The Day the Twinkie Died ~ 1500 strike . . . 18,500 get fired

[melensdad]

Not all, but some of the job's will come back from their competitors.. as they beef up production to make up for the lost Twinkie sales..

Probably NOT.

In fact the Teamsters is probably very upset about this because the business model is for FRESH DELIVERY OF FRESH BAKED GOODS. They deliver multiple times each week to high volume locations. That requires a lot of labor, and that benefits the unions.

Many of the "competitors" are delivering 'thaw and serve' product which is delivered once a week or less, that requires far less labor (fewer deliveries = fewer trucks = fewer drivers, fewer dock workers, fewer stockers).

Further, the "FRESH BAKED/FRESH DELIVERY" business model requires a lot of bakeries scattered across the nation. The "thaw & serve" model requires far fewer bakeries, can ship by train in bulk, or by semi truck to full-line grocery warehouse distributors.

This is a big blow to the Teamsters and the other unions that just lost jobs.

Take a look at the financials of other "Fresh baked/fresh delivery" companies (Flowers bakery is a good example) and you will see they are also struggling financially and currently are behind on their loan payments.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Probably NOT.

In fact the Teamsters is probably very upset about this because the business model is for FRESH DELIVERY OF FRESH BAKED GOODS. They deliver multiple times each week to high volume locations. That requires a lot of labor, and that benefits the unions.

Many of the "competitors" are delivering 'thaw and serve' product which is delivered once a week or less, that requires far less labor (fewer deliveries = fewer trucks = fewer drivers, fewer dock workers, fewer stockers).

Further, the "FRESH BAKED/FRESH DELIVERY" business model requires a lot of bakeries scattered across the nation. The "thaw & serve" model requires far fewer bakeries, can ship by train in bulk, or by semi truck to full-line grocery warehouse distributors.

This is a big blow to the Teamsters and the other unions that just lost jobs.

Take a look at the financials of other "Fresh baked/fresh delivery" companies (Flowers bakery is a good example) and you will see they are also struggling financially and currently are behind on their loan payments.

Mrs Freshley's is one such product. Thorntons in Nashville, TN has already gotten rid of Hostess and Little Debbie and is trying Mrs Freshley's only in 12 stores. And yes it is brought in frozen and thawed out when needed, which means they can order a months supply at one time

 

[atvdave]

Suport Lewis Bakeries.....

About Us < lewisbakeries.net

and bunny... they sale bunny bread..

 

[Bunnykid68]

Suport Lewis Bakeries.....

About Us < lewisbakeries.net

and bunny... they sale bunny bread..

I hope they buy out Twinkies brand then

 

[melensdad]

Mrs Freshley's is one such product. Thorntons in Nashville, TN has already gotten rid of Hostess and Little Debbie and is trying Mrs Freshley's only in 12 stores. And yes it is brought in frozen and thawed out when needed, which means they can order a months supply at one time

Yup, I used to be a distributor for Mrs Freshley's product before I retired. There are other brands as well. But that is just snack products. There are also brands of breads, donuts, dinner rolls, burger buns, sandwich bread, etc. All of those are eating into the Fresh Baked/Fresh Delivered business model which is very labor intensive and, consequently, very expensive. The thaw & serve business model is far less expensive and gives retailers a larger profit margin.

 

[melensdad]

Suport Lewis Bakeries.....

About Us < lewisbakeries.net

and bunny... they sale bunny bread..

I hope they buy out Twinkies brand then

Lewis Bakery is not big enough to do that. They may be able to get a license for partial distribution, but I seriously doubt they could buy the brand.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Yup, I used to be a distributor for Mrs Freshley's product before I retired. There are other brands as well. But that is just snack products. There are also brands of breads, donuts, dinner rolls, burger buns, sandwich bread, etc. All of those are eating into the Fresh Baked/Fresh Delivered business model which is very labor intensive and, consequently, very expensive. The thaw & serve business model is far less expensive and gives retailers a larger profit margin.

Yes it does. I mean c'mon who eats fresh foods anymore? Seriously, how many do these days?

 

[BGDave]

Was reading this thread and eating candy corn. Happened to read the bag. This stuff has a best by date of 10.01.13. That's a year from now. It's Brach's. It's also made in Mexico. Now about thaw and serve. See where this is going?

 

[DRob]

Never forget!

 

[melensdad]

Was reading this thread and eating candy corn. Happened to read the bag. This stuff has a best by date of 10.01.13. That's a year from now. It's Brach's. It's also made in Mexico. Now about thaw and serve. See where this is going?

Yes, its going to low cost because consumers won't pay high prices. When you bought your VCR (years ago did you buy an expensive American made one or did you buy a lower priced Japanese brand). When you upgraded to DVD did you buy an expensive Japanese brand or a lower priced Korean unit? Etc Etc Etc

If this is such a good business model then why don't the UNIONS step up and buy the business out of bankruptcy and run it themselves? They can probably buy the assets for pennies on the dollar.

 

[Bunnykid68]

In other news, Little Debbie stocks start to rise

 

[atvdave]

In other news, Little Debbie stocks start to rise

Their one on the names that just may buy out the brand name....

Relax, Twinkies likely to live on - Business on NBCNews.com

 

[BGDave]

Yes, its going to low cost because consumers won't pay high prices. When you bought your VCR (years ago did you buy an expensive American made one or did you buy a lower priced Japanese brand). When you upgraded to DVD did you buy an expensive Japanese brand or a lower priced Korean unit? Etc Etc Etc

If this is such a good business model then why don't the UNIONS step up and buy the business out of bankruptcy and run it themselves? They can probably buy the assets for pennies on the dollar.

Retired after 32 years in a union shop. I came to see them as a necessary evil. Now, having said that. I don't think most unions could run a two chair barber shop. And a money losing bakery shop doesn't sound like a good investment.

 

[melensdad]

Their one on the names that just may buy out the brand name....

Relax, Twinkies likely to live on - Business on NBCNews.com

Yup. But the questions will be under what type of business model and with how many employees?

18,500 with a fresh baked/fresh delivered model that has been a financial disaster for at least a decade?

OR

As few as 3500 with a central bakery/frozen shipment thaw & serve distribution model that promises higher profit margins at lower selling prices?

Retired after 32 years in a union shop. I came to see them as a necessary evil. Now, having said that. I don't think most unions could run a two chair barber shop. And a money losing bakery shop doesn't sound like a good investment.

But the unions are charging that the companies were not managed properly. And now the workers are unemployed. If the unions are so smart, then certainly they can run the business better. Right? And they don't even need to run it for a profit, they can simply run it at 'break even' because their goal is to employ people. Right? So perhaps the unions should pitch in and buy the company and run them to employ their members. It is logical.

 

[BGDave]

For an interesting story about management look into Ross Perot's time at General Motors. Perot was bought off for (I think) 750 million dollars. Just to go away.

 

[1911 DeadHead]

You can point fingers at the unions all you want, but you can't deny that the union demand for higher wage has helped wages come up in non union labor.

I do admit that time had taken it's toll with corruption and greed. Sad.

 

[sepe]

I made $16.16 an hour. After taxes, insurance, and Union dues. I brought home roughly $360 a week working 40 hours. I'm single and live alone. You figure in rent, bills, etc. I was was just making it by. One thing you have to consider is location, which dictates cost of living.

I had a non-union job in a union shop making $10 an hour. I would have felt like I was living like a king taking home $360 a week working 40 hours (if I remember right, I was taking home between $306 and $315 without working overtime). Single, living alone figure in rent, bills, etc. and I was still fairly comfortable. Always had food and heat. Past that, you don't need too much. Can't afford to go out? You don't. Can't afford a nice, late model vehicle? You drive something older and reliable. If I wanted something nice, I worked 60 hour weeks. My rent was $625 a month and in the winter my electric hit $225 if I tried to keep the place above 65 degrees.

 

[Naptown]

to me, sad there are 500+ jobs in indy and 17K jobs nationally that are snuffed out. Damn, just make the ding dongs & twinkies and lets all get along.

 

[Hookeye]

For an interesting story about management look into Ross Perot's time at General Motors. Perot was bought off for (I think) 750 million dollars. Just to go away.

GM bought EDS from Perot.

 

[IncendiaryGunner]

So the great Twinkie scare of 2012 is sending hostess into the black now?

The question is, if people are buying out local stores and stockpiling Twinkies, who is going to continue to buy them if they remain in business? The lady that is reported to have just bought a "lifetime supply"?

But the unions are charging that the companies were not managed properly. And now the workers are unemployed. If the unions are so smart, then certainly they can run the business better. Right? And they don't even need to run it for a profit, they can simply run it at 'break even' because their goal is to employ people. Right? So perhaps the unions should pitch in and buy the company and run them to employ their members. It is logical.

I think at least part of that accusation is mostly directed at how much money was bled out of the company one of the last times they were on the verge of bankruptcy. The employees took cuts then - saving the company they work for - and hostess was back in the black by a significant margin. The large short term gains that brought about made it's way out of the company...... It could have been invested - it could have been set aside... but it was not. Sounds like the unions were not the greedy ones in that situation, huh?

Anyone who runs a company knows that if you pull all the revenue out - especially at a time when the company is not stable in the black - bad things can happen.

If they cannot remain in the black with the employees that they have hired - for the wages that they already agreed to, and have been paying them - then either their business model is flawed, or they are no longer a competitive business.

Any company that has to keep paying workers less and less, is doing it wrong.