Supermarket battle in Boston

[theeedude]

What's the end game for the new management?
If the employees don't want to work for them, and the customers back the employees and don't want to shop there. Seems like their only sensible option is to cave and bring back the old CEO.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

I suspect the company will go bankrupt and the properties will be sold for a pittance.

 

[Strk]

What's the end game for the new management?
If the employees don't want to work for them, and the customers back the employees and don't want to shop there. Seems like their only sensible option is to cave and bring back the old CEO.

Arthur T. actually offered to come back while negotiating, but the board said no.

 

[theeedude]

Arthur T. actually offered to come back while negotiating, but the board said no.

Well, then the board is not acting rationally. Their job should be to save the company, not pick sides in a cousin's pissing match. Given the present narrative, the only thing that will save the company is the old CEO coming back.

 

[Zorba]

I suspect the company will go bankrupt and the properties will be sold for a pittance.

And I suspect when that happens a ton of people will blame the employees, instead of the messed up management.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

And I suspect when that happens a ton of people will blame the employees, instead of the messed up management.

Actually it will be due to customers boycotting the stores, workers allowing perishable merchandise to go bad which is resulting in major losses to the company.

 

[theeedude]

Actually it will be due to customers boycotting the stores, workers allowing perishable merchandise to go bad which is resulting in major losses to the company.

Yes, it will all be due to the plebeian workers and customers. Couldn't possibly be boneheaded management and board decisions.

 

[Phynaz]

Latest news I saw on TV though is that they have fired all the employees.

Imagine that, people their job for not showing up for work.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Yes, it will all be due to the plebeian workers and customers. Couldn't possibly be boneheaded management and board decisions.

Of course you support workers purposely leaving perishable goods out to go bad resulting in losses to the business.

 

[dmcowen674]

Stop posting retard.

Now, post part-time employees are being laid-off. Guess what, not all the employees are part-time. And now you post an article from five days ago that the layoffs were ceased.

Again, if you're going to follow the story, follow the current time of events from boston.com and stop cherry picking shit/lying to satisfy your retarded agenda.

Do you know anything about Supermarkets?

From the article "Part-timers make up the bulk of the company's employees."

I don't have an agenda but it's apparent you do.

Are you related to the cousin of the CEO fired perhaps?

Man up or just continue being an anonymous asshole coward as usual.

 

[Zorba]

Actually it will be due to customers boycotting the stores, workers allowing perishable merchandise to go bad which is resulting in major losses to the company.

Funny any time a company does well it is all because of the great executive team, which is why they deserve so many bonuses. Then when the company fails, it is all because of the employees and/or customers, nothing to do with the executive team, which is why so many of them profit from chapter 11.

Customers boycotting = free market, you should be all for this.

 

[theeedude]

Of course you support workers purposely leaving perishable goods out to go bad resulting in losses to the business.

I don't support that. But that's not the main issue.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Do you know anything about Supermarkets?

From the article "Part-timers make up the bulk of the company's employees."

I don't have an agenda but it's apparent you do.

Are you related to the cousin of the CEO fired perhaps?

Man up or just continue being an anonymous asshole coward as usual.

I can't believe I'm still replying to a fucking idiot/liar like yourself. You said "ALL employee" were fired then you posted that "ALL part-time employee" have been laid off but neither has been the case retard. And guess what, they're over 1000 full time employees.

And I love how you continue to cherry pick and make up shit instead of actually reading and comprehending the whole saga.

I'm actually for Artie T and the employees fuckwad but when you're going to lie and make-up shit, I'm going to call you out on it like everything else you post here.

Let me guess, with gas prices dropping, you can't lie anymore about gas prices going up to $5/gallon anymore.

It's quite obvious that you're one of the most stupid people here. And of course, you have an agenda or you wouldn't have created this thread with all of the misinformation that you have posted, idiot.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Funny any time a company does well it is all because of the great executive team, which is why they deserve so many bonuses. Then when the company fails, it is all because of the employees and/or customers, nothing to do with the executive team, which is why so many of them profit from chapter 11.

Customers boycotting = free market, you should be all for this.

How does leaving perishable goods out to rot resulting in business losses become the same thing as boycotting?

 

[Zorba]

Actually it will be due to customers boycotting the stores, workers allowing perishable merchandise to go bad which is resulting in major losses to the company.

How does leaving perishable goods out to rot resulting in business losses become the same thing as boycotting?

Your words, not mine. Customers choosing to take their money elsewhere is what all free-marketers claim people would/should do if they disagree with a business's practices.

I don't think think employees should destruct property, but I doubt they really let enough food rot to put the company out of business, though I haven't read that many stories on this.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

From a guy who lives in MA but hasn't followed the story much.
Arthur (Artie) was loved arguably paid people too much
Family tossed him out, want to make more money & prep for selling business
New executives make normal changes like discussing selling real estate to a management company to cut costs
Workers see writing on the wall start wearing pins & signs supporting Artie
Market basket threatens to fire them
State government say you better think twice about that
More workers hold signs up when they are not working
Somehow the trucks stop getting unloaded and stop arriving to stores
Market basket keeps talking about job openings but nothing concrete seems to happen
Many customers stop shopping
Artie receives an offer to buyout other share holders (I believe its not publically traded company)
Artie refuses offer reason unknown but I believe the price was too high

My general observations are workers were a bit sensitive but have generally kept it appropriate. New management has not attempted to explain their position to the press or workers thus they appear distant/out of touch.

 

[Strk]

As someone who lives in MA, works for one of their competitors and has followed the story, I'll help you out a bit

From a guy who lives in MA but hasn't followed the story much.
Arthur (Artie) was loved arguably paid people too much I see nothing wrong with providing people a decent wage

Family tossed him out, want to make more money & prep for selling business pretty much; Arthur T.'s side of the family has pretty much run the business, while Arthur S.'s side has collected checks. The two CEOs they brought in don't really inspire any confidence either. One is from Albertson's (got sold) and Sears, while the other CEO used to run Radioshack
New executives make normal changes like discussing selling real estate to a management company to cut costs Oddly enough, one of the things Arthur S. wanted was rapid expansion. Arthur T. didn't want to expand unless they could pay for the new stores. The end result is Market Basket had no real debt and managed above average profits (around 5%, which is high for a supermarket)

Workers see writing on the wall start wearing pins & signs supporting Artie
Market basket threatens to fire them They have actually fired a few people. It started with Arthur T. and two of his top executives, then it went to several store management

State government say you better think twice about that Not exactly... The AGs received complaints from the fired (mind you, a lot of these aren't the people picketing, most of them are still employed by MB). It seemed corporate HQ wasn't following standard practices like paying unused sick time and vacation time. A few state senators have made comments, but all the top people like the governor have just said 'we would like to see it end soon' and left it at that.

More workers hold signs up when they are not working
Somehow the trucks stop getting unloaded and stop arriving to stores Produce comes in on reefer trucks. They must be plugged in or they shut off. Market Basket runs their own produce distribution center. DCs take full pallets of produce and break them down so stores can get just what they want. The workers at the DC stopped working, but vendors came in with loads and just dropped their loads and left. And it's not really vendors per se, but just truck drivers for whatever company they are from. Basically, they were told to bring it there, they did, and they left. What happened to it next was up to MB employees at their DC.
Market basket keeps talking about job openings but nothing concrete seems to happen
Many customers stop shopping

Artie receives an offer to buyout other share holders (I believe its not publically traded company) It's all behind lock doors, but it sounds like they offered market value, which both sides agree on, but Arthur T said their terms and conditions are completely bullshit. Since it is behind closed doors, no one knows what they are. So they already agree on a price, but it sounds like Arthur S is throwing in a few catches. It's hard to side with Arthur S on any of this, since his only real motivation seems to be greed. He, his two new CEOs or anyone from his side of the family haven't said anything publicly. All they have done is send out emails or memos saying 'don't worry' or 'you're fired.' If they even wanted to try and win someone over, they might want to try and get in front of a camera.
Artie refuses offer reason unknown but I believe the price was too high

My general observations are workers were a bit sensitive but have generally kept it appropriate. New management has not attempted to explain their position to the press or workers thus they appear distant/out of touch.

Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous. To say they have appeared distant and out of touch is an understatement. We're probably going to have more communication with each other this thread than any of the executives have had through this whole mess.

 

[gotsmack]

HAHA, stupid bastards are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Greedy family members trying to cash out now they'll get pennies on the dollar.

What's even funnier is they hire a CEO of a dying business, Radio Shack to run their once successful business. Pro Tip: If you're going to hire someone, hire a winner from a winning company.


There is nothing wrong with overpaying your employees if your business is successful. It helps keep talent and keeps the employees looking out for your (the owner's) best interest, because they feel like you're looking out for them. If you treat people right, they'll treat you right.

This is Artie's chance to wait for the business to hit rock bottom and buy everything back for book value and kick out his useless family.

 

[cyclohexane]

I live in boston and this shit pisses me off. A bunch of high school dropouts expecting a company to act as their personal protector.

No company is going to give them profit sharing forever, should have saved that $$$ when they had it good.

 

[Hacp]

I relocated to the mass area last year. I thought nothing of the boycott; went right past the off-the-clock workers trying to intimidate me outside. Once in, I noticed there was no fresh food, so I walked straight out.

This is a prime example of poor execution. There should have been a plan from day one to handle this better. Have temp or backup workers manning the deliveries. Hire from walmart. Temporarily raise wages while having the workers train their eventual replacements. None of that has happened. The CEOs they hired are chumps who don't know how to get things done.

 

[Zorba]

I live in boston and this shit pisses me off. A bunch of high school dropouts expecting a company to act as their personal protector.

No company is going to give them profit sharing forever, should have saved that $$$ when they had it good.

Well then why doesn't the company just go hire a whole new load of people to replace them? If the problem is only with current employee's expectations.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I live in boston and this shit pisses me off. A bunch of high school dropouts expecting a company to act as their personal protector.

No company is going to give them profit sharing forever, should have saved that $$$ when they had it good.

I used to think this way but I've learned that companies and people will take whatever they can and return next to nothing unless forced by low unemployment or organized employees. I feel this is a big problem in our world I remember when companies announced layoffs in the 80's people used to disapprove of it now investors cheer and bring the stock price up.
Another point is the HS dropout that unloads trucks his entire life is literally sacrificing his health to allow products to be sold. If its such an easy task why don't we all go back to farming to supply all our food? That same HS dropout could easily say fuck that guy working at Cisco sitting in an office making tons of cash he is over paid and a guy in India will do better work cheaper.

 

[Jimzz]

The thing about this story is its the same thing "Wall Street" says Costco should do to make more money, cut employee salaries and benefits.

I'm glad not only are the employees seeing what is coming but also the local community is supporting them. At this rate the company will be worth next to nothing and any buyout will be a lot less than they could have got by taking care of their employees in the first place.


But like Zorba said; Things go great its because of the excellent management, bonus's and parties for all upper management. Things go bad its all those lazy good for nothing employees fault, MGT is doing the best they can but the employees are holding us down. That's how the board will try and sell it always.

 

[TheSlamma]

I used to think this way but I've learned that companies and people will take whatever they can and return next to nothing unless forced by low unemployment or organized employees. I feel this is a big problem in our world I remember when companies announced layoffs in the 80's people used to disapprove of it now investors cheer and bring the stock price up.

Welcome to the new world of Millennials

 

[theeedude]

The problem for Market Basket is they are in Mass. Not some red state where people cheer when their fellow citizens are taken down a notch by the corporatists in the name of being more "business friendly."