NEW YORK — The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (B.C.T.G.M.) on Nov. 27 filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York requesting the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee to handle the wind down of Hostess Brands, Inc., Irving, Texas.

In making its case, the B.C.T.G.M. said incumbent management at Hostess has been “woefully unsuccessful in its reorganization attempts,” which have included “a failed sale process” that led to the proposal of a “patently unconfirmable plan of reorganization.”

“Given the administrative insolvency, which undoubtedly plagues these cases, the wind-down motion — and the concomitant assumption that the debtors will remain in possession during the liquidation phase of these cases without the unanimous consent of their creditor body — is simply untenable,” the B.C.T.G.M. said. “Rather, the current posture of these cases provides ample cause to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee.”

The B.C.T.G.M. has requested the Court rule on the motion at the next hearing scheduled for Nov. 29.
In a Nov. 27 filing opposing a request for an expedited decision on the wind down of the company’s businesses, Hostess said there are “serious legal deficiencies in the relief requested” by the B.C.T.G.M. for a Chapter 11 trustee.

“These issues must be considered and addressed and, where appropriate, briefed,” Hostess said.