At the risk of raising ire from fans and lovers of Hostess snacks, I have to confess: I have never been a fan of Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, Zingers or Suzie Q’s. And I would say, outside of eating a package of powdered-sugar doughnuts on rare occasion, I haven’t touched a Twinkie or Hostess cake in more than 30 years. They were just too sweet for me, and I never liked the taste of them.
But, when I was a kid, I bought them. Well, my mom and dad bought boxes of them for me because I wanted them to cut the baseball cards from the bottom of the box that the iconic company printed in the late 1970s. In essence, I was forced to eat them (the snacks, not the cards) simply because my parents told me they weren’t going to buy me anymore until I ate what we had.
However, I will admit when I arrived at the Hostess Bakery Outlet at 816 E. University Drive in Mesa on Tuesday intending to interview customers caught in the Hostess buying craze, I was sad to see that not only were the store’s cupboards bare — but the store closed its doors last Monday.
It’s one of many Hostess stores nationwide closing their doors as it appears the company may go out of business, end the production of its iconic snacks that have been a staple of Americana and store shelves since the 1930s — and eliminate 18,500 jobs with it,
The thought of Hostess going out of business after company officials and its workers could not settle a union contract that included cutting wages for its longtime and dedicated workers for the company to survive, evokes both a sense of loss of an edible and nostalgic piece from our lives and the unsettling loss of American jobs. Hostess officials and its union returned to the negotiating table this week in hopes of reaching an agreement, but no progress has been made.
The thought of having to go without a Twinkie or Hostess treat has caused a range of mixed emotions.
“It sucks,” said Luis Esparza, 30, of Tempe as he was walking out of a Fry’s grocery store on Southern Avenue in Tempe on Tuesday. “It makes me want them more now.”
Until recently, Martinez said he bought about two 20-pack boxes of Twinkies a month for $2.50 from Target where he works, thanks to his 10-percent employee discount.
Now, Esparza fears he might turn into an angry Tallahassee, the character played by actor Woody Harrelson in the 2009 comedy movie, “Zombieland,” who wanted his Twinkie, but got angrier and angrier as he went from store to store not finding it.
“Sometimes, you just want a Twinkie,” Esparza said. “They’re easy to eat, and me and my roommate could grab one and eat them on the run. If they stop making them, it would suck.”
“I used to eat them as a kid, but not anymore,” said Sadie Davis, 28, of Tempe who now is a vegan and was getting ready to shop at Sprout’s in Tempe. “My mom still eats them, though. It’s definitely a piece of nostalgia. I still like seeing them on the shelves. It would be weird not to.”
Greg, an older man who was walking out of Sprout’s with his daughter, said of Twinkies, “They were never good for you. I ate them as a kid, but I never fed them to my kids. The thought of Hostess Twinkies being gone? It’s a sign of the times.”
Dave Martinez, 32, of Tempe, who received a measure of fame when he and his Boston terrier, Dexter, appeared on the Fox Network’s Gordon Ramsey show, “Master Chef” last summer (Martinez finished sixth), was a little more philosophical about Hostess possibly going out of business. He said his education policy and evaluation class discussed the Hostess situation on Monday and felt sympathy for both American workers losing their jobs and part of American pop culture ending.
Martinez said he used to eat Twinkies as a kid and loved Zingers — “I used to attack those (expletive) things; they were the best.” Martinez said he and his friends once got up from eating dinner about four years ago to go to a nearby convenience store to buy some Hostess products for his wife to try for the first time.
“It’s a staple of Americana,” Martinez said of Hostess. “I think it’s sad because something like that could be gone because of the price of someone’s economic worth. If 18,500 people lose their jobs, there’s nowhere for those people to go as meager as those jobs are. Times are tough.”
If Hostess officials and workers cannot reach an agreement, sweet-snack lovers just may have to turn to other brands baking similar treats, such as Little Debbie snacks.
Some people also scoffed at the unlikelihood of such a big business going out of business after receiving tons of free publicity across the nation as Twinkies reportedly pull in $2 billion a year, according to national media reports.
As Bob Williams of Mesa checked out at the University Farmer’s Market in Mesa next to the recently-closed Hostess Bakery Outlet, the retired heavy equipment operator from long-closed Marathon Steel in Tempe, said he has always eaten Twinkies and specifically, loved it when Hostess used to fill Twinkies with banana cream back in the day.
“This was a ploy by the company to get the workers to lower its wages,” Williams, 72, believes. “Look at all the publicity the company got out of this. I can live without them, but at my age, I can live without anything. I don’t think Twinkies are going away. We’ll all be eating them in a couple of weeks.”
And I hope for all the Twinkies and Hostess sweet-snack lovers, that’s true.
But in the meantime, I think I’ll sit down and eat a Little Debbie creme-filled oatmeal cookie.
After all, Little Debbies are cheaper and taste better.
At least I think so.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6533 or msakal@evtrib.com
bubba posted at 2:48 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
It's tragic that people seem more upset about not having twinkies, than the 18,500 people that will lose their jobs. This country is in big trouble. Corporations aren't willing to bear some of these economic setbacks, they are just gonna' Bain their way out.
aaarrrggghhh posted at 2:58 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
Really the only bright light in this article is Bob Williams' comment about how Hostess execs are just trying to force down wages of the company's workforce. At the same time that the Hostess execs gave themselves enormous raises. http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/hostess.asp - It sure is a "sign of the times" - it's a sign that the wealthy of this country could not care less about the workforce and will use and abuse them however they can get away with. Hostess execs, you are a despicable bunch.
bubba posted at 3:19 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
Wal-Mart employees may be starting a trend that will either start corporations on a sensible track or lead this nation's middle class into revolt....http://prospect.org/article/why-you-shouldnt-shop-wal-mart-friday
TruthSeeker posted at 3:48 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
Why hasn't anyone reported what the salary of these union workers was? I'm sure you'd be shocked to find it is probably three times what someone in the private sector makes. At the base of this debacle is only one thing: GREED! The employer giving 80% raises to their executives leading up to the bankruptcy, and the union workers not willing to give in to keep their jobs. If I had been one of their "loyal" employees, I would be grateful just to have a job during the company's rocky times, hoping that prosperity would return through this bumpy ride. Instead, the union members shot themselves in the foot. Do I feel sorry for them? No, it was self-inflicted.
abimopectore posted at 5:14 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
Businesses are created and exist to make money. If they don't, they don't last long. Hostess wasn't making money because of many factors, including POOR management. As much as I wish to empathize with the its workers, the restructuring required by the management was NECESSARY in spite of how the company has been previously poorly managed. I don't know of any business that models itself after how well it takes care of its workers without FIRST considering whether they're getting the return on investment required for them to continue functioning. This is what people better start realizing because you're not going to start producing good jobs for anyone if there is NOT a business environment within the country that promotes the growth needed for businesses to make money. You can continue assailing businesses and companies for everything you don't like about the "rich vs. the poor" attitudes that have characterized the recent Presidential campaign, but it's not going to produce healthy jobs in the long run if these very businesses and companies don't make money.
bubba posted at 5:37 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
abimopectore;.....Hostess was apparently profitable enough for the CEO to receive a 300% raise.
bubba posted at 6:07 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
Some creditors question Hostess pay raises approved in late July.
Brian Driscoll, CEO, around $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.
This is a run down from a guy that works in the bakery:............................................................................................................................What was this last/best/final offer? You'd never know by watching the main stream media tell the story. So here you go...
1) 8% hourly pay cut in year 1 with additional cuts totaling 27% over 5 years. Currently, I make $16.12 an hour at TOP rate of pay in the bakery. I would drop to $11.26 in 5 years.
2) They get to keep our $3+ an hour forever.
3) Doubling of weekly insurance premium.
4) Lowering of overall quality of insurance plan.
5) TOTAL withdrawal from ALL pensions. If you don't have it now then you never will.
bubba posted at 6:13 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
Reference to the $3 plus an hour from above:......"July of 2011 we received a letter from the company. It said that the $3+ per hour that we as a Union contribute to the pension was going to be 'borrowed' by the company until they could be profitable again. Then they would pay it all back. The Union was notified of this the same time and method as the individual members. No contact from the company to the Union on a national level."
"This money will never be paid back. The company filed for bankruptcy and the judge ruled that the $3+ per hour was a debt the company couldn't repay. The Union continued to work despite this theft of our self-funded pension contributions for over a year. I consider this money stolen. No other word in the English language describes what they have done to this money."....Read the complete story at:......
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/18/1162786/-Inside-the-Hostess-Bankery
Hal Apeno posted at 7:39 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
I was always a sno-balls man myself.. good stuff.
Hal Apeno posted at 7:43 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
The unemployed workers should form a co-op, buy the bankrupt brands, and operate the new company themselves.
bubba posted at 9:40 pm on Fri, Nov 23, 2012.
Leon Ceniceros: Read the article, This is the plight of the AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS WORKING MAN. Thirteen year loyal employee. His wages will go from $16.12 per hour to $11.26 per hour. And Hostess "borrowed" his employee paid retirement, filed bankruptcy and swindled the employees out of it. Corporate America won't be happy untill everybody is working for minimum wage. You didn't raise your family on minimum wage did you Leon? Read it and learn whats happening to the AMERICAN WORKING MAN, Leon. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/18/1162786/-Inside-the-Hostess-Bankery
abimopectore posted at 12:19 am on Sat, Nov 24, 2012.
bubba,
I guess you live up to your name since you're not understanding what bankruptcy means. They weren't making money. I wasn't saying they were being managed correctly. You can have idiots manage a company into the ground and it still not going to matter to the workers if it goes broke. You typify the "rich vs. poor" mentality that folks like to launch at companies. Most good companies don't do what you describe in terms of raises if they're going to exist for long. This was a no win situation. The only sad thing is that there are going to be 15,000 plus workers without a job for the holidays. And this doesn't help anyone, workers and company included.
loose stool posted at 4:31 am on Sat, Nov 24, 2012.
185000 less people contributing to the democrat money landuring operation. They are getting what they deserve. Obama doesnt care about that state or he would have bought their votes like he did in Ohio.
bubba posted at 7:10 am on Sat, Nov 24, 2012.
causa latet, vis est notissima
TruthSeeker posted at 11:58 am on Sat, Nov 24, 2012.
Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers Union (BCTW&GMU) members earn $85,000 per year. Do you feel sorry for them now?
bubba posted at 12:46 pm on Sat, Nov 24, 2012.
TruthSeeker....Please post your source.
Bingo6 posted at 1:00 pm on Mon, Nov 26, 2012.
The time is fast approaching when the walls around the rich won't be be high enough to keep the workers out.
The top 1% needs to be afraid.