On this day in 2012, headlines sent our nation into a frenzied panic. Was it the declaration of a war or nuclear holocaust? Was there a devasting fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, or tsunami? Oh, no. Far worse!
Hostess to close, lay off 18,500 after ‘crippling’ union fight. The article shared the dire news.
“A small union’s stubbornness in contract talks with Hostess is being blamed for the shutdown of one of America’s snack food icons, the loss of 18,500 jobs just before the holiday season and much-needed tax revenue from hundreds of plants and shops across the country.
“The privately-held company had reached a deal with the Teamsters, but a smaller union representing bakery workers refused to agree to concessions, prompting the mass layoffs and closing down of hundreds of plants, bakeries and delivery routes. That prompted harsh words from both the company and from Teamsters officials.
“We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,” Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said in a statement. “Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders.”1
“The company said it will continue to ship out its well-known products until inventory runs out.”1
Goodbye, Ho-Hos. So long, Ding-Dongs. No more Donettes, Zingers, Sno Balls, or Suzy Qs. And horror of all horrors – we had to say toodle-oo to our Twinkies!
When the news broke, an epidemic of Hostess hoarding broke out. Amazon alone reported a 31,000% increase in Twinkie sales. The Hostess inventory was gobbled up by a society that thought they’d seen the last of their favorite cream filled yellow cake.
After bankruptcy proceedings had finalized in 2013, Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos and Company purchased Hostess, reopening and reorganizing the business. In 2023, Hostess was acquired by J.M. Smucker Company in Orrville, Ohio. Yes, the Smucker jams and jellies maker now has the delicious deal of owning Hostess. Revenue is up so far this year with Smucker raking in $8.73 billion so far. Americans obviously have a sweet tooth!
I, for one, am quite happy to live in a world where we can freely have our Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, and Ho-Hos. But all that happened to this company got me thinking. What would happen if the headlines read, “Church to close after crippling church fight.” Would there be a surge in the churches, fearing what could be lost, and gobbling up all we could before it was gone?
David wrote in Psalms 122:1, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” There was a day, though, when Israel had so neglected the house of the Lord that the Law had drifted into obscurity. On the day it was found, it broke the heart of a young king.
2 Kings 22:8-11 tells us, “And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. (9) And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD. (10) And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. (11) And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.” The doors of the Lord’s house had been closed for too long. The Law had gone unobserved. Physically and spiritually, Israel was in a state of disrepair and Josiah said, “No more!” He put his foot down and with a furious zeal, began restoring that which had been lost and abandoned.
May history never repeat itself! May we value our church, what it represents, and participate with joy. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
1https://www.foxnews.com/us/hostess-to-close-lay-off-18500-after-crippling-union-fight?msockid=0bb9d957319a674c1683cfd830f56693
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