Sean wrote:
Diamondeye wrote:
Do you have any actual evidence of golden parachutes other than your own suspicion?
In any case, it can hardly be blamed on the executives when, as stated, the market in that area is saturated and the deal was recognized as necessary and acceptable by other unions.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/1 ... -downfall/Come on dude, they TRIPLED executives pay as they were filing for bankruptcy.
Quote:
BCTGM members are well aware that as the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy earlier this year, the then CEO of Hostess was awarded a 300 percent raise (from approximately $750,000 to $2,550,000) and at least nine other top executives of the company received massive pay raises. One such executive received a pay increase from $500,000 to $900,000 and another received one taking his salary from $375,000 to $656,256.
This is a case of blatant corporate greed and mismanagement.
Sean's Links wrote:
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11372755/1/twinkie-maker-hostess-files-for-bankruptcy.html
Burdened by debts, pension liabilities and the increased operating efficiency of competitors, Hostess reportedly suspended payments on union pensions in December and was struggling to make interest payments on a $700 million loan. In its bankruptcy listing, Hostess Brands claimed between $500 million and $1 billion in assets and more than $1 billion of liabilities. The company also listed the Bakery & Confectionery Union & Industry International Pension Fund as its biggest unsecured creditor with a $944.2 million claim.
The company has arranged for $75 million in debtor-in-possession financing for its bankruptcy stay, drawing money from hedge fund Silver Point Capital and existing lenders with a first lien claim on its assets.
Let's take the $2.5M, in fact let's assume the other 9 guys mentioned in the story got a 1m salary bump too (Even though they didn't according to your quote) which yields a whopping $11.5M for executive salaries for 1 year. Versus $944.2M owed to the Union in the form of pensions.
Let's take this example further though (because goddamn $11.5M sounds like a lot of money to grunts like you and I) divide out the exagerated $11.5M over the company's 19500 employees. Which yields $590 more per year per employee which works out to $0.28 more per hour per employee.
Now if I click a few more links off of your quoted source I find:
Sean's Link wrote:
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11372755/1/twinkie-maker-hostess-files-for-bankruptcy.html
However, even after exiting bankruptcy, the company struggled with employee costs and a lack of competitiveness. The Wall Street Journal reports that Hostess' 2011 annual losses may widen to $340 million.
Then if we follow a third link from your source...
Sean's Link wrote:
http://www.businessinsider.com/a-cost-by-cost-breakdown-of-the-hostess-bankruptcy-shows-employee-retirement-funds-are-owed-big-2012-1?0=warroom
The volatile commodities market played a big role in the Hostess bankruptcy, but rising labor costs are really killing the company's balance sheet.
We broke down the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, which show that an astonishing 97% of the company’s unsecured claims are from employee pension funds, totaling nearly $1 billion. The company’s No. 1 creditor is the Bakery & Confectionery Union & Industry International Pension Fund, which lists a claim of $944.2 million. Its smallest debt is $425,000 owed to makers of donuts and mixes.
In other words, the **** that killed Twinkies is the same **** that is killing America. Unfunded entitlement spending, in the Hostess example it is pensions, for the country it is Medicaid/Medicare and Social Security.
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Quote:
In comic strips the person on the left always speaks first. - George Carlin