Twinkies are back . . .

[MaggieD]

Soooo.... what I gleaned from the article is that the product is smaller, the employees are paid less, yet the Twinkies still cost the same? Meh. I'll still buy them every now and then. They aren't something I would eat a lot (never did). It's more of a reward.

With regards to the ex employees - it reminds me of what happened to this plant in Syracuse. They were faltering. They were almost broke. They went to the employees, and said, "OK, team. We're almost broke here, so let's look at an option here. How about for 1 year, you work for $3 less an hour. At the end of the year, we should be back on the uptick, and you'll not only get your $3 back, you'll get your normal yearly raise as well." The employees refused, and the plant went broke. The company closed the plant and move the jobs to somewhere out in the Midwest, if I remember correctly. So they were so greedy, they ended up without a job. Hard to feel sorry for people in that situation, honestly. They were making like $20 an hour, and they couldn't live on $17? I think they were bluffing, and the plant called their bluff.

Tommy Boy saw this with two employers. One was OMC (Outboard Marine Corp.). I don't remember the name of the other one. With the first one (not OMC), the manufacturer was having a hard time and asked the union for concessions -- most specifically with their pension plan. Union management whipped up the employees into a frenzy. Calling the company liars, railing at mismanagement, pointing to executives making large salaries, and advised their members to hold firm and refuse to negotiate. Eight months later, the plant closed and the pension plan was turned over to the government's PBGC where benefits were slashed.

When it happened at OMC, Tom knew better. He only had to look around to know better. The floor management was so poor that employees would clock in and go out to the parking lot to sleep in their cars. (Second shift) Long-timers were drinking on the job. Supervision was a joke. Over the previous three years or so, they'd laid workers off so only high-seniority people were left. The company asked the union for concessions. The union (a different one) again whipped employees into a frenzy; the employees refused to compromise -- and the company closed.

And now we have Detroit. The city came to the public sector unions and asked for help. Again, the unions refused concessions. Screaming mismanagement. Screaming theft. Where was union management as the situation progressed? Where are the court cases taking Detroit to the courtroom years ago? Where was the union in the political process? Supporting the very party who was plundering their funds. Democrats have had control of Detroit for 50 years or more. And now we have a city in bankruptcy and their pension plans about to be thrown to the wolves.

And they call it "pension envy." :rofl