Hostess struggled for many years before going bankrupt because they chose to not innovate. They continued making sugary snacks and white bread while consumers moved to healthier alternatives, thus causing sales to dwindle every year for the past decade. Hostess filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and was purchased by Ripplewood Holdings, who promptly piled on $700 million in debt.

Hostess recently tripled the pay of their CEO (to more than $2 million) while asking the union to take another pay cut “to save the company.” Nine other executives also received massive pay increases. At the time it filed its latest bankruptcy claim Hostess was paying employees an average of $10 an hour plus benefits. Union members were hardly raking it in.

An interesting connection, made by examiner.com:
“It is also worth remembering that Hostess executives agreed to pay the labor unions their high wages and generous pensions in an earlier contract. Much like NHL owners, the Hostess executives were trying to take back an earlier contractual promise made to the union.”

The reality is that the company was poorly managed for years. The union had accepted less in their last negotiations, just as the NHLPA did in the last lockout. Go ahead and blame unions for the demise of the Twinkie and pro hockey, but the facts are the facts.

Someone please throw Donald “A Freak-in Bone Here”