Employees of a Biddeford Hostess bakery and distribution center joined the picket line at a Philadelphia company plant as part of a larger worker protest at the bankrupt company.
The Associated Press reported that a union walkout began after Hostess Brands Inc. imposed a contract cutting wages and benefits by 27 to 32% with an immediate 8% reduction in wages.
The AP reported that several hundred workers at a plant in northeast Philadelphia began striking and were joined by several dozen workers from Maine, where the Biddeford facility employs around 370 workers.
A union representative said the strike includes thousands of workers across the country. Hostess Brands Inc. had filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
The AP reported the company had issued a warning to striking workers that a prolonged strike could lead to mass layoffs.