For those not from Massachusetts, the fight for control of Market Basket stores is actually really important for any and all proponents of fair wages for all workers.
Why? This article spells it out, but here’s a rundown if you’re short on time:
- Market Basket is a Massachusetts chain of supermarkets much beloved for its combination of low prices and fair treatment of employees.
- For example, while Massachusetts only recently passed a law that will raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour by 2017, Market Basket already pays employees a starting salary of $12 per hour, with full benefits, a profit-sharing plan, and a guaranteed annual raise.
- Market Basket also sells groceries at prices 10-20 percent cheaper than its local rivals, which can be essential for low-income households.
- Recently, in a feud for control of the company, their former CEO, Arthur T. Demoulas, was ousted by the company’s managing board, in favor of his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas. In a nutshell, Arthur T. was the kind of guy who would pay millions out of pocket to make sure his employees got every penny of their profit share when the 2008 recession hit. Arthur S., on the other hand, feels that Market Basket’s shareholders deserve a bigger cut of the profits.
- In other words, Market Basket is in the process of being highjacked by rich people who want to get richer.
So why should this matter to you?
Because Market Basket is a textbook example of how a company can be run in a way that lets everyone win. By selling low-price groceries while paying living wages to all of its employees and still turning a profit, Market Basket proves that the minimum wage absolutely doesn’t force companies to raise food prices. Not unless, of course, their CEOs are focused entirely on getting as rich as possible.
The fight over Market Basket proves that people who truly stand to lose from raising the minimum wage are those who already make the most money and want to continually take a bigger cut, at everyone else’s expense. Soon, Market Basket may no longer continue to provide low-cost food for its millions of customers, or fair wages and benefits for its 25,000 employees. Not unless Arthur T. gets his job back.
Which is my Market Basket’s employees have gone on strike, refusing to stock shelves and urging customers to shop elsewhere until Arthur T. regains control.
Have you ever seen employees lead a boycott of their own company to get a CEO his job back? That, I think, spells out better than anything what is at stake here.
I’ve been watching this happen and it’s the coolest thing. I really hope it works.
Tags:
#interesting #ah Massachusetts #my home away from home #(it has the highest single concentration of my relatives) #(and had an even higher one when I was a kid) #(so I’ve been there a lot for family-reunion-type things) #(pretty sure I’ve bought things from Market Basket in the past) #(though I was not previously aware of their awesomeness) #(let alone this threat to their awesomeness)
Brinens and Things 