Labor Notes is now reporting that Teamsters bosses are telling their members at Hostess that it may be better to “remove” their bankrupt employer with a strike this spring than continue to negotiate with “a company set on destroying union standards.” Killing off the Twinkie would also presumably “clear the field” for unionized competitors to “pick up the pieces” and play nice with Teamsters. (Or else.) A strike would “almost certainly put Hostess’ Brands out of business,” read a memo from the union’s bakery division director. “We wish we had better alternatives—but we do not.” The union is negotiating for “significant governance” and “significant equity” in Hostess should it survive and claims Hostess is not seeking substantial enough concessions from its lenders to satisfy the union. The union also still refuses to concede on the company’s two over-arching requests – an end to certain onerous work rules and freedom from the crushing liabilities of the Teamsters grossly under-funded multi-employer pension plans. In the same article, Labor Notes examines a range of strategies unions have used to bully other employers through the bankruptcy process including “work to rule” at Delphi, occupying the plants at Hart Marx and “organized resistance” (aka sabotage) by United flight mechanics. As bankruptcy proceedings for American Airlines move forward some are anticipating the AFA-CWA, the flight attendants union, will employ a “chaos strategy” as they have throughout the union’s history. The “chaos strategy” relies on constant mobilization and the element of surprise to call “mini-strikes” that disrupt flights without the risk of strikers being permanently replaced.
