Hostess, Union Mediation Efforts Fail

Hostess Brands says mediation with unionized workers aimed at keeping the company in business has failed. A hearing in bankruptcy court is scheduled for this morning.

When Hostess Brands announced last week that a labor strike by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) had forced it to request permission to liquidate from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge, all seemed lost. The maker of Twinkies, Wonder Bread, and other bakery items was shutting down.

But then, in an eleventh-hour development, the court said the two sides hadn't yet tried using private mediation as a means of resolving their differences, and urged Hostess and the BCTGM to sit down one last time to try and work out their differences -- and save 18,500 jobs.

So they tried. And then they failed.

Tuesday night, Hostess Brands announced that its mediation efforts with BCTGM were "unsuccessful." The company declined further comment, citing a court hearing to be conducted Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. But with all alternatives now apparently exhausted, it appears the judge must soon rule on the petition for liquidation.

The article Hostess, Union Mediation Efforts Fail originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.