Milling & Baking News - July 22, 2014 - 17

U.S.D.A. taking over flour
production survey, report
Continued from Page 1

that it will gather flour production data
from all milling companies and not only
the largest. While participation in the
NAMA flour report was voluntary, responding to the U.S.D.A. survey is mandated by law.
In addition to flour milling, CAIR surveys will be conducted by NASS for the
cotton, ethanol production, and fat and
oilseeds industries.
Joseph T. Reilly, NASS administrator,
said the decision to gather the data was
prompted by feedback received by the
U.S.D.A. from the moment the Census
halted its data collection.
"As soon as the Census Bureau announced they were discontinuing the
Current Industrial Reports, we began
hearing from agriculture stakeholders
around the country about the impact
this decision can have on the industry,"
Mr. Reilly said. "The reports are such an
important element of sound economic
policy planning and are used for market

analysis, forecasting, and decision making that we knew we had to provide the
data and I'm glad that beginning this
year NASS is able to do just that."
NASS cited its long history of collecting and publishing agricultural
and food data - nearly 500 reports,
focused primarily on U.S. agricultural production, each year. The department also expressed its commitment
to "protecting its respondents' individual data, as required by federal
law."
James McCarthy, president of
NAMA, said he has held preliminary
discussions with representatives of
the U.S.D.A., and has reviewed the department's plans with NAMA board
members. He said Veris currently is
preparing to issue a report on behalf of
NAMA for the second quarter of 2014,
and will continue to gather and issue
flour production data until a transition
is successfully completed. MBN

Workers vote to unionize at three
of four Hostess snack cake plants
KANSAS CITY - Workers at three of
the four snack cake plants operated by
Hostess Brands L.L.C. have voted to
unionize, according to the union representing the bakery workers.
The three plants are located in Indianapolis; Schiller
Park, Ill.; and Columbus, Ga.
The votes to unionize at the
plants were confirmed by a
spokesperson for the Bakery,
Confectionery, Tobacco and
Grain Millers International
Union July 17. The spokesperson declined to elaborate
further on the vote.
Representatives of Hostess offered Milling & Baking
News a brief comment on the
unionization vote but similarly declined
to say much more about what transpired.
"We have always maintained that it
would be up to our employees to determine whether they wanted to unionize
or not," the company said. "We respect
the decisions of the employees who
have chosen to do so at the three bakeries noted."
The plants were acquired in 2013 as
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

part of the $410 million purchase by HB
Holdings L.L.C., an affiliate of Apollo
Global Management L.L.C. and Metropoulos & Co., of most of the snack cake
assets of Hostess Brands, Inc.
Hostess operates a fourth
plant, in Emporia, Kas. Significant production capacity
expansions have been made
at the Emporia plant since
the 2013 acquisition.
The B.C.T.G.M. factored
importantly in events that
brought about the acquisition
of the plants by HB Holdings. After failed contract
negotiations, a November
2012 strike spearheaded by
the B.C.T.G.M. precipitated
a decision by Hostess to halt operations
and liquidate its assets. Most of the company's 36 baking plants remain closed 20
months later.
Four of the five snack cake plants
acquired by Apollo and Metropoulos
have reopened (the fifth, in Los Angeles, has not), but a decision to operate
the plants without unionized workers
spurred criticism last summer from the
B.C.T.G.M. MBN

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Milling & Baking News July 22, 2014 / 17

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Milling & Baking News - July 22, 2014

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