I don’t think I’ve had a Twinkie in the last decade or more – but I’m going to miss them. The Hostess Bakery Company will probably be liquidated shortly. They have been in the process of working through bankruptcy, trying to reorganize and, in the process, save the jobs of their several thousand employees.

  In order to survive, the company needed to renegotiate all their union contracts, cutting wages and benefits. All the involved unions accepted the new contracts except one. It went to arbitration and, after studying the company’s offer, the Labor Judge ruled that the union had to accept the contract. Last week the union started a wildcat strike. Within days Hostess was forced to close three of its plants in three different cities, laying off hundreds of employees, including those in the unions that had accepted their contracts. Hostess announced that if the strike continues they will not be able to come out of bankruptcy and will have to start the liquidation of the company. At last notice, the strike continues.

  I wish someone would explain to me why, in this depressed job market, anyone would kick their employer while he is down, most likely insuring that the business will close its doors and that person will be jobless. They will never know if the company would have survived and the lost wages and benefits restored in later contracts.

  I feel sorry for the Hostess Company and all the employees who were willing to work with the company in order to continue bringing home a paycheck, even a smaller one. But I will miss knowing there is a Twinkie out there if I want one.