Trumka Bashes Hostess As 'Bain-Style Wall Street Vultures'

President Obama’s strongest union backer, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, has injected himself into the Hostess bankruptcy, blaming capitalism for the shutdown of Hostess rather than an intransigent union. Today, he issued this statement:

What’s happening with Hostess Brands is a microcosm of what’s wrong with America, as Bain-style Wall Street vultures make themselves rich by making America poor. Crony capitalism and consistently poor management drove Hostess into the ground, but its workers are paying the price. These workers, who consistently make great products Americans love and have offered multiple concessions, want their company to succeed. They have bravely taken a stand against the corporate race-to-the-bottom. And now they and their communities are suffering the tragedy of a needless layoff. This is wrong. It has to stop. It’s wrecking America.

None of this is true. Nobody is getting rich off Hostess’ bankruptcy. There is no crony capitalism here – Hostess has received no federal or state bailouts. The workers at Hostess may want their company to succeed, but the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union clearly doesn’t care about the workers. There is no corporate “race-to the-bottom.” There are just companies that can afford certain pay and benefits, and companies that can’t. If there were nobody willing to work for the pay and benefits offered, that would be one issue; for the union to willfully press the company into bankruptcy isn’t the fault of the company. What’s truly wrecking America is Trumka’s government-backed union thuggery.

Even the Teamsters Union, which will lose hundreds of jobs thanks to the Hostess shutdown, asked the BCTGM to back off:

Today, the Teamsters Union announced its recommendation to the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) that a vote of its Hostess members by secret ballot should be held to determine if the workers want to continue their strike of the company and force it into liquidation.

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, Hostess Brands indicated that if it couldn’t resume normal operations by 5 p.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 15 that it would have to begin the liquidation process. Teamster Hostess members and all Hostess employees should know this is not an empty threat or a negotiating tactic, but the certain outcome if members of the BCTGM continue to strike. This is based on conversations with our financial experts, who, because the Teamsters were involved in the legal process, had access to financial information about the company.

Trumka’s a thug. Sadly, so is Obama – who is now bought and paid for.