BIDDEFORD — Hostess Brands, Inc. says it has closed across the country, and indeed, the local bakery seemed idle Saturday, but picketers stationed at the head of the driveway outside the sprawling plant continued to hoist strike signs.

Members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union walked the picket line in four-hour shifts, some expressing doubt over the company’s promise to liquidate its assets, while others expressed the hope someone would buy the brands and begin anew.

“They say they are (liquidating), but we’ve heard it before,” said one striker, employed at the plant for 16 years.

“I’m sick and tired of being lied to,” said another employee, who worked for the company for 13 years.

The proposed contract, which was approved by other unions within Hostess Brands, Inc. including the Teamsters, included an 8 percent pay cut in the first year, and a reduction in health benefits and contributions to pension funds. It offered its 12 unions a 25 percent ownership stake in the company and representation on its board of directors under a reorganization plan, according to a prepared statement from Hostess Brands, Inc.

One 28-year worker on Saturday said he’d planned to retire and take his pension in two years, when he’d completed his 30th year at the company. But along with changes in pension contributions, there were changes with when pensions could be taken, he said, which meant he won’t be able to collect his pension until he turns 65 years old. In two years, when he planned to retire, he will be 50 years old.

He said had the union membership taken the deal offered, “it would still be an insane situation.”

“I only hope someone will buy it,” said the man, who was among the picketers Saturday.

Andrea Jaramillo has worked for Hostess Brands, Inc. for about one and a half years, since she moved here from Arizona. She’s the parent of a 2-year-old, goes to school full time and had been employed at Hostess full time.

“I didn’t expect this to happen,” she said of the strike and closure. She, too, wondered if the company would forge ahead with its plan to liquidate as she held a strike sign on Saturday.

Hostess Brands is the third highest taxpayer in the city. Real estate taxes are $253,877, according to Biddeford Tax Collector Gayle Doyon, while the company’s personal property tax is $329,655. Regardless of what happens, Hostess Brands, Inc. is liable for taxes until it no longer owns the property.

Strikers said Mayor Alan Casavant has stopped by to visit with them over the course of the strike, and Casavant has expressed concern about job losses. Estimates vary, but upwards of 400 people are said to have worked at the Biddeford facility.

On Nov. 12, Hostess Brands permanently closed three plants as a result of the work stoppage, according to a statement from the company. Two days later, Hostess announced it would be forced to liquidate if sufficient employees did not return to work to restore normal operations by 5 p.m. Nov. 15. That night, Hostess determined that an insufficient number of employees had returned to work, and the company, which had filed for reorganization bankruptcy in January for the second time in a decade, said Friday it had filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, seeking permission to close its business and sell its assets.

A statement issued Friday by BCTGM President Frank Hurt said while the company blames the union for its demise, it has only itself to blame.

“Hostess failed because its six management teams over the last eight years were unable to make it a profitable, successful business enterprise. Despite a commitment from the company after the first bankruptcy that the resources derived from the workers’ concessions would be plowed back into the company, this never materialized. Management refused to invest in modernizing its bakeries or devote necessary resources to advertising and marketing, product development and new technology. Business plan after business plan failed, leaving the company ever deeper in debt.

“Our members were aware that while the company was descending into bankruptcy and demanding deep concessions, the top 10 executives of the company were rewarding themselves with lavish compensation increases, with the then-CEO receiving a 300 percent increase,” Hurt said.

The company’s decision closes 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores throughout the United States, according to the statement, idling 18,500 workers. The company will also sell its brands, including Hostess, Drakes, Dolly Madison and Wonder Bread.

According to Hostess, employees will be paid through their termination date in accordance with the normal payroll schedule. The website says unused vacation and severance won’t be paid out “at this time,” because funds have not been approved in the budget by lenders. The website says eligibility for unemployment “depends on what state you are in and if you went on strike.”

Further information about employee benefits is at: http://hostessbrands.info/employee-faq.

Meanwhile, some area supermarkets have already found an alternative to Hostess brands. Tastykake, a Philadelphia brand, is now offered on some supermarket shelves, where Hostess used to reign.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.