Teamsters: Call on Banks to secure Interstate Bakery jobs

Washington / DC. (ibt) The Teamsters Union called on the secured creditors of bankrupt Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC), led by hedge fund Monarch Alternative Capital and JPMorgan, to work with investor Ripplewood Holdings to help the company emerge from bankruptcy with its thousands of good-paying jobs protected.

Several months ago, the Teamsters and Ripplewood reached an agreement that balances the needs to help bring IBC out of bankruptcy with the needs of workers who have made so many sacrifices over IBC´s long bankruptcy proceedings. For three subsequent months Ripplewood has been working with the secured creditors on finalizing an exit plan but now, at the 11th hour, they are balking at the proposal and large hedge funds and banks are toying with the livelihoods of thousands of IBC workers.

«Our goal has been the preservation of our members jobs at IBC», said Richard Volpe, Director of the Teamsters Bakery Conference. «Through countless meetings and an enormous amount of effort, we have now gotten close to a proposal that could ensure, as best we can, the long-term viability of IBC. Throughout this bankruptcy we have indicated our willingness to work with financial partners that value all of the prior and prospective sacrifices of Teamster members, and the Ripplewood proposal meets those objectives».

«We are holding out little hope that this proposal will be approved», Volpe said. «These banks and hedge funds are once again going to disappoint all of the 23’000 employees of Interstate, just like they have disappointed the nation with the mortgage debacle». The Teamsters Union represents more than 9’500 IBC workers at facilities throughout the United States. IBC is based in Kansas City (source).