Last month a regional grocery chain in New England—Market Basket—was struck by employee strikes, work slowdowns, and customer protests after popular President Arthur T. Demoulas was fired in a power struggle with his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas. Arthur T. is well-liked by employees because of his considerate personality and history of generosity with wages and benefits, but has been involved in a long-running family dispute over control of the business in which he’s been connected to some shady dealings. For now, though, things seem to have gone Arthur T.’s way again—he’s signed a deal to buy Market Basket from his cousin, regaining control of the company. From the Boston Globe:
Market Basket’s shareholders announced the deal at 11:15 p.m. after several days of suspenseful negotiations. Arthur T. Demoulas and his sisters will buy the shares of their cousin Arthur S. Demoulas and other relatives on his side of the family, who collectively own 50.5 percent of the company.
The degree to which workers love Arthur T. is really quite astounding given our present age of income inequality and, like, the history of capitalism:
“I’m elated. I’m elated. That is awesome,” said Andy Lien, a director of the chain’s perishable warehouse in Andover who led workers who walked off the job in July.
“It’s just fantastic,” said Ann Rogers, 55, a protesting employee who worked in the company’s accounts payable department. “I’ve been working with this company for 28 years, and this has been hanging over the company’s head the whole time. This fight was absolutely worth it.”
Arthur T. and the rest of Market Basket now begin the process of restoring the chain’s operations, which have been significantly interrupted by the weeks of labor strife and uncertainty.
