This morning I clicked on a link that got me to a story from a Hostess (makers of Twinkies) employee titled “Inside the Hostess Bankery”. I had a visceral reaction to the article because it was the clearest expression of our plutocracy.
It is well reported that Hostess had 6 CEOs in 5 years. It is semi reported that each one had very high salaries and left with big bonuses as they left the company in worst state than when they got there. What is not reported is that the company legally stole their pensions, monies that the workers contributed to. The employees put three dollars for every hour they worked into their pensions. The company borrowed their pensions then went bankrupt. The bankruptcy judge ruled it was a debt they could not repay.
Most telling is the terms of the contract that hostess wanted. The words from the author say it best.
What was this last/best/final offer? You’d never know by watching the main stream media tell the story. So here you go…
- 8% hourly pay cut in year 1 with additional cuts totaling 27% over 5 years. Currently, I make $16.12 an hour at TOP rate of pay in the bakery. I would drop to $11.26 in 5 years.
- They get to keep our $3+ an hour forever.
- Doubling of weekly insurance premium.
- Lowering of overall quality of insurance plan.
- TOTAL withdrawal from ALL pensions. If you don’t have it now then you never will.
Remember how I said I made $48,000 in 2005 and $34,000 last year? I would make $25,000 in 5 years if I took their offer. It will be hard to replace the job I had, but it will be easy to replace the job they were trying to give me.
This is what the fight is about folks. The titans of finance, the leaders of our plutocracy never have to take cuts. You must remember that the cuts in salaries and benefits on the middle class are directly resulting in the plutocracy’s increased income and wages. It is a transfer of wealth from the working middle class to the top few. It is legalized theft sanctioned by our corporate controlled government.
It is now time that every working middle class American take their government back. Get off the notion that government is bad. We the people are the government and we the people have allowed the corporate class to take it over by being gullible and many times willfully ignorant.
Well, reality is staring us all in the face my friends. It is time to band together in groups like Coffee Party USA and Move To Amend and form coalitions to take the necessary actions to really take our country back and force the effecting of policies that ensures us a prosperous middle class life. The Hostess story is a story that was told, is being told, and will be told if we do not get our act together. How much more of the snake oil policies that continually fail will you continue to support?