by In an attempt to end the ongoing conflict between the grocery chain and Arthur T. Demoulas, its suspended CEO, Market Basket is going to mediation.
According to a statement released by Demoulas spokesperson Justine Griffin on Tuesday, the parties have decided to present their differences to a mediator on September 3 in an effort to prevent legal action and arrive at a speedier and more cooperative settlement that benefits Market Basket’s employees, clients, and the communities it serves.
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Market Basket executives push back on the board s claims about Arthur T. Demoulas
The CEO and a number of other staff members were placed on paid leaveback by Market Basket’s board in May while they looked into claims that Demoulas was organizing a work stoppage. Following board members’ demands for cooperation on the most fundamental company supervision and access to important personnel, the board at the time recommended that Demoulas, a well-liked leader known fondly as Artie T. Mean, take retaliatory action.
Concerns around succession planning and transparency in the family-run company have also been raised by the board.
Tom Gordon, the director of grocery operations, and Joseph Schmidt, the firm’s director of operations, were two Artie T. loyalists and company veterans who Market Basket severed connections with last week. Local political officials have even taken notice of the ongoing supermarket drama; the mayor of Methuen recently called on Market Basket to put a stop to the drama and accept Demoulas back into the fold.
Prior to Friday’s announcement of the mediation arrangements, a lawyer for the Market Basket board stated that Quinn Emanuel, his legal firm, was almost finished with its inquiry into claims of a planned disruption of business operations and other issues.
However, attorney Harvey J. Wolkoff said in a statement that the Board has chosen to hold off on releasing its findings until after the Board and Mr. Demoulas have had a chance to meet with an impartial mediator to see if the long-standing problems between them can be settled out of respect for Mr. Demoulas.
According to Griffin, talks on possible mediation have been going on for over two weeks.
And that fact alone shows how careless Directors Michael Keyes, Steven Collins, and Jay Hachigian were in firing Tom Gordon and Joe Schmidt early last week and then promoting a number of staff members to replace them, she continued. All of this was done in an obvious attempt to circumvent the mediation process and further suppress the company’s employees who are calling for the senior management team to return.
Market Basket has been contacted by Boston.com for additional information regarding Griffin’s statement. However, Wolkoff asserts that the outcome of the mediation in September will determine if any additional action is taken.
“The Board is hopeful that a positive resolution can be reached,” he stated.
Abby Patkin covers a wide range of topics as a general assignment news reporter, including crime, public transportation, health, and everything in between. She has been reporting on the murder case of Karen Read.
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