Gary Varvel for November 17, 2012

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    ConserveGov  over 11 years ago

    The Dems must be proud of their union friends putting 14k people out of work.

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    ConserveGov  over 11 years ago

    Thanks Dr Commie

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    frodo1008  over 11 years ago

    If the Republican Tea Party types in Congress continue to refuse to compromise, you may very well be correct. However, the American people will NOT be blaming President Obama, but the kinds of people that you support!

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    ConserveGov  over 11 years ago

    Actually I’m neither, but if people choose to eat twinkles or cheeseburgers or whatever they want, so be it. People risked their their lives to have those freedoms. If you want a government that holds your hand, you have plenty of places to move to.

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    Jason Allen  over 11 years ago

    “The Dems must be proud of their union friends putting 14k people out of work.”You’re wrong on both accounts. I read it’s around 18,000 workers. The unions had agreed to pay cuts and other concessions each time the company went into bankruptcy protection. How many times did the senior management take pay cuts to keep the company afloat? What is the cost of executive pay versus that of the union workers? You just don’t know, do you?

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    alex Coke Premium Member over 11 years ago

    Wall street vultures are blaming workers for getting rid of your sweets—and that’s just not right.

    You might have heard that Hostess Brands, the company that makes Twinkies, Ding Dongs and other desserts, filed for court permission to go out of business, and that its blaming a worker strike for the shutdown.

    The Wall Street hedge fund managers who run the company have squeezed every cent out of Hostess for eight years. And they’ve put their friends with no experience in the baking industry in high-level management positions.

    Hostess workers believe in their company, and we need to stand with them—sign our pledge to support  workers, not greedy CEOs who will cut and run for a quick buck. 

    What’s happening here is a classic Bain Capital-style assault—blame the little guy to cover the greedy corporate policies that are gutting the middle class.

    It’s not just happening to the workers who make the great products Americans love. What’s happening at Hostess is happening to workers all over this country. It’s wrong. And it has to stop.

    Crony capitalism and poor management drove Hostess into the ground, not the workers who are now paying the price. In this struggling economy, the greedy corporate executives are willing to let 18,000 people lose their jobs—just so they can pad their pockets.

    Hostess’ executives are now blaming workers who’ve offered their company multiple concessions and want it to succeed. This is what’s wrecking our country.

    Workers have borne the brunt of bad decision-making by executives who didn’t know anything about the baking business. And they’re the ones getting fired?

    These brave workers need to know we stand with them—and we’ll stand with everyone who will take a stand against the corporate race-to-the-bottom.

    go.aflcio.org/Hostess-Greed

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    Harolynne Premium Member over 11 years ago

    I’m always amazed by how much Americans don’t read but are ready to jump to conclusions. This company was bought by a capital investment firm which used the tactics of Bain Consulting to borrow a lot of money which they then used to pay the top people and themselves.

    The company was driven into bankruptcy (again, they just got out 2 years ago) and if the workers had agreed it wouldn’t have helped much. But now the workers are the scapegoat.

    The company owes between $1.43 and $2 billion. Who believes the workers were asking (or getting) anywhere near that. The assets are estimated to be $982 million.

    But since unions are to blame for everything (including the 40 hour work week, lunch and coffee breaks, and living wages), why not blame them for this instead of management.

    According to Business Insider (http://www.businessinsider.com/bankrupt-hostess-attracting-bids-2012-11), the workers have been on strike for a week!

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    chasches  over 11 years ago

    All the media attention has been on TWINKIES and UNIONS!! ignoring what the union was striking over in the first place:

    - cutting worker wages 30%- eviscerating health plans and pensions- increasing executive salaries 80%

    It seems fairly evident that Hostess management’s plan was to burn everything down and sail to Earth on golden parachutes; the union was merely a convenient scapegoat.

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    chasches  over 11 years ago

    Tigger: “The Executives are all Democrats”? Prove it.

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