Cookaholics Bulletin Board

And the difference would be...........??????????

little...

Per the NYT Dealbook, at 3:30 this afternoon the both sides agree to mediation! The Judge overseeing the bankruptcy pushed hard for this. Go Judge Drain!

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/ ... m_20121119

That sounds promising. I can't imagine a company having to deal with more than 1 union. That has to be an administrative nightmare.

I also just read that the Teamsters are on board with this so it's thought that it really is promising. We'll see.

So, bankruptcy went ahead.

And, if you were wondering what it was all about, just follow the money:

http://gothamist.com/2012/11/29/as_host ... get_19.php

Works out to be an average of $100,000. per Executitive.

Had it been divided among the 18,000 employees $105.55 each

While Frank's math is irrefutable, the story is a lot more complex than a "small" (by CEO standards) bonus. Good read here: Vulture capitalism--not unions--killed Twinkies

A few snippets from the article:

One 14-year veteran of the company describes the $150 million annual givebacks the union agreed to: “In 2005, before concessions I made $48,000, last year I made $34,000.” Pensions and healthcare were cut as well, with labor’s total loss equaling $110 million annually. ...

As a result of management that still hadn’t really attempted to adapt itself to new market realities, the company earned profits in 2011 of $2.5 billion: That’s 11 percent less than in 2008, before Ripplewood took over. But thanks to debt approaching $1 billion, Hostess ended 2011 with a loss of $341 million. The CEO who led the company back into bankruptcy? He got a pay raise — while Hostess pushed a 30 percent salary and benefit cut onto its employees. ...

That leaves the unions in one corner and the hedge funds and Hostess management in the other. Management ordered the company to stop contributing to the union pension funds, ignoring their obligations under collective bargaining agreements. They have demanded a new round of concessions, which would have doubled insurance premiums, negated all pension obligations, and slashed pay by 27 to 32 percent. Again, the 14-year Hostess bakery veteran: “Remember how I said I made $48,000 in 2005 and $34,000 last year? I would make $25,000 in five years if I took their offer. It will be hard to replace the job I had, but it will be easy to replace the job they were trying to give me.”

Another similar take on the situation: Hedge Funds, Changing Times Cause Hostess Bankruptcy. Quote from this article:

These are the pay raises the top executives gave themselves, as they told unions to take pay cuts or be liquidated.
Hostess bankruptcy, top executives take pay raises

Brian Driscoll, CEO, (about) $750,000 to $2,550,000
Gary Wandschneider, EVP, $500,000 to $900,000
John Stewart, EVP, $400,000 to $700,000
David Loeser, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256
Kent Magill, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256
Richard Seban, EVP, $375,000 to $656,256
John Akeson, SVP, $300,000 to $480,000
Steven Birgfeld, SVP, $240,000 to $360,000
Martha Ross, SVP, $240,000 to $360,000
Rob Kissick, SVP, $182,000 to $273,008

Frank,

Or to put it another way: the executives stole $100 from each employee in order to give themselves $100K bonuses. Who do you think needed the money more?

Certainly not a perfect (or even desirable) outcome...however I still vigorously support a free enterprise / free market, capitalist system...warts and all…sure beats the alternatives. The system deserves support not the players.

Appears to me that both management and union reps. are boneheads. Net result...18K out of work...