http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/11/16/18000-working-people-to-lose-their-jobs Comments On: 18,000 Working People to Lose Their Jobs by Dan Savage en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sat, 18 May 2013 12:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by auntie jim]]> Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:14:17 -0800 The Stranger
This makes me sad -> 18,000 people losing their jobs.

This makes me happy -> Junk food peddling Megacorp bites the dust.

Let's put those folks back to work at green energy jobs. Jill Stein's Green New Deal would sure come in handy right about now.

@31: Thanks raku! I haven't had a Dillo before, but I see they are for sale at Sidecar for Pigs Peace in the U District.


Posted by Ipso Facto]]> Sun, 18 Nov 2012 23:02:11 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Brooklyn Reader]]> Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:59:08 -0800 The Stranger Posted by montex]]> Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:53:22 -0800 The Stranger Posted by BrotherBob]]> Sat, 17 Nov 2012 08:56:35 -0800 The Stranger I understand how the venture capitalism stuff works. And that motherfuckers like Romney run such things. And that that sucks and is wrong and immoral and shitty. I grew up in a liberal household, and my brother was part of a union for years (he's a machinist) and was left with very mixed feelings about it. The main point to me, no matter what was going on with management and mismanagement and shady deals at Hostess, is that the union in this case SHOULD have recognized a valid threat when they saw it. Period. Because it has now obliterated the work force they were supposed to represent. Hello? These are factory jobs for fuck's sake - there aren't a whole helluva lot of those around any more in this country. Certainly not here in Maine. The vast majority of factory workers do not have college degrees, or any schooling beyond high school, and a certain percentage didn't graduate high school. Transitioning to another field would and will be an incredibly long, sorry, expensive, and difficult process ... so if you are lucky enough to hold one of these rarer and rarer positions which pays you decently - a fuck of a lot more than retail, even with the concessions + tons better benefits ... ALL WHILE the country is still in the midst of a fucking years long semi-recession and unemployment is still 8% ... I mean, shit, does it take a brain surgeon to figure that now is maybe NOT the time to go on strike ? Especially when mgt repeatedly tells you in strongest terms that they WILL shut the plant, if you do?

Unions used to have power, when so much more of the country was unionized than is the case now (read up til the late 70's). It's just not the case anymore. The company these days holds the cards absolutely, because THEY employ YOU, and can decide whenever they want to UNemploy you, all 18,500 of you. It doesn't make it right, or good or moral. It sucks. But it's reality. All I see is 500 of my neighbors now without a paycheck at all, heading into wintertime, instead of one that is way better than what they will now scrounge and scramble to have while working seasonal at Macy's.




Posted by Velvetbabe]]> Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:18:52 -0800 The Stranger Posted by DAVIDinKENAI]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 22:58:38 -0800 The Stranger And the employees and surrounding communities will get screwed.
The bankruptcy was long in planning. Don't believe the BS from the CEO's PR firm.
Posted by AgentofChaos]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:31:09 -0800 The Stranger
The big venture capital play, which pretty much started with Bain Capital, is to find a company with a well-funded pension and large long-term debt. They then pile on more debt, "restructure" (i.e. pocket) the pension fund "surplus," and see what else they can sell on the way out the door. In most cases, the company ends up parted out like a wrecked car. Parts worth more than the whole, etc.

I'm hoping the hedge fund guys who are holding the bag on this one don't win. They probably will make a profit, though. They almost always do, and the wreckage be damned.
Posted by Brooklyn Reader]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:14:28 -0800 The Stranger This is incredibly shitty. The town next door to me - Biddeford, Maine - has a Hostess plant that employs 500 people. 500! Huge employer here. All those people thrown out of work the week before Thanksgiving.

I'm sure the company is largely to blame, but I can't help but be angry at the union as well, for calling their bluff - how many times did the company threaten to liquidate if the strike continued? Why didn't the union recognize that it wasn't an empty threat? Was it really worth 18,000 people losing their jobs?


Posted by Velvetbabe]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:54:29 -0800 The Stranger
This filling would be where the weed is at.
Posted by Simone]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:03:24 -0800 The Stranger
Not enough dough.
Posted by biffp]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:53:24 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Gern Blanston]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:23:31 -0800 The Stranger
>:l
Posted by merry]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:52:17 -0800 The Stranger Posted by David from Chicago]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:13:49 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:02:24 -0800 The Stranger
I recommend coating them in organic fair trade chocolate from Theo's though.
Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:01:40 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Fortunate]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:53:58 -0800 The Stranger
The brands will live on. The workers get screwed.

But speaking of Drakes, Hostess, and Bimbo and delicious chocolate snack cakes, have you tried the Marinela's Gansitos? As cello-wrapped preserved bakery products go, they're pretty fucking awesome.
Posted by Brooklyn Reader]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:15:16 -0800 The Stranger
http://www.vegansnackcakes.com/ (made out of actual food ingredients)
Posted by raku]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:11:36 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Clayton]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:02:45 -0800 The Stranger I think you're right.
Watch who buys the brands AND the factories.
Then they'll start up production again making the same product in the same factories with non-union employees and without the debt.
Posted by fairly.unbalanced]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:56:58 -0800 The Stranger Posted by jzimbert]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:51:59 -0800 The Stranger
Frying it gives it that nice crispy exterior, and the oil transforms the otherwise artificial mass into a super warm and rich sponge cake. Throw on a little carmel sauce, and you've got some artery clogging perfection there.
Posted by dave1976]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:40:11 -0800 The Stranger Fortune has a good article that was written in July, published in August that goes through the whole damned story. Mismanagement, bankruptcy, CEO pay raises, hedge funds, nepotism, etc etc.

The closest to a good guy in the story are the unions which had previously taken pay cuts during the first bankruptcy.
Posted by TheMisanthrope]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:39:42 -0800 The Stranger