Supermarket Workers, Customers Join in 'Unprecedented' Uprising Against Corporate Greed
As strikes enter third week, workers and customers of Market Basket demand reinstatement of beloved CEO "Artie T."
A family-feud over a New England supermarket chain is emerging as one of the most compelling labor fights of the summer as well as, observers note, a cautionary tale to corporate America about the value of treating one's employees well.
On Tuesday, thousands of employees of the Market Basket supermarket chain--from cashiers to warehouse workers to top managers--rallied alongside supporters at a shopping complex in Tewksbury, Massachusetts in the fourth major demonstration since former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was fired by a board headed by his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas in June.
Under the direction of Arthur T., affectionately referred to as "Artie T," Market Basket was notorious in the region for providing good benefits and fair pay. Cashiers start at $12 an hour and the company shared their billions in profits with multiple yearly bonuses as well as scholarships for those workers enrolled in college.
In the three weeks since Artie T's ouster, warehouse workers have refused to make deliveries, leaving shelves nearly empty, while most of the 25,000 employees across the chain's 71 locations are on strike, many picketing outside the stores. In some locations, managers have advocated for customers to boycott, as well.
Though many agree the former CEO's likable nature had won him widespread approval from his employees, many note that the "unprecedented" nature of the boycotts reveal a larger message about the nature of the corporate-worker relationship.
"It goes beyond loyalty to Arthur," Steve Paulenka, 40-year employee and Market Basket supervisor of facilities and operations told the New York Times. "We're worried about the direction of the company, our jobs, our profit-sharing." Employees fear that the new management will prioritize shareholder returns over worker benefits.
Monday marked the deadline given by current co-CEOs Felicia Thornton and James Gooch to striking employees to return to work or risk being fired. The company is holding a series of job-fairs this week, which they announced in a number of full-page advertisements in local papers. According to reports, striking employees and supporters are protesting outside the fairs while customers are raising money to run advertisements of their own supporting the workers until their demands are met.
In a recent column, Thomas Kochan, co-director of the Institute for Work & Employment Research at MIT's Sloan School of Management, argued that this "broad-based, collective action is unprecedented in modern U.S. labor history," and thus offers a number of important lessons on running a company, namely: "Corporate America better wake up and start listening to their employees, or they may find themselves listening to them through bullhorns and in the national press."
Harold Meyerson, executive editor of the American Prospect writes that the anomaly of Market Basket's success under Arthur T. lies in the effectiveness of what he calls "stakeholder capitalism."
"The chain appears to have been that rarest of companies in contemporary American capitalism: a community of sorts, in which management has respected and rewarded its workers and consumers no less than its owners," Meyerson writes.
Though Market Basket employees are not unionized, many labor groups have expressed solidarity with their fight. Massachusetts Jobs with Justice issued a statement vowing their support, saying that the Market Basket uprising "is an inspiring example of what workers can achieve when they stick together" when faced with "the ravages of corporate greed."
Sunday evening, Arthur T. issued a statement saying he would return to work "immediately" if the board accepted his offer to buy the 50.5 percent of the company shares he doesn't own. The board issued a counter statement saying that they are currently "considering strategic alternatives."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A family-feud over a New England supermarket chain is emerging as one of the most compelling labor fights of the summer as well as, observers note, a cautionary tale to corporate America about the value of treating one's employees well.
On Tuesday, thousands of employees of the Market Basket supermarket chain--from cashiers to warehouse workers to top managers--rallied alongside supporters at a shopping complex in Tewksbury, Massachusetts in the fourth major demonstration since former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was fired by a board headed by his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas in June.
Under the direction of Arthur T., affectionately referred to as "Artie T," Market Basket was notorious in the region for providing good benefits and fair pay. Cashiers start at $12 an hour and the company shared their billions in profits with multiple yearly bonuses as well as scholarships for those workers enrolled in college.
In the three weeks since Artie T's ouster, warehouse workers have refused to make deliveries, leaving shelves nearly empty, while most of the 25,000 employees across the chain's 71 locations are on strike, many picketing outside the stores. In some locations, managers have advocated for customers to boycott, as well.
Though many agree the former CEO's likable nature had won him widespread approval from his employees, many note that the "unprecedented" nature of the boycotts reveal a larger message about the nature of the corporate-worker relationship.
"It goes beyond loyalty to Arthur," Steve Paulenka, 40-year employee and Market Basket supervisor of facilities and operations told the New York Times. "We're worried about the direction of the company, our jobs, our profit-sharing." Employees fear that the new management will prioritize shareholder returns over worker benefits.
Monday marked the deadline given by current co-CEOs Felicia Thornton and James Gooch to striking employees to return to work or risk being fired. The company is holding a series of job-fairs this week, which they announced in a number of full-page advertisements in local papers. According to reports, striking employees and supporters are protesting outside the fairs while customers are raising money to run advertisements of their own supporting the workers until their demands are met.
In a recent column, Thomas Kochan, co-director of the Institute for Work & Employment Research at MIT's Sloan School of Management, argued that this "broad-based, collective action is unprecedented in modern U.S. labor history," and thus offers a number of important lessons on running a company, namely: "Corporate America better wake up and start listening to their employees, or they may find themselves listening to them through bullhorns and in the national press."
Harold Meyerson, executive editor of the American Prospect writes that the anomaly of Market Basket's success under Arthur T. lies in the effectiveness of what he calls "stakeholder capitalism."
"The chain appears to have been that rarest of companies in contemporary American capitalism: a community of sorts, in which management has respected and rewarded its workers and consumers no less than its owners," Meyerson writes.
Though Market Basket employees are not unionized, many labor groups have expressed solidarity with their fight. Massachusetts Jobs with Justice issued a statement vowing their support, saying that the Market Basket uprising "is an inspiring example of what workers can achieve when they stick together" when faced with "the ravages of corporate greed."
Sunday evening, Arthur T. issued a statement saying he would return to work "immediately" if the board accepted his offer to buy the 50.5 percent of the company shares he doesn't own. The board issued a counter statement saying that they are currently "considering strategic alternatives."
A family-feud over a New England supermarket chain is emerging as one of the most compelling labor fights of the summer as well as, observers note, a cautionary tale to corporate America about the value of treating one's employees well.
On Tuesday, thousands of employees of the Market Basket supermarket chain--from cashiers to warehouse workers to top managers--rallied alongside supporters at a shopping complex in Tewksbury, Massachusetts in the fourth major demonstration since former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was fired by a board headed by his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas in June.
Under the direction of Arthur T., affectionately referred to as "Artie T," Market Basket was notorious in the region for providing good benefits and fair pay. Cashiers start at $12 an hour and the company shared their billions in profits with multiple yearly bonuses as well as scholarships for those workers enrolled in college.
In the three weeks since Artie T's ouster, warehouse workers have refused to make deliveries, leaving shelves nearly empty, while most of the 25,000 employees across the chain's 71 locations are on strike, many picketing outside the stores. In some locations, managers have advocated for customers to boycott, as well.
Though many agree the former CEO's likable nature had won him widespread approval from his employees, many note that the "unprecedented" nature of the boycotts reveal a larger message about the nature of the corporate-worker relationship.
"It goes beyond loyalty to Arthur," Steve Paulenka, 40-year employee and Market Basket supervisor of facilities and operations told the New York Times. "We're worried about the direction of the company, our jobs, our profit-sharing." Employees fear that the new management will prioritize shareholder returns over worker benefits.
Monday marked the deadline given by current co-CEOs Felicia Thornton and James Gooch to striking employees to return to work or risk being fired. The company is holding a series of job-fairs this week, which they announced in a number of full-page advertisements in local papers. According to reports, striking employees and supporters are protesting outside the fairs while customers are raising money to run advertisements of their own supporting the workers until their demands are met.
In a recent column, Thomas Kochan, co-director of the Institute for Work & Employment Research at MIT's Sloan School of Management, argued that this "broad-based, collective action is unprecedented in modern U.S. labor history," and thus offers a number of important lessons on running a company, namely: "Corporate America better wake up and start listening to their employees, or they may find themselves listening to them through bullhorns and in the national press."
Harold Meyerson, executive editor of the American Prospect writes that the anomaly of Market Basket's success under Arthur T. lies in the effectiveness of what he calls "stakeholder capitalism."
"The chain appears to have been that rarest of companies in contemporary American capitalism: a community of sorts, in which management has respected and rewarded its workers and consumers no less than its owners," Meyerson writes.
Though Market Basket employees are not unionized, many labor groups have expressed solidarity with their fight. Massachusetts Jobs with Justice issued a statement vowing their support, saying that the Market Basket uprising "is an inspiring example of what workers can achieve when they stick together" when faced with "the ravages of corporate greed."
Sunday evening, Arthur T. issued a statement saying he would return to work "immediately" if the board accepted his offer to buy the 50.5 percent of the company shares he doesn't own. The board issued a counter statement saying that they are currently "considering strategic alternatives."