A Death Blow?

A couple weeks ago, Hostess announced it was closing its doors. It appeared to be a death blow for a slew of tasty confections, most notably Twinkies. Instead, a few weeks later, Hostess reports 110 suitors have lined up to buy the brands and start re-producing the tasty cakes.

So it's a win for all, right? Wrong.

The 18,000 employees of Hostess are out of a job. Most — if not all — will not find work with whoever buys out the brand. But it didn't have to be that way. Sure, the higher ups at Hostess are to blame in this demise. But so, too, is the bakers' union. Really, this is just another sign that unions in general have become an outdated part of our economic structure.

When unions began, they served a very real and important purpose in protecting workers. But in the modern era, can the same really be said? I don't think so. Now, unions are primarily special interest lobbying groups. They do offer some benefits to members, sure, but it's also stalled the economy and ended up hurting industries.

Consider a lot of the recent labor disputes — especially in the entertainment and sports industry. Hockey players are likely out for a second time in the last decade, while basketball and football players had protracted labor disputes that wound up seeing them forced to cede ground to get back to work.

And how about the entertainment industry? The last major strike — by the writers in 2008 — resulted in little benefit and a reduction in the number of opportunities for union members. Faced with a similar situation, the actors union quickly revolted against its board, seated new members, and settled before a similarly costly strike.

About the only place where unions still have the upper hand is in government — like with teachers' unions. And we see how well that's benefitted our children...