The new owners of Hostess said they were beginning the hiring process at one of
their remodeled plants in Georgia without an open-door policy toward a union.
The Dolly Madison Bakery in Columbus, Ga., was one of five Hostess plants shut
down amid a company-wide strike the previous owners blamed for plunging them
into bankruptcy and eliminating 18,000 jobs.
Executives for the new ownership said this week while their new workers were
legally allowed to unionize, they would have to start organizing from scratch.
"We are not going to invite the unions in. We don't have to," Executive Vice
President Michael Cramer told CNBC.
Labor lawyers told CNBC management would have to be circumspect about asking
applicants about their sentiments toward unions, which could put them on the
wrong side of federal laws.
Economists said Hostess could use the example of what happened when the previous
bakers union members went on strike as a means of discouraging the new workers
from organizing; however, others said there was increasing pro-union sentiment
among workers in the low-paying retail and fast-food sectors.
"I think any management team will hold up a photo to its workers of Hostess
strikers and say, 'What is a union going to do for you?'" said Cleveland labor
lawyer Marc Bloch. "The case can be made that they did nothing."
