Market Basket Strike In 2014 Stands Apart

11:30

September 05, 2016

Meghna Chakrabarti

Protesters hold hands in solidarity as they rally in support of ousted Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas in Tewksbury on August 5, 2014. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

The summer of 2014, thousands of employees walked off the job and rallied outside of the Market Basket headquarters in Tewksbury. They were not protesting poor work conditions or asking for higher wages. Instead, workers went on strike in support of an executive: they wanted ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas back in charge.

The company hemorrhaged millions of dollars in the 40-day stand off as employees refused to work and customers boycotted. By the end of August 2014, Market Basket shareholders approved an agreement to put Arthur T back in charge, buying the company from rival relatives, including cousin Arthur S. Demoulas.

It was an unprecedented walkout and success for store employees and customers to successfully challenge a board.

This is a rebroadcast of a conversation which originally aired in 2014, after the standoff over Market Basket's CEO ended.

Guest
John O'Day, manager of a Market Basket store in Wilmington.
Edmund Clark, director of Northeastern University's Center for Family Business.

This segment aired on September 5, 2016.