Another war of words between Market Basket’s employees and its corporate board is being fought on a public stage.
In this latest skirmish amid the ongoing leadership dispute involving suspended CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, a longtime corporate employee has lodged a complaint on behalf of a number of employees, claiming a toxic workplace culture has developed.
“I am writing on behalf of a group of committed and concerned associates who, with a unified voice, wish to express a profound and growing alarm over the current state of our corporate office,” the letter by store operations supervisor Valerie Polito said, writing that the atmosphere is one “of fear, hostility, and lack of direction” as people seek answers about the company’s future.
Polito said that workers are scared to speak openly or ask questions, with a supervisor allegedly being suspended for asking about operations and when Demoulas would come back to work.
On Friday, Polito spoke at a news conference alongside other employees to shine a light on their workplace culture concerns. She said she wrote the letter initially to the board in mid-July, but when no senior managers addressed her complaints, she said she decided to turn to to the news media.
“It’s not the Market Basket way — when we receive a problem or an issue, we react to it,” Polito said.
She was flanked by colleagues who detailed their allegations.
“It is constant surveillance,” payroll manager Jillian Evans said. “People always looking by to see what I’m doing, who I’m speaking with.”
“I’ve been working from Market Basket for 30 years,” operations supervisor Esteban Alvarez said. “I got suspended on June 4 and now it’s been two months and I’ve heard nothing.”
The employees are calling for the suspended executives to be brought back into office.
Mayor David Beauregard joins Food Feud: Market Basket to discuss his decision to publicly support suspended CEO Demoulas — and what he believes is at stake amid this tension at the top of a New England institution.
Meanwhile, the board of directors has accused Polito of doing the bidding of Demoulas as part of his “attack” on the company.
“We offered to meet with Ms. Polito to get more details about her accusations, and even scheduled a meeting for August 21,” board member Michael Keyes said. “But instead she has chosen to share her concerns with the media.”
Keyes said in his response that “everyone has a right to feel secure in their workplace,” while also taking aim at the suspended CEO.
“We believe that her letter is part of Arthur Demoulas’ ruthless, no-holds-barred attack on Market Basket, the board, and even the majority stockholders,” Keyes said in a statement. “Mr. Demoulas is reported to have said on an earlier occasion that if he can’t be in charge, he’d rather burn it all down, referring to Market Basket.”
The board member said the company continues to run well and that Market Basket is not at risk of losing its community culture and great deals.
In the latest episode of Food Feud: Market Basket, NBC10 Boston’s podcast about the ongoing supermarket saga, Grant Welker from the Boston Business Journal says this could be a sign that the company is much more divided in their loyalty, compared to the last major shakeup in 2014.
“They’re only allegations, but the fact that there would be any broad allegations at Market Basket like this, in a typical time, would seem impossible, and it shows how divided the company is,” Welker said. “The two sides are miles apart in terms of what they want the company to be.“
A mediation session is planned for Sept. 3.
Food Feud: Market Basket is available wherever you stream podcasts.