By Ken Storey
One of the saving graces of being stuck in traffic on I-4 is now gone. Yes that amazing warm smell of baking bread will now be just a distant memory as the Merita bread factory in Orlando has now closed as part of the national bankruptcy closure of Hostess.
Hostess is placing blame for the sudden decision to liquidate the company onto national unions that refused to end a strike over a collective-bargaining agreement brought on by the companies bankruptcy filings in April. Hostess had already closed plants earlier in the week in Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati, cutting 627 jobs, jobs due to the strike. Some of the striking employees point to the new pension and taking away of wages employees were making close to minimum wage. 95percent of the employees voted in favor of the strike due to the lack of raises in a number of years.
The liquidation means locally that the about 200 employees at the famed factory just off I-4 that has been in service for almost 40 years have now lost their jobs, with another 80 in the area but not at the factory also loosing their jobs, one week from the kick-off to the holiday season. Nationwide 18,500 employees are affected by the closure.
Dubbed Twinkie-Mania some are now stock piling Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho-Hos (no one ever credited the company with have good product names) there is the possibility that they will survive this...and maybe a nuclear apocalypse. (Actually they only last about 25 days according to Snopes.com.) Hostess is looking for a buyer who will buy the entire company with the possiblity of continuing with the current brands. One rumored buyer is Grupo Bimbo, who operates in the United States under the name Bimbo Bakeries USA. Their current brands include Thomas, Sara Lee, Entenmann's and the Ball Park buns among others.
No word on the state of the historic Merita Bread sign on I-4, let's hope though that this local icon stays lit and welcoming commuters into downtown for years to come.
