Barring the sudden and unexpected growth of a conscience, Wonder Bread will close its doors in Jamaica this week, putting 200 men and women out of work. After 100 years of operating in southeast Queens, Wonder Bread is turning its back on it and its blue-collar workers.
The company will also be closing its outlet stores. Hostess Brands announced in October that it was closing the factory because it was in need of modernization and the company did not have the money.
Does that mean Wonder Bread and Hostess are going out of business? No, the companies are going strong. Last week while the bosses at Hostess Brand were planning to take food off the tables of Queens families, the company was also announcing a promotion in which it will honor everyday American heroes, like the people they are putting out of work.
“The beginning of the new year is a time to take stock of the things we hold most dear — the people, from all walks of life, who inspire us with small acts that shape our lives in big ways,” said Ann Oades, director of marketing for the bakers of Wonder.
Under the circumstances, this flag-waving charade seems remarkably shallow.
Why question why anyone in Queens would continue to patronize this company? From what we have read, the only thing less healthy than a loaf of Wonder bread is a Hostess Twinkie. Still, it is unfortunate that the city Office of Economic Development could not persuade Hostess to keep its factory here. Now that Hostess has told Queens to drop dead, people can find other white bread and snacks to put on the table.
To his credit, City Councilman Leroy Comrie is already trying to find new jobs for the 200 Wonder employees. Last Wednesday, he was to hold a job fair at the factory in conjunction with Work Force 1 and 20 companies. This is an incredibly bad time to lose a job, but at least it shows the workers that someone is on their side.
As for the Hostess company, which is closing down a factory that has operated in Queens for more than 100 years, we hope it will learn someday that there is more to running a business than looking at a spreadsheet.
