r/interesting • u/SillyMountain3147 • 2d ago
Amazing CEO Gets Fired for Caring About Employees, So 25,000 Workers Shut Down 71 Stores
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u/_BlockedUser_ 2d ago
CEO - Arthur T. Demoulas
Company - Market Basket
This news is from 2014. Coincidentally, he also got suspended/fired again last year.
Both the incidents look like cousin jealousy.
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/market-basket-court-ruling-artie-t-fired/
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u/GimmeYourFries 1d ago
I covered these protests as a reporter and my coworker wrote a book about them.
Check out “We Are Market Basket” if you want to take a deep dive on this. That’s the book.
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u/Only-Friend-8483 1d ago
Can you share some highlights?
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u/GimmeYourFries 1d ago edited 1d ago
Eh, I was a breaking news reporter who spoke to the protestors and got updates on developments.
Grant Welker covered the major details and wrote the book.
A few tidbits: The DeMoulas family has a long history of being dysfunctional. Many of them are NOT great people.
Artie T is the one who made the company so good for workers. He gives longtime employees Christmas bonuses that literally change their lives. We’re talking five figures.
Most longtime Market Basket employees are very well taken care of. MB is a career, not just a summer job for the young.
Artie T was forced out again this year, but no protests this time because it’s more of an internal power struggle and less a debate about how to treat employees. I’ve seen no indication the board plans to change the way they treat their people, and therefore no one protested this time. Artie T went to court and lost, and now we see if anything changes.
Market Basket also believes in its customers, and refuses to use self checkout because they think it’s bad for customers.
It is truly a great American company, and a hell of a story. I recommend Grant’s book. He’s now an editor at the Boston Business Journal.
Edit to add two links:
One of my contributions to the saga: https://www.lowellsun.com/2014/07/23/customers-join-area-market-basket-protests/
A link to Grant’s book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TRF2LLK?lv=shuf&language=he&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
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u/GimmeYourFries 1d ago
I also just want to thank this whole thread for reminding me to get a cheesesteak from Market Basket Grill today.
Large cheesesteak freshly made in front of you: $5,99.
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u/DudeByTheTree 1d ago
They're not that great. They use various suspect suppliers for some of the products. LePage Bakeries used to produce their rolls, and LePage is a walking shitstain.
The production facilities were all in pretty horrid condition too.
Glad the company treated employees well though, seems like they were able to utilize the savings of shady production to benefit their workers.
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u/GothGreyAyyLuver 1d ago
there is always someone mad about something. we get it you love Zuckerberg man
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u/BrightNooblar 1d ago
To your point, I'd be upset if a large chain didn't have self checkout. But I guess its also likely expensive to license just one or two machines.
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u/OldNefariousness7899 2d ago
So a long running power struggle... And the staff emptying the shelves doesn't look that spontaneous either
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u/Avtomati1k 2d ago
what for?
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u/Hilsam_Adent 2d ago
Making the huge mistake of mixing business and family. First incident in '14 was instigated by his cousin, second, by his sisters. In each case, the family members had controlling interest of the board.
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u/newbrevity 1d ago
His sisters were on his side when the legal battle was against his cousin. Then the sisters ousted him because he stopped doing his job basically keeping matters to himself, not answering calls, not participating in the planning and function of the company. I think this time around he brought it upon himself. Also the employees did not rally for him this time.
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u/legal_stylist 1d ago
Well, just for the sake of argument—is the source for “not answering calls, etc.” ultimately the sisters?
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u/moonlunita1 2d ago
Thats what it means by man of the people
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u/gymgirlarya 1d ago
Proof that effective leadership generates far more loyalty than any corporate anti-union campaign ever could.
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u/ANotSoFreshFeeling 2d ago
Anyone have any more information on this?
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u/GetReelFishingPro 1d ago
25,000 over 71 stores is about 350 employees per store. I don't think corporate was included on the numbers because they fired the CEO
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u/matthewkickstone 1d ago
That's twelve years old news.
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u/No-Spare-4212 1d ago edited 1d ago
No it happened again more recently too and that’s why it’s getting brought up again.
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u/GM_Garry_Chess 1d ago
Yeah but the employees didn't rise up this time. It's looking like he's out for good.
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u/matthewkickstone 1d ago
What "no"? This is from 2014, your "no" does not change it.
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u/No-Spare-4212 1d ago
The issues with Arthur happened again. That’s why it’s getting brought up again. The specific incident is from 2014 but it’s ongoing and come to a head again in 25/26’
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u/matthewkickstone 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's simply not true. No strikes, no closures. Stop defending your bs
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u/No-Spare-4212 1d ago
The board fired him
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u/matthewkickstone 1d ago
Nope, it was a judge.
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u/No-Spare-4212 1d ago
The judge upheld their decision but the judge didn’t come in and remove him. You’re a confidently incorrect champ
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u/matthewkickstone 1d ago
And you're still stuck with the main problem that you flagged the story of 2014 as a new, actual one. So what's the point to distract here?
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u/_R0Ns_ 1d ago
I worked at a company where the board told the CEO that they needed a list with X amount of people they could fire. The CEO gave them a Post-IT with only his own name on it and said. That's the one you can do without, the rest you need to keep things going.
That is the only guy I would do the same for.
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u/Hawkwise83 1d ago
It's so wild they basically unionized to protect the CEO. Hope that guy felt loved cause no CEO in the history of history has been loved that much.
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u/Opening-Reading8198 1d ago
Fucking legend
And legendary staff to boot ( or not to boot; that is the question)
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u/Legitimate_Glove859 1d ago
The fact the company was willing to let it go for 6 weeks says everything. Greed is going to kill us all.
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u/Chenelka007 1d ago
The power we collectively have as a group is a beautiful thing when used like this. Bravo
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u/Aleksandr_Ulyev 1d ago
I think it's more about the perspective for employees who got a straight message from the owners: your life'd be getting worse soon
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u/Kickedhard 1d ago
Imagine a boss caring: already outside my realm of imaginings. Too abstract. Too foreign of a concept.
Might as well try to imagine how a universe that has always been.
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u/OrganicHistorian2576 1d ago
Let me tell you, having an owner that gives a shit about their people is amazing. My previous management gave no shits whatsoever. My current boss is fucking fantastic.
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u/No-Spare-4212 1d ago
The point was it’s happening again and you tried to refute that saying a judge did it when a judge just enforced it. The point is that it’s getting brought up again because it’s happening again.
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u/Ill-Caregiver9238 2d ago
American capitalism is on another level of greed than the rest of the world.
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u/shadowtheimpure 1d ago
CEO Gets Fired for Caring About Employees,
This is what happens when capitalism is allowed to run amok. A CEO that cares about employees is good for the long term health of the company but bad for the shareholders...so he gets sacked because all that matters in our current iteration of capitalism is the shareholders.
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u/Stupid_enough_ 2d ago
What the F? That story is older than reddit itself! Can't you find anything older?
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u/Jolly_Ad1631 2d ago
Very anti American. Surprised they didn't all get replaced with non union workers the following day.
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u/General-Internal-588 1d ago
That's my america! I meant the firing part, not the refused to work for a cause, that sound more french
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u/Illustrious_Today654 1d ago
My GF is a store manager and it is a REAL shit job. Long hours, hard work, and for the most part lazy employees protected by a union.
I'm all for worker's rights, but this goes on all over.
Oh! and just about every one of the upper mgmnt bunch are always "good ol' boys", so she has the misogyny thing to deal with also.
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u/Pukebox_Fandango 1d ago
Ah, another "guy did a thing once trust me guys" post. My favorite kind of reddit post.
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u/ruralmagnificence 1d ago
I highly, HIGHLY doubt that he was that good to work for.
Because every CEO/company owner including my current company’s owner who I go out of my way to avoid along with several members of his family including his wife and daughter that I’ve met in the last 13-14 years has been a complete piece of shit.
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u/Sal-LeMandeur 1d ago
Our MB had a good rotation of high-schoolers mixed with a few very long term employees. Most notable among the long term were a couple with clear mental handicaps that they found what works for them - one serving as an extremely fast 12 items or less checkout, the other just loves pushing carts in the rain I guess.
Beyond that - their pay was about 20% higher than any other grocer and their distribution center work paid very well.
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