# The end of the Twinkie? Strike threatens Hostess **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249 "2012-04-19T05:24:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/1 "2012-04-19T05:24:55Z")
[What will you do if you can’t get a ding dong any more?](http://fox8.com/2012/04/17/strike-threat-at-hostess-could-kill-off-twinkies/) > [@](#): > > The maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread heads to court Tuesday to try to throw out its union contracts in a battle that leaves the iconic baker’s future very much in doubt. > > _\_ > > But both management and the unions agree that the company is unlikely to survive a strike. I haven’t had a Twinkie in a long time so I wouldn’t miss it much, but it would be a shame to see them go. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/2 "2012-04-19T05:32:36Z")
Didn’t Hostess file for bankruptcy protection a few months ago? It seems like the Twinkie is perpetually on the verge of extinction. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/3 "2012-04-19T07:08:59Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Didn’t Hostess file for bankruptcy protection a few months ago? It seems like the Twinkie is perpetually on the verge of extinction. Given their amazing shelf life, there are probably enough lying around in desk drawers and the back of the pantry to last us another century or so. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/4 "2012-04-19T07:57:34Z")
I have a few chocolate Twinkies in my cupboard. I guess I should go stock up. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/5 "2012-04-19T09:50:03Z")
Worst-case scenario, Hostess gets bought out by Bimbo and they start putting the Twinkies on the same shelf as those tasty Mexican cakes I forget the name of. It’s not like the Hostess brand isn’t a valuable commodity. It’s just that the company is poorly managed. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/6 "2012-04-19T10:40:56Z")
Out of interest, where you do buy Twinkies in New York? My husband and I were there earlier this year and could not find any at all! ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/7 "2012-04-19T13:24:28Z")
A minor nitpick: The headline should read “Poor management at Hostess could kill off Twinkies.” The management of Hostess have gotten themselves in a situation where the company cannot continue as it is. They would like to gut the pensions of their rank-and-file employees in order to keep the company going for a while. That may or may not keep the poorly run company afloat. Twinkies are like heroin. If you can’t make a profit selling them you are doing something wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/8 "2012-04-19T13:32:04Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Out of interest, where you do buy Twinkies in New York? My husband and I were there earlier this year and could not find any at all! I can’t help but picture Elaine Benes looking around the room & wondering if people were creme-filled sponge worthy… ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/9 "2012-04-19T14:12:40Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Didn’t Hostess file for bankruptcy protection a few months ago? It seems like the Twinkie is perpetually on the verge of extinction. They filed in January. [Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638161) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/10 "2012-04-19T15:17:39Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I have a few chocolate Twinkies in my cupboard. I guess I should go stock up. Wait, there’s such a thing as a chocolate Twinkie? I may need to buy a box. As for the dire warnings about the end of the company, I assume that someone will buy the company itself or its products out of bankruptcy. I can’t imagine that anyone would let such well-known products go extinct. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/11 "2012-04-19T15:28:55Z")
For instance, here’s the [website](http://www.riverwestbrands.com/brand_properties.php) of a company called River West Brands, that owns formerly well-known brand names like Coleco, Bonwit Teller and Brim Coffee and is trying to revive them. I don’t think Hostess or its products are even as dead as those names, so presumably someone else will buy the company and keep the products going. My best guess would be another snack food manufacturer. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/12 "2012-04-20T02:35:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Wait, there’s such a thing as a chocolate Twinkie? I may need to buy a box. > > As for the dire warnings about the end of the company, I assume that someone will buy the company itself or its products out of bankruptcy. I can’t imagine that anyone would let such well-known products go extinct. Yep. I see them on the shelf at Wal-Mart, where I shop, all the time. They also had banana Twinkies and strawberry Twinkies in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/13 "2012-04-20T02:59:21Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > Given their amazing shelf life, there are probably enough lying around in desk drawers and the back of the pantry to last us another century or so. Back when I was going to animation school, my roommate and I placed a McDonald’s apple pie in its cardboard package on the kitchen table. And left it there for six months. There was no visible change to the pie. Twinkies are like that, only more so. I think I read something long ago that claimed that, ultimately, they are edible plastic. ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/14 "2012-04-20T05:22:34Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Twinkies are like that, only more so. I think I read something long ago that claimed that, ultimately, they are edible plastic. Not even close to accurate. Enriched wheat flour, sugar, and corn syrup are the top three ingredients. Here’s a [full list of ingredients](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie). No edible plastic here! 😃 [There’s an awful lot of misinformation about twinkies flying around this thread, regarding shelf life and such](http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/twinkies.asp). I always wonder how these ideas get so deeply rooted and widely believed. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/15 "2012-04-20T06:50:36Z")
> [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > [There’s an awful lot of misinformation about twinkies flying around this thread, regarding shelf life and such](http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/twinkies.asp). I always wonder how these ideas get so deeply rooted and widely believed. It’s a joke, son. No reality intervention is necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/16 "2012-04-20T13:19:21Z")
You saw the guy above who thought twinkies were edible plastic, right? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/17 "2012-04-20T14:00:04Z")
> [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > Not even close to accurate. Enriched wheat flour, sugar, and corn syrup are the top three ingredients. Here’s a [full list of ingredients](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie). No edible plastic here! 😃 Maybe the wheat flour is enriched with plastic! ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/18 "2012-04-20T14:43:00Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Maybe the wheat flour is enriched with plastic! A possibility so delicious, I didn’t even dare to consider it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/19 "2012-04-20T15:59:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > As for the dire warnings about the end of the company, I assume that someone will buy the company itself or its products out of bankruptcy. I can’t imagine that anyone would let such well-known products go extinct. It’s not that someone might buy the company. It’s current management stating if there is a union strike management will close the company. Management appears to have no intention to allow anyone to buy the company and keep the Twinkies/Ding Dongs/HoHos going. > [@](#): > > Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, has won more time to bake up a reorganization plan and solicit acceptances without competition. Judge Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in White Plains on Tuesday, April 17, approved a 90-day extension of the company’s exclusive right to file a plan and solicit acceptances to it, to Aug. 8 and Oct. 7, respectively, a company spokesman said. [http://www.thedeal.com/content/restructuring/bankruptcy-judge-gives-hostess-more-time.php](http://www.thedeal.com/content/restructuring/bankruptcy-judge-gives-hostess-more-time.php) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249/20 "2012-04-20T16:50:32Z")
> [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > You saw the guy above who thought twinkies were edible plastic, right? No, I said I read something somewhere that said they were. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-end-of-the-twinkie-strike-threatens-hostess/619249.md?page=2)