Looks like Hostess may still survive yet, says CNBC:
BREAKING: Hostess and Bakers Union agree to mediation, preventing shut down.
— CNBC (@CNBC) November 19, 2012
According to WSJ, the judge is the one who suggested mediation:
A bankruptcy judge Monday asked whether he should preside over mediation between Hostess Brands Inc. and its striking union to avoid pulling the plug on the baker of Ho Hos, Twinkies and Wonder Bread.
At a hearing Monday on Hostess’s request to begin the process of shutting down its business, Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., asked attorneys representing Hostess and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International union whether mediation could help the two resolve their issues and avoid the loss of more than 18,000 jobs.
“To me not to have gone through that step leaves a huge question mark over this case, which I think–I may be wrong–but I think will only be answered in litigation. And that’s no one’s desired outcome,” the judge said.