Time To Start Countering The BS About Unions And Hostess Brands

No, it wasn't the unions, it was the management:

Our friends at Media Matters set the record straight. Here are some key points:

• The problem was debt. Reuters (a real news outlet) reported Hostess' entered "First Bankruptcy With $648.5 Million In Debt, And Came Out With More Than $800 Million." Reuters reported that after Hostess filed for its first bankruptcy in 2004, "it did not deal with its debt"
• Blame the lawyers, not the unions. Reuters also reported In its first bankruptcy, Hostess spent more than $170 million on professional fees in its first bankruptcy. That's because each time a company goes bankrupt, it must pay for lawyers and advisers not only for itself, but for its major creditors.
• Debt was the problem in the second bankruptcy: The New York Times' DealBook reported that Hostess had "more than $850 million of secured debt outstanding" as well as "$180 million in accrued workers compensation liabilities." The Times further reported that "[a]nother $50 million to $60 million is outstanding to trade creditors, plus $36 million in lease obligation" and that the company was "going to lay a $75 million debtor-in-possession loan on top of that." The Times added that "all this from a company with assets of just over $980 million."
• Unions made concessions while executives looted the company: Forbes explained that Hostess was able to exit bankruptcy in 2009 for three reasons, including that "substantial concessions" were made "by the two big unions" -- the Teamsters and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union... and "thousands of union members lost their jobs."
• The hacks running the company made out like -- well, you know: In April Hostess' creditors noted that Hostess had dramatically increased executive pay, including increasing CEO compensation from $750,000 to $2.25 million.
• Management couldn't come up with new products: CNBC reported "The company's sales declined and attempts to roll-out new products more in line with changing consumer tastes flopped."