First they came for our Twinkies...

[Lord Jim]

Because there is a twine shortage

I don't know that I'd be mocking other people's typos if I were you CP....

[Crackpot]

What me typo?

[rubato]

To be made in Mexico now?

And delightfully free from pesky food and worker safety regulations!

yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

Who knew Twinkies were food?

[MajGenl.Meade]

"I find them to be compulsive"

[Lord Jim]

Good old Danny boy...

[oldr_n_wsr]

Don't be singing that here!

[Scooter]

And then we wonder why workers are resentful when asked to make concessions:

Bankrupt Twinkies maker wants to hand $1.8 million to top execs

NEW YORK Hostess Brands Inc. plans to ask for a judge’s approval Thursday to give its top executives bonuses totalling up to $1.8 million as part of its wind-down plans.

The maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos says the incentive pay is needed to retain the 19 managers during the liquidation process, which could take about a year.

Two of those executives would be eligible for additional rewards depending on how efficiently they carry out the liquidation.

Hostess is also seeking final approval for its wind-down, which was approved on an interim basis last week.

The process includes the quick sale of its brands, which also include Wonder Bread. Hostess says it has received a flood of interest in the brands.

The company’s bankruptcy means loss of about 18,000 jobs.

[dgs49]

A completely legitimate expense. An orderly wind-down of the business is impossible when the key players are constantly on the lookout for another position.

The major stakeholders are spending their money wisely.

Alternatively, they could give each of the 18,000 departing employees $100. That would be smart, eh?

[Scooter]

Or they can tell the executives that they can do the job without the bonuses or not have a job at all. Or isn't that precisely the attitude you espoused earlier in this thread?

[Gob]

Bonuses for bankrupting a company, how does that work?

bonus
 
bo·nus


noun, plural bo·nus·es.
1. something given or paid over and above what is due.
2. a sum of money granted or given to an employee, a returned soldier, etc., in addition to regular pay, usually in appreciation for work done, length of service, accumulated favors, etc.
3. something free, as an extra dividend, given by a corporation to a purchaser of its securities.
4. a premium paid for a loan, contract, etc.
5. something extra or additional given freely: Every purchaser of a pound of coffee received a box of cookies as a bonus.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Hostess Brands Inc. plans to ask for a judge’s approval Thursday to give its top executives bonuses totalling up to $1.8 million as part of its wind-down plans.

Maybe I'm a touch simple (OK, thanks very much everybody) but who exactly is "Hostess Brands Inc." which is doing the asking?

Surely this could not really mean "Top executives plan to ask for a judge's approval Thursday to give er.... themselves bonuses"? Or could it? No, surely not! No! No!

Perhaps it means that Hostess ultra-high-toppiest executives are going to do tons and tons of spiffy work free of any taint of bonuses but are anxious that their top manager minions should get a bit extra. If so, you'd think that the ultra-high executives could do without the minions (and the money) and get the job done themselves. Shock! Horror!

Or is it perhaps that "Hostess Brands Inc" refers to the 18,000 workers to be displaced who are demanding that those managers get bonuses?

Oh and Gob

"etc."

is the answer to your question

Meade

[Econoline]

The Bakers Union members have had enough of being blamed for the closing of Hostess Bakeries in the mainstream media. The truth is much more complicated and the media has failed to tell the story. In this film you will hear directly from the Local 218 members in Lenexa, Ks. Be informed before it happens to your family too.

If you or someone you know can't understand why there was a strike at Hostess, watch this film.

When you hear the media narrative about about Hostess and the Bakers Union strike it is impossible to learn the truth. EVERY media outlet leaves out the details the Hedge Funds don't want the public to know. Here are some examples-

1. The Union SELF-FUNDS a large portion of its pension. Each Lenexa, KS worker contributes $4.25 an hour to the pension fund.

2. The 'Company' had collected that money for over a year under the lie that it would eventually be repaid to the pension fund. A total of $50 Million in one year.

3. This debt to the pension was thrown out in bankruptcy court as a debt the 'Company' could not repay. This money has been forever stolen.

4. The 'Company' or 'Hostess' is actually a pair of Hedge Funds, Monarch and Silver Point. It is a privately held business, it is not on the stock market.

5. As a private company the Union cannot view the accounting books for the 'Company'. In court, when the books were opened it became clear the 'Company' was skimming from the pension for a long time. A total of $186 million.

6. This money was stolen by the 'middle man' and never made it to the pension, therefore the Federal insurance plan- Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation- will not help us. The PBGC is for failing pension funds. It will not cover theft of money that never made it to the pension.

7. Our pension is NOT a part of the secured debt. When you hear that the 'Company' is on the hook for $1 Billion in secured debt remember that does not include the stolen pension money.

8. The secured debt does include the money 'loaned' to the 'Company' by the Hedge Funds. Including the interest on those loans, as high as 15%. The 'Company' IS the hedge funds. In other words they loaned themselves money at a high interest rate and expect everyone to pay for it but themselves.

9. These Hedge Funds never intended to make Hostess profitable. They were always motivated by selling the brand names and infrastructure at the highest value.

10. Bankrupting the company and closing the doors allows them to strip the Unions from the brand names, driving up the resale value of the brand names. They never had to close, it was done as a mechanism to bust the Unions. The added bonus to the Hedge Funds was the ability to blame the strike for the closure.

11. The 'Company' shopped for a bankruptcy judge and found one to their liking. They chose Judge Drain (no pun intended) in New York, despite the facts that the 'Company' is located in Dallas, was previously in Kansas City, and is not on the stock market.

12. The judge helped write the contract with the 'Company' without any Union involvement. The judge granted permission to impose the contract on us before ANY rank and file Union member had seen the contract 'offer'.

When the sale of 'Hostess Brands' is complete the Hedge Funds will pay back the secured debt of approx $1 Billion and pocket anything above that number without paying the pension funds back. Remember that almost half of that debt is loans and interest to THEMSELVES. They will have already profited tens of millions when they 'break even'. In a just society that would never happen.

Most people assume that if you own a business and it goes bankrupt then you don't get to make millions of dollars on the closing. These Hedge Funds and the Congress members they fund have created a legal framework that protects them from ANY risk and leaves the damages at the front door of workers.

It will happen to you too, if you don't pay attention. Do not assume the law is on your side, even though it may have been in years past.

from http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/1 ... -the-Dough