Hostess Workers Picket In Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (AP) — About a dozen workers began picketing at a Hostess Brands plant in Sacramento honoring a bakers' union strike at the bankrupt company's plants across the country.

The picket line formed on Sunday, two days after the walkout began when the maker of Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Ding Dongs imposed a contract that would cut wages by 8 percent. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union said the contract would also cut benefits by 27 to 32 percent.

Hostess employs nearly 300 workers in Sacramento and about 1,850 in California.

The Texas-based company has struggled in recent years with two bankruptcy filings. It warned last week that a widespread strike could lead to layoffs of most of its 18,300-member workforce.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.)