Taking Down Twinkies

Taking Down Twinkies

Twinkies selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay. Union membership dropping steadily over the last decade.

Sound unrelated? They shouldn’t. The fate of the popular sponge cake was in the hands of the unionized men and women who work for Hostess Brands.

Or perhaps I should say “worked” -- past tense. Because a union-backed strike has killed what the Great Depression couldn’t. Hostess announced recently that they are suspending operations and will be laying off more than 18,000 employees. (Both sides had subsequently agreed to a mediation, but a judge ordered the bankruptcy to proceed.)

No, the...