Hostess Brands wants court to OK rejection of labor union agreements

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 26 - Hostess Brands, Inc., its debtors and debtors-in-possession asked the court to authorize them to reject 296 collective bargaining agreements with unions, according to a Thursday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Specifically, Hostess wants to reject agreements with the 141 local affiliates of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the 35 local affiliates of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Workers International Union. It also seeks to modify any obligations the debtors have to contribute to multiemployer benefit plans that may provide non-pension benefits provided to retirees formerly represented by those two unions, according to court documents.

"Hostess simply cannot emerge as a viable competitor unless they are relieved of a number of significant financial commitments and arcane work rules imposed by their collective bargaining agreements," the filing said.

As previously reported, the company said it was working to reach a consensual agreement with the unions to modify the collective bargaining agreements and had been "engaged in good-faith bargaining" for months prior to filing for bankruptcy.

Hostess Brands, an Irving, Texas-based operator of regional bakeries, filed bankruptcy on Jan. 11. Its Chapter 11 case number is 12-22052.

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