Bankruptcy, Unions | featured news

Only days after being unable to work things out with a striking union, and forcing us all to devour faux Twinkies for our creamy, spongy sugar fix, the folks at Hostess Brands Inc. are asking for a bankruptcy court to approve up to $1.8 million in bonus payments to top executives.

Today, Hostess Brands inc. — the company famed for its sickly sweet dessert snacks like Twinkies and Sno Balls — announced they’d be shuttering after more than eighty years of production. But while headlines have been quick to blame unions for the downfall of the company there’s actually more to the story: While the company was filing for bankruptcy, for the second time, earlier this year, it actually tripled its CEO’s pay, and increased other executives’ compensation by as much as 80 percent.

Stagnant revenue and rising employee costs threaten City Hall with a $222-million shortfall, official says. A proposal to outsource ambulance services provokes anger from firefighters union. Los Angeles' top budget official raised the specter of bankruptcy Friday in a sweeping report that calls for new taxes, possible layoffs and the privatization of some city services.

G.M. said Wednesday that it had positive cash flow of $1 billion in the six months after it emerged from bankruptcy protection last July, but that it lost $4.3 billion in that period, mostly because of the cost of settling with the United Auto Workers union over retiree health benefits, one of the burdens that helped bring the company to its knees.

If union members accept the deal, Ford will gain some of the benefits that General Motors and Chrysler needed bankruptcy reorganization to achieve.