Quote :

"An example would be one CEO paying another to collude with him to price fix. "

Who the hell would call that a bribe? Just because the legislature has declared something illegal and it involves money does not make "bribe" a usable word.

Quote :

"Those colluding companies will act to eliminate competition that is not participating by agreeing to set prices low to remove the competition and then raising them. "

An event that has apparently never once occurred in documented history, from the roman empire right on through today. If you know of any such historical event please let us know, an entire generation of economists is desperate to study it further.

11/29/2012 7:15:00 PM

Quote :

"The unions have FAR more of an interest in the company staying alive than the executives on the other side."

Which I guess is why union representatives were actually quoted in news sources as saying they were trying to force liquidation...

Quote :

"I don't see how you think the unions were acting in bad faith by secretly wanting to force a shutdown"

Because that's explicitly what they said they were trying to do!

12/1/2012 12:02:57 AM

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324260204578583712699551132.html

Quote :

" Craig Davis, a former forklift operator at a Hostess cake plant in Emporia, Kan., has been unemployed since November, when the Twinkies maker shut its factories and began liquidation proceedings. He could have applied to get his old job back now that the plant is churning out Twinkies, Zingers and Ding Dongs in preparation for a July 15 return to store shelves. But he said the current starting salary of about $11 an hour, with the chance to bump it to $14, is "a slap in the face." "When I left, I was making $16.53 an hour, so I just didn't see the point," said Mr. Davis, who worked at the plant for almost 22 years. Related The Twinkie Returns, With Less Baggage Eight months after Hostess closed amid labor strife, its former workers have had divergent paths, but many of them have failed to regain their previous income levels. Hostess moved to liquidate in November shortly after the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers International Union went on strike in response to a new contract imposed on them at a bankruptcy court's direction. The bakers balked at the company's cessation of pension contributions. Hostess later admitted to using wages that were supposed to help fund pensions for the company's operations. C. Dean Metropoulos, chief executive and co-owner of the new Hostess, where the workforce currently isn't unionized, said the company has "put together an excellent and competitive wage and benefits program for our employees." Enlarge Image image image Some former Hostess workers who belonged to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters still blame the baker's union for the company's demise. "We might still have our jobs if they didn't go on strike in November," says Scott Quenneville, a former Hostess delivery driver and Teamster in Detroit. The 42-year-old father of three said he's gotten just one job offer as a driver for a food company 72 miles away, offering only $527 a week. It would have cost him $300 to $400 a month in gas to commute, so he passed. He expects he'll have to move out of state to find work. He and his wife are falling behind on house and utility payments. Luigi Peruzzi, another former Hostess driver in Detroit, is now delivering Frito-Lay chips as a salaried employee filling in when other drivers are on vacation. The 49-year-old expects he might get his own route in a year, enabling him to earn commissions. For now, he's making $700 a week, about half the nearly $1,400 he was making at Hostess. Mr. Peruzzi said he feels fortunate to have a job, but "Trying to stretch that money across all my bills is pretty tough." The Hostess episode, he said, "is like a distant bad memory now." Some former Hostess employees are better off. James Jones, who had worked at a Lenexa, Kan., bakery for almost 26 years, found a new job as a machine operator at a nearby Unilever ULVR.LN +0.69% PLC plant. Mr. Jones, 52, said he earns almost $2 an hour more than his $16.32 hourly wage at Hostess, and has better benefits. As a bakers union member who had voted to strike, he said, "I have no regrets." Mr. Davis, the former forklift operator, said he's hoping for a job at a power plant after he finishes his associate's degree in power-plant technology next year from a vocational school he's attending through a government retraining program. His house is paid for and his two kids are grown, so he and his wife can get by on her salary as a registered nurse for a while. Mr. Davis, 45, considers himself lucky, but worries about retirement. Had Hostess continued contributing to its employee pension plan, Mr. Davis says he would have been eligible to collect about $1,800 a month starting at age 55. Now expects to draw only $500 a month. Write to Julie Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com Corrections & Amplifications Scott Quenneville, a former Hostess delivery driver who is currently unemployed, estimates it would have cost him $300 to $400 a month for gas to commute to a job he was offered by a food company 72 miles away from his home. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said $300 to $400 a week. "

AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! They were striking for better pay and shit and the workers end up making LESS than what they were offered under the union contract. way to fucking go, unions! AHAHAHAHAHA

7/9/2013 11:38:49 PM

I mean, yeah fuck unions.

But it isn't really funny.

7/10/2013 12:08:46 AM

No, it's hilarious. They thought they could get a better deal by forcing a bankruptcy, and instead, they are struggling to get by and are making a good deal less than they otherwise would have if they had just been reasonable. Geniuses, the lot of them

7/10/2013 12:26:15 AM

You really are a psychopath, dude

7/10/2013 8:29:32 AM

Burro it would seem your anti-librulzzz schaudenfreude is a bit out of hand, you're actively celebrating hard-working people's lives being kicked down two notches because they tried to kick it up one.



[Edited on July 10, 2013 at 9:52 AM. Reason : Serves those assholes right, try to be CEO's next time!]

7/10/2013 9:52:12 AM

GRUH GRUH FUCKIN UNION THUGS RUIN EVERYTHING, SERVES EM RIGHT

7/10/2013 9:54:55 AM

message_topic.aspx?topic=618227

AHAHAHAHAHAHA

7/10/2013 9:55:32 AM

The unions didn't cause this, the company was on the brink anyway, if there were no unions they would have just fired a bunch of people or went under completely, without the public knowing how terrible their management really was or how badly they were trying to treat their workers.

This was a victory for the unions, there was likely nothing that could be done to save the company or people's job/pay, but at least we know how dumb managers who are probably mostly republicans can ruin a great brand and people's lives by their greed.

7/10/2013 9:56:10 AM

How can liberals continuously beat the drum of "Unions are a good thing"

Yea, unions are great for employees until they are unemployed from running a business in the ground. Hey look at me, I make $20/hr for working on an assembly line bakery.

7/10/2013 12:11:07 PM

agreed

Foxconn should be used as a great example of how we no longer need unions

OH WAIT

7/10/2013 1:25:45 PM