Valerie Polito has worked at Market Basket for 35 years, spending the last 13 of them as Director of Advertising and Store Operations Supervisor at the company headquarters in Tewksbury.
“I love this company,” she said, which is why she’s speaking out, putting her job on the line, because of a major shift in company culture, she says.
“I wake up, wondering if today’s the day that I’m not going to be able to get in with my key card,” she told WBZ Thursday.
On May 28, the Board of Directors suspended longtime CEO Arthur T. Demoulas amid allegations he was planning a work stoppage, an allegation he denies. Since then, longtime upper management members have been fired, which has contributed to a shifting company culture, Polito says.
“A chilling effect”
“What was once a culture grounded in mutual respect, integrity, and accountability has, in recent months, devolved into one defined by fear, hostility, and lack of direction,” a July 18 letter Polito wrote to the Board of Directors reads. “This punitive atmosphere has created a chilling effect where many now fear speaking openly.”
Polito said she’s received a surge of complaints from associates within the corporate office about shifting job responsibilities and pressure to do more or different work with threats of getting fired. “Then they were saying if they don’t do it that they were going to lose their job, or the board was going to have someone hired from outside the company which is not Market Basket culture. We promote from within. We build our team from within,” she said.
In her letter, Polito claims one worker brought a knife to the office, sitting it on his desk to intimidate others. She also claims others threatened to fire people using harsh language and expletives.
Board of Directors responds to accusations
In response, the Board of Directors released a statement to WBZ, which reads, in part, “We offered to meet with Ms. Polito to get more details about her accusations, and even scheduled a meeting for August 21. But instead she has chosen to share her concerns with the media. We believe that her letter is part of Arthur Demoulas’s ruthless, no-holds-barred attack on Market Basket, the board, and even the majority stockholders. 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.”
Polito said the meeting is scheduled for August 21, and she’s hopeful her concerns will be heard. She believes bringing back fired or suspended management will reinstate the family culture at the grocery store chain she’s worked at since age 15.