[Cronos]

The unions delivered the final coup de grace, but hostess was on the way down -- the stuff that they make is very unhealthy and in these health-conscious times it was doomed to be a smaller business than it was

It could have survived as a smaller business by keeping costs low, but the unions preferred 0% employment...

[Owl558]

“The unions delivered the final coup de grace, but hostess was on the way down...”

As I understand it, the company had been in bankrupsy twice before this. The union finished off the wounded company.