Teamster reaction to Hostess development (UPDATE)

UPDATE: ADDS new grafs 2-5 with Teamster reaction.

Can Hostess be saved after all?

Here's what Teamster General-Secretary Treasurer Ken Hall said:

Today’s development is a positive step toward finding a solution that will keep 18,500 men and women employed at Hostess. We are hopeful that the bakers’ union and the management team can find common ground during this mediation and avert liquidation. 

It is in the best interest of all parties involved that we remember what is at stake – the future of 18,500 workers and their families. This is not only about a brand or a product, it is also about real people that just want to work hard every day to provide for their families.  

The Teamsters will closely monitor the mediation between the BCTGM and Hostess management and assist in any way we can to help the two sides reach an agreement that keeps the company’s doors open.”

Reuters earlier today reported the BCTGM union and company executives have agreed to go to mediation.

Hostess Brands Inc, its lenders and the unions representing its striking workers, agreed to start mediation hearings on Tuesday at the urging of a U.S. bankruptcy court judge.  

A hearing on Monday during which the bankrupt maker of Twinkies snack cakes and Wonder Bread was set to ask for permission to liquidate was quickly adjourned until Wednesday after the judge urged the parties to mediate in private.

Stay tuned.