AFL-CIO's Trumka ties Bain Capital to Hostess shutdown

Hostess is no longer baking Twinkies and Ding Dongs--18,000 Americans are now out of work because one union, the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers, refused to make concessions to keep the iconic American firm operating.

And one union boss thinks the presidential campaign is still going on, feels compelled to bring Bain Capital into the fray.

From the Wall Street Journal--paid subscription required:

The head of the AFL-CIO union federation, Richard Trumka, was quick to defend the strike and draw a comparison to Bain Capital, the company that Mitt Romney used to lead and that unions used as their poster child of corporate greed in their push to re-elect President Barack Obama. Mr. Trumka said Hostess workers had offered multiple concessions to help the company succeed.

"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,” he said. “Crony capitalism and consistently poor management drove Hostess into the ground.”

Fred Wszolek, spokesman for the conservative Workforce Fairness Institute, called on Mr. Trumka to be banned from the White House "for destroying great companies like Hostess and killing” more than 18,000 jobs at a company known for “beloved products including Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread." The Institute posted a petition to that effect on the White House's website, and in it Mr. Wszolek said the ban should last until Mr. Trumka "starts protecting workers and stops playing politics."

The petition has just over 1,000 signatures at the time of this posting. The White House will have to respond to it once 25,000 people sign it.

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