Twinkies Maker May Close Today

[Straight Shooter]

http://news.yahoo.com/twinkies-maker-may-close-today-115733014--abc-news-topstories.html

The end for Twinkies may just be hours away. Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of the iconic snack, announced on Wednesday that it will liquidate the entire company if not enough striking employees return to work by Thursday evening.

"We simply do not have the financial resources to survive an ongoing national strike," Hostess CEO Gregory Rayburn said in a statement Wednesday. "Therefore, if sufficient employees do not return to work by 5 p.m., EST, on Thursday to restore normal operations, we will be forced to immediately move to liquidate the entire company, which will result in the loss of nearly 18,000 jobs."

The strikes began on Nov. 9, when the company imposed a contract that would cut workers' wages by 8 percent. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) said the contract would also cut benefits by 27 to 32 percent.

Hostess, which is privately owned by two hedge funds, has struggled in recent years with two bankruptcy filings. The company said it "has done everything in its power to pursue a reorganization of its business as a going concern, including spending the better part of 18 months negotiating with its key constituents to obtain a consensual agreement."

"It is now up to Hostess' BCTGM represented employees and Frank Hurt, their international president, to decide if they want to call off the strike and save this company, or cause massive financial harm to thousands of employees and their families," Rayburn said.

If the strike continues, Hostess said it will file a motion on Friday to wind-down the company and sell all of its assets. If the U.S. Bankruptcy Court grants the motion, the company will then begin to close all of its operations as early as Nov. 20.

"Hostess Brands is making a mockery of the labor relations system that has been in place for nearly 100 years," union President Frank Hurt said in a statement earlier this week. "Our members are not just striking for themselves, but for all unionized workers across North America who are covered by collective bargaining agreements."

The union, which represents more than 80,000 industry workers, maintains that the company's policies will bring its members back to workplace standards of the 1950s.

:weeping:

 

[Will E Worm]

Obama strikes again!

Homemade Twinkies
Makes about 12


2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 cup milk

Put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Create your own Twinkie-like molds by wrapping heavy-duty aluminum foil around a 4-inch-long spice bottle. Leave the top of the mold open so you can pour in the batter.

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute in between each addition.

Beat in vanilla and almond extract. Reduce speed to low, add half of the flour mixture, and beat until incorporated. Add milk and beat until incorporated. Add the rest of the flour, and beat until incorporated.

Spray prepared Twinkie molds with nonstick spray and divide the batter between them. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the cakes are just slightly golden and a pick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before filling with marshmallow cream.

Marshmallow filling
by Todd Wilbur of Top Secret Recipes


2 teaspoons very hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups (one 7-ounce jar) marshmallow creme
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine salt with hot water in a small bowl and stir until salt is dissolved. Let cool.

Combine the marshmallow creme, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat until fluffy, using an electric mixer on high speed.

Add salt water and beat to combine.

When the cakes are cool, use a skewer or a chopstick to make three holes along the bottom, moving the stick around slightly to create space inside the cake. Fit a pastry bag with a small tip and fill it with the marshmallow creme mixture (or scoop it into a resealable bag and snip off a tiny bit of one corner; pipe filling into each cake, using the three holes.

Article

 

[Ace Bandage]

Tallahassee is going to be so upset...





There's a box of Twinkies in that grocery store. Not just any box of Twinkies, the last box of Twinkies that anyone will enjoy in the whole universe. Believe it or not, Twinkies have an expiration date. Some day very soon, life's little Twinkie gauge is gonna go... empty.

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

This company needs to fold. It has been blatantly mismanaged for decades. This company was in huge trouble before even W came into office.
Here's hoping that a more stable well run baking company purchases the Hostess name and produces a product Americans love for decades to come. Worm you often say inflammatory shit but believe me when I say this company is, has, and will stay in trouble as long as the powers that be control it.

 

[JasonCook78]

Tallahassee is going to be so upset...





There's a box of Twinkies in that grocery store. Not just any box of Twinkies, the last box of Twinkies that anyone will enjoy in the whole universe. Believe it or not, Twinkies have an expiration date. Some day very soon, life's little Twinkie gauge is gonna go... empty.

Ahh damn, you beat me to it.

 

[Vanilla Bear]

I never had a twinkie in my life. :dunno: What does it taste like? And don't say it tastes like twinkie or chicken! :thefinger

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

Don't like em myself just Golden cake with vanilla cream inside. Much prefer HoHo's.

 

[squallumz]

trans fat laden garbage.

and they are made out of meat products. wtf is that shit?

lard, beef drippings, or rendered suet. nasty.

 

[itputsthelotion]

There is no God

 

[Will E Worm]

Out of 18,000 workers, 5,500 are striking. So, they might make the others lose their jobs.

I never had a twinkie in my life. :dunno: What does it taste like? And don't say it tastes like twinkie or chicken! :thefinger

Read my comment and make your own. :clap:

This company needs to fold.

:nono:

 

[bobjustbob]

Here is what you need to make a twinkie:

Enriched wheat flour, sugar, corn syrup, niacin, water, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable and/or animal shortening – containing one or more of partially hydrogenated soybean, cottonseed and canola oil, and beef fat, dextrose, whole eggs, modified corn starch, cellulose gum, whey, leavenings (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), salt, cornstarch, corn flour, corn syrup, solids, mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin, polysorbate 60, dextrin, calcium caseinate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, wheat gluten, calcium sulphate, natural and artificial flavors, Caramel color, yellow #5, red #40.

 

[StanScratch]

I never had a twinkie in my life. :dunno: What does it taste like? And don't say it tastes like twinkie or chicken! :thefinger

Take some sugar water (sugar water must be at least 90 percent sugar, 10 percent water) and soak it into a sponge. Put a hole inside the sponge and inject some whipped cream inside. Inject the whipped cream with more sugar. Enjoy!

 

[Sicario]

I never cared much for Twinkies, they tasted terrible to me. I preferred Ding Dongs and Ho-Ho's. That last comment I just made does make me sound like a friut... SHIT!!!

Anyone remember Suzy Q's?

 

[bahodeme]

I was a fruit pie & big wheel fan myself. I mentioned in another thread that we lived near the Wonder Bread bakery in D.C. before it closed in the 80's. As a kid, I knew when I was close to after a vacation when I smelled the baking bread.

 

[gunslingingbird]

I never had a twinkie in my life. :dunno: What does it taste like? And don't say it tastes like twinkie or chicken! :thefinger

It kinda tastes like a sponge roll that had been sitting in a tub of fat for a few days and was filled with sugary trans-fat goop would taste like. ukey:

and they are made out of meat products. wtf is that shit?

lard, beef drippings, or rendered suet. nasty.

Yer just butt-hurt 'cause the girl won't let ya eat bacon. :thefinger

Take some sugar water (sugar water must be at least 90 percent sugar, 10 percent water) and soak it into a sponge. Put a hole inside the sponge and inject some whipped cream inside. Inject the whipped cream with more sugar. Enjoy!

You forgot to add about half a gallon of oil for each one.

Anyone remember Suzy Q's?

 

[Frank Fire]

Nearly 200 Connecticut workers -- including 50 in Bridgeport -- face losing their jobs after Hostess Brands Inc. announced Friday it's going out of business.
The company said it made the decision because stricking workers across the country crippled its ability to make its Twinkies, Ding Dongs and other snacks.
The company had warned employees that it would file a motion with U.S. Bankruptcy Court Friday seeking permission to shutter its operations and sell its brands if plants hadn't resumed normal operations by a Thursday evening deadline. The deadline passed without a deal.
The closing would mean the loss of about 18,500 jobs. Hostess employs about 200 workers in Connecticut in non-bakery retail and distribution facilities. The 50 employees in Bridgeport and workers in Cheshire, East Windsor, Norwich and Uncasville are caught in a fight between management and The Bakery Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, which went on strike last week over benefits and the future of the company.
Earlier this week, Kevin O'Toole, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 145, which represents Hostess drivers, mechanics and thrift store employees at its the Bridgeport facility on the corner of Housatonic Avenue and Wells Street said "the threat is out there."
O'Toole said it appeared to be more than just tough talk by the company.
"I don't know if they thought that was a bluff," CEO Gregory Rayburn said of the workers on CNBC Friday. He said the financial impact of the strike makes it "too late" to save the company even if workers have a change of heart. That's because the clients such as retailers decide to stop carrying products when supplies aren't adequate.
Rayburn said he's hopeful that the company will find buyers for its roster of about 30 brands, which include Ho Hos, Dolly Madison, Drake's and Nature's Pride snacks. The company books about $2.5 billion in sales a year. Hostess, founded in 1930, was fighting battles beyond labor costs. Competition is increasing in the snack space and Americans are increasingly conscious about healthy eating.
Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, said its stores will remain open for several days to sell remaining products. Operations at its 33 factories were suspended Friday. The privately held company filed for Chapter 11 protection in January, its second trip through bankruptcy court in less than a decade.
The move comes after thousands of members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union went on strike last week after rejecting a contract offer that slashed wages and benefits in September. The bakers union represents about 30 percent of the company's workforce.
Rayburn said the union's leadership had misled members into believing there was a buyer in the wings who would rescue the company. He said the union hadn't returned the company's calls for the past month.
A union representative did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Hostess filed for bankruptcy protection in January amid financial problems related to pensions, restrictive work rules and too much debt. It had $1 billion in assets at the time of the filing and about $2.5 billion in liabilities.
The Teamsters agreed to pay cuts and other adjustments to their contract in September, but the Baker's Union rejected the deal. Then the Bakers went on strike last week at 24 bakeries across the country and the company responded by announcing it would close bakeries in Seattle, Cincinnati and St. Louis, Mo. Product is getting made and transported out of the bakeries by management and a collection of workers that include some Bakers who crossed the picket line. There are no bakeries in Connecticut.
In the meantime, Hostess filed a notice with Connecticut's Labor Department that it might begin closing operations and cutting jobs in the state by Dec. 16.
O'Toole said it's tough for the workers and their families, but they really don't have much choice but to see how this played out.
"There aren't any jobs out there," he said.
Staff writer Ron Varnon and the Associated Press contributed to this report.


Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Hostess-to-close-200-state-jobs-at-risk-4043677.php#ixzz2COw3HmxB
http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Hostess-to-close-200-state-jobs-at-risk-4043677.php

 

[PirateKing]

trans fat laden garbage.

and they are made out of meat products. wtf is that shit?

lard, beef drippings, or rendered suet. nasty.

Oh lawd...always harping about the ingredients.

RIP twinkies.

 

[DP_LOVER]

is there a UK equivalent to a twinkie?

i have never had one, seen them mentioned in loads of US films and tv shows so understand their cultural significance, its just a wonder they never tried to market it overseas seeing as half the world knows what a twinkie is

 

[BCT]

This sucks, twinkies and cupcakes are bomb.

 

[Will E Worm]

5,500 stupid people just cost 18,500+ workers their job.




All states prohibit you from receiving benefits if you are part of a work stoppage.
During a strike, states typically make you ineligible to receive benefits.

They are ineligible for unemployment. That's a good thing. :clap: