Hostess going out of business, no more Twinkies :(

[Lanx]

interesting tidbit i just heard about the mta, the fare only covers 50% of the cost, forget where the other half get's paid from taxes?

plus i don't believe a factory work should receive anywhere near 16 to 20, it's not like it's mindblowing work, a min wage mcdonald's employee could do the same work with 1 week of training (and i use mcdonald employee cuz of my experience with it like 10 years ago, i mean you give anyone 40hours of training, and they can work any machine and/or process depending on how difficult it is, you scale it up from min wage)

and about min wage, why is it there? it's a silly thing, it should be abolished, it's even silly to think that anyone can live on min wage anyway, besides min wage in ny is not gonna take you as far as like wyoming or whatever mid west state.

however, unions are probably a necessity, usually companies who have the bigger voice villianize unions, unions and management is like a seesaw, sometimes mgtment wins sometimes the unions win, but without this necessary seesaw people would get worked over, and of course the usual thing to say is, well get another job, which is not something that can be said once you have a family,mortgage and 2 cars.

anyway look at walmart, no unions there, i actually talk to the employees at my walmart (cuz i live out in the middle of nowhere and i only have walmart) and they're generally ok, i mean i see the same ppl, working the same shifts, so i assume something is working. Of course i only shop there at odd hours of the day, cuz the horrible store decides that 2 cashiers out of the possible 24 open slots is good enough for ppl and ppl should just wait in the checkout line for 1hr, i mean heck if unions had their way, they'd only have 1 cashier.

[Krogenar]

interesting tidbit i just heard about the mta, the fare only covers 50% of the cost, forget where the other half get's paid from taxes?

You would think that a company that moves millions of people everyday could manage to be self-sustaining, but you would be wrong. The U.S. Post Office is another example of this sort of problem.

plus i don't believe a factory work should receive anywhere near 16 to 20, it's not like it's mindblowing work, a min wage mcdonald's employee could do the same work with 1 week of training (and i use mcdonald employee cuz of my experience with it like 10 years ago, i mean you give anyone 40hours of training, and they can work any machine and/or process depending on how difficult it is, you scale it up from min wage)

It seems somewhat high to me, but not being familiar with what each worker does and the skills needed, I wouldn't feel competent to comment. But it shouldn't be up to you or me anyway -- let the market decide. If workers demand $50 to drive a bread truck, let the employers decide if that's a price (for labor) that they're willing to pay. Conversely, employers should be allowed to offer $2/hour to drive the truck and be rebuffed by workers.

and about min wage, why is it there? it's a silly thing, it should be abolished, it's even silly to think that anyone can live on min wage anyway, besides min wage in ny is not gonna take you as far as like wyoming or whatever mid west state.

I would abolish minimum wage laws, but for different reasons. For one, I don't think putting an artificial 'floor' on the price of labor helps anyone. Would it be better to have a $5/hour job as opposed to no job at all? It depends on your philosophy of work. Work produces more than just money -- I need to work, it's part of my makeup. Second, minimum wage laws actually hurt low-wage earners because if effectively cuts off the bottom rung of the 'jobs ladder'. As you pointed out, you worked for McDonald's a decade ago. That's a first job for a lot of people. No one really starts out at their last job; you have a low-paying job at first and then work your way up the job (and pay) ladder.

As a business owner myself, minimum wage laws just artificially increase the cost of hiring a new person -- so I often decide to manage with fewer employees than take the risk. That's harder for me, but even harder on someone just starting out.

however, unions are probably a necessity, usually companies who have the bigger voice villianize unions, unions and management is like a seesaw, sometimes mgtment wins sometimes the unions win, but without this necessary seesaw people would get worked over, and of course the usual thing to say is, well get another job, which is not something that can be said once you have a family,mortgage and 2 cars.

There was a time when unions really were needed -- but that time is long past, in most cases. Also, I don't think people's right to unionize (to freely associate) should be illegal, it's just that the game for unions in the U.S. is rigged heavily in their favor. Ever heard of the NLRB? It's the National Labor Relations Board, and the laws it lays down really puts American companies over a barrel in terms of bargaining. These companies really have little to no choice when it comes to bargaining with these unions. And that's not right. In a lot of states workers don't even have the choice of joining a union or not. Also, they break the law with impunity. The TWU (Transit Workers Union) in NYC is comprised of NYC bus drivers. According to the Taylor Law, they're not allowed to strike. They routinely do go on strike and cause all kinds of disruption.

anyway look at walmart, no unions there, i actually talk to the employees at my walmart (cuz i live out in the middle of nowhere and i only have walmart) and they're generally ok, i mean i see the same ppl, working the same shifts, so i assume something is working. Of course i only shop there at odd hours of the day, cuz the horrible store decides that 2 cashiers out of the possible 24 open slots is good enough for ppl and ppl should just wait in the checkout line for 1hr,

I don't even know how Walmart manages to remain union free.

i mean heck if unions had their way, they'd only have 1 cashier.

Likely they would have one register manned by three cashiers; two sleeping and one moving very, very slowly. And Walmart couldn't fire any of them. And you'd be required by law to shop there.

[TheQsanity]

What are those chocolate muffins with creme filling? Those are whats really good at hostess.

[Lanx]

rumor has it that whenever walmart hears rumors or sniffs out that a union might start in one of their stores, they quickly fire the employee or employees that are plotting, if that does work they just shut down the store all together, so no unions, but i remember reading something a while back about how walmart purchased some walmart like store in germany or gb one of the euro places and all those employees have unions and healthcare and pensions cuz of grandfathering.

[jdcarpe]

I think the days of labor unions in the US are drawing to a close. Labor unions are a drain to the economy of any place that has just, enforceable laws regarding the treatment of employees by employers. Labor unions once had a valid reason for their existence in the US, but that time has passed.

[SmallFry]

TWINKYZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!

[Krogenar]

What are those chocolate muffins with creme filling? Those are whats really good at hostess.

They just call those 'Hostess CupCakes' -- pretty generic really.

[jdcarpe]

Or are you thinking of Ding Dongs? I used to love Ding Dongs when they were wrapped in aluminum foil. Now they are wrapped in plastic wrappers, and they don't taste as good to me.

But I also don't think Snack Pack pudding tastes as good since they started putting it in plastic containers instead of tin cans.