I feel sorry for the employees of the Demoulas families Market Basket chain of grocery stores. These are all great people caught in the middle of a family feud that has no end. No rational end because the sons of George and Telemachus Demoulas have never made decisions based on cold hard reality. Arthur S., son of George and Arthur T., son of Telemachus are at each others throats over emotional issues. And the fact as shown in court proceedings that the son of Telemachus can’t be trusted to deal evenly with all members of the families of Geoprge and Telemachus. The business is, maybe was, popular and profitable. That went without question but the internal family politics which have been given short coverage in the popular press go back to 1971 when George Demoulas, Telemachus’ brother passed away while on vacation and Telemachus and his son Arthur T Demoulas began their quest to become sole owner’s of the family business. Starting with George’s widow. The best source of the facts that are publicly available can be found here, in a year 2000 Lawyers Weekly story. I can’t decide if I like the part where Arthur T. punched Arthur S. while they were still in the courthouse or the part where one of the jurors asked to be excused because of exhaustion. Why are you exhausted dear? may have asked the judge. Because I just wish he (Telemachus) would answer the questions. Telemachus is on record for 17 days of testimony.
The problem with the people who really make this business work, the employees is the amount of time the employees have invested in the company. No one wants to throw away the investment made of their time to a job they enjoy, but the rules have changed regarding the Market Basket Corporation and people need to remember the golden rule of business: He who owns the gold, makes the rules. Even if Artie T. manages to buy out the sons of George, the terms of employment may not go back to what they were in the warm and fuzzy olden days. If the employees don’t end their labor action on Monday the 4th of August, not only will they learn that no one is indispensable but everyone will be shown once again the gap in power between the wealthy few and the majority who aren’t all that wealthy. No one is indispensable and after the job fairs the out of work Market Basket employees are going to be amazed at how quickly business will return to normal.
