…and bringing some jobs with them

A bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of Twinkies to a pair of investment firms, one of which has said it hopes to have the cakes back on shelves by summer. NBCNews

Hostess closed its factories in late November following a strike by the union. The company had been struggling financially for years and unwilling and unable to give in to pressure by the union, Hostess closed its doors; a move that took the threatening union by surprise.

“…one important thing…  they won’t be made by employees belonging to labor unions.”

Junk food enthusiasts everywhere, myself included, can finally celebrate! The return of Twinkies and other wonderful calorie packed snacks is assured. The cream-filled golden cakes synonymous with childhoods past should be on shelves as early as July. Accompanying these tasty treats will be Ho Hos, Zingers and Ding Dongs. Nothing is going to change with the popular junk food other than one important thing…  they won’t be made by employees belonging to labor unions.

The company responsible for the production of Twinkies will set up shop in multiple locations across the country and bring jobs back to Columbus, Georgia and Emporia, Kansas–two locations that closed following the demise of Hostess amid a labor dispute last November. Investment groups Metropoulos and Apollo Global Management bought the brands along with other Dolly Madison products following a public outcry about the disappearance of the classic junk food staple.

This “blueprint” is enticing to investors hoping to by-pass organized labor: what you do is simply dissolve the company, overhaul the approach and use the same facilities to begin business again. …Manufacturing jobs will undoubtedly be filled quickly.

I would just like to see a great product (maybe not great nutritionally) back on the shelf and some of the 12.3 (really 22.7) million unemployed get back to work.  Critics say that without the union the company will fill itself with minimum wage workers, keep the price of the product where it was or higher and fill their greedy pockets with profit.

Since when has it become a crime in America to have a profitable company?  The whole idea of someone striking out on their own and starting their own business is to make a profit.  Yet the recent trend in America is to demonize “rich” “capitalist” business owners and anyone who strives to make a profit.

When it comes to employing workers a few things have remained constant throughout our history: No one ever got a job from a poor man. Factory owners have never had the power to force workers to labor in their factories; all they could / can do was to offer work at a given wage to free people who were able to accept the offer, or reject the offer and look for work elsewhere. And lastly, people flocked to those jobs, immigrating to the cities from America’s farms and from countries abroad.  …and still today, just look at the border crossings at Mexico.  Are illegal aliens coming here for the climate?  Of course not, it’s for the jobs (and government benefits that they are not entitled to).

I’ll leave the politics for another time, here’s hoping that some deserving unemployed soles find work and I get to once again fill by belly with Twinkies and Ho Ho’s!