! :D

Camelogue
12-13-2012, 11:59 AM
Ho ho Jonesing!!!!!!!!!!!

JKL2000
02-16-2013, 07:54 PM
bump

tom unbound
04-29-2013, 02:13 AM
*Twinkies Returning to Stores This Summer*

Hot news for us junk food junkies --- http://www.thedailymeal.com/twinkies-returning-stores-summer

"The brand promises that Hostess Donettes and snack cakes will be the first to return, followed by the rest of the Hostess family — Ho Hos, Zingers, Ding Dongs, Suzy Q's, and Twinkies, of course." :drool

Shadow
04-29-2013, 08:36 AM
I need to fill my pickup with Ho Ho's!!!

Just ride through Philly, they have a ton of them there. ;)

JKL2000
04-29-2013, 10:12 AM
Mmm...chocolate hos!

Scott Bails
04-29-2013, 10:16 AM
Cream-filled chocolate hos!

Gruno
04-29-2013, 10:33 AM
Not a moment too soon. My local market now has Little Debbies. Please, Hostess -- you're my only hope.

Dave the Brave
04-29-2013, 11:03 AM
And you won't even have to keep em in the fridge.

D t B

tom unbound
05-02-2013, 03:44 PM
---"The new Hostess Brands said Monday that it will open bakeries in Indiana and Illinois, following announcements last week that it will reopen bakeries in Georgia and Kansas in its effort to bring back some of its snack brands"---

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/29/hostess-bakeries-indiana-illinois/2121559/

Scott Bails
05-02-2013, 03:48 PM
Thank God.

Our long national nightmare is over.

Gruno
05-02-2013, 04:42 PM
Thank God.

Our long national nightmare is over.

+1

oilersfan
05-02-2013, 08:38 PM
Cream-filled chocolate hos!

They aren't cream filled.


Oh wait...now they are. :)

Banquo
05-02-2013, 09:10 PM
Cream-filled chocolate hos!

Are we still talking about pastries?

Dave the Brave
05-03-2013, 10:23 AM
http://www.applauz-media.com/food/flakies.jpg

Used to love these suckers.

D t B

bigbassdrum
05-03-2013, 04:14 PM
Is this the same "Hostess" brandname than the potato chips that dominated the market in the 80's??

Hmm. I know that the Hostess distributor here in Connecticut used to also distribute Charles Chips, the potato chips that came in a yellow can

Gruno
06-25-2013, 05:21 PM
Looks like July 15th is the roll-out date for supply to be on shelves!

Digital_Man
06-26-2013, 01:40 AM
I've heard that Twinkies are back. Not that I care since I don't eat them but I thought that was interesting.

Vic2012
06-26-2013, 06:10 AM
When I think Twinkies I can't help thinking of dis guy:

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTTMlY1CYdsFvWDqsax7PRHU2oBvPvRU rpB1QWn1xVbqQL5NCkC4g

Dave the Brave
06-26-2013, 09:43 AM
Seems they won't be available in Canada.

There is a God!!!

DtB

tom unbound
06-28-2013, 10:09 AM
Seems they won't be available in Canada.DtB

Drug dealers will supply them.....;)

JIF
07-15-2013, 12:38 AM
I will buy boxes and boxes of Twinkies.

Scott Bails
07-15-2013, 01:48 PM
Good. You can have mine.

I'll be over here eating the far better Tastykakes. ;)