Teamsters submits proposal for Hostess, seeks executive concessions

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, April 16 - The Teamsters Union has submitted a proposal "that provides a realistic path forward to save" Hostess Brands Inc., according to an International Brotherhood of Teamsters news release.

The union said Hostess executives "looted the company by giving themselves raises of up to 240% before declaring bankruptcy." The Teamsters said the executives then stopped paying into workers' pensions and demanded that workers take further cuts.

"The Teamsters' proposal demands that executives, as well as all stakeholders, actually share equally in the financial sacrifices necessary for Hostess to emerge from bankruptcy instead of paying lip-service to the concept," Teamsters general secretary Ken Hall said in the release.

According to the release, the Teamsters, which represents 7,500 Hostess workers, has tentatively agreed to $150 million in concessions under the proposal.

The union said its offer comes after Hostess released its own proposal over the weekend.

A hearing on rejection of collective bargaining agreements is scheduled for April 17.

Hostess Brands, an Irving, Texas-based operator of regional bakeries, filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Its Chapter 11 case number is 12-22052.

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