Market Basket protests
[4][3] He was seen as a father figure by a number of his employees and compared to It's a Wonderful Life protagonist George Bailey for his willingness to put people over profit.
After Market Basket purchased this site, Arthur S. consulted Robert Griffin of Cushman & Wakefield, which valued the property at $9 million.
In response to these allegations, the Board of Directors hired Mel L. Greenberg, a retired judge, to investigate Arthur S.' claims.
Greenberg found the fees paid to Retail Development and Management Inc. were not disproportionate to the amount of work done and lawyers for Arthur T. noted that Cushman & Wakefield later appraised the Bourne property as being valued at $25.5 million.
Arthur S.'s side of the family sued Shea and Carleton, alleging they had intentionally missed the meeting so there wouldn't be enough members to have a vote.
[6] On June 23, 2014, three top-level executives - CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, Vice President Joseph Rockwell, and Director of Operations William Marsden - were fired by the board.
[13] In response to Demoulas's firing, six high-level managers resigned, and 300 employees held a rally outside Market Basket's Chelsea, Massachusetts, flagship store on June 24, 2014.
[13] The protesters criticized the Market Basket board for putting money before people by choosing to pay its shareholders more instead of reinvesting in the business.
[16] Gooch and Thornton responded the following day by announcing in a letter to employees that the board would meet by phone on July 21, 2014 to address their demands.
[18] On July 18, 2014, protests with between 2,500 and 3,000 employees and customers were held at the company's Tewksbury headquarters and other locations demanding the reinstatement of Arthur T.[7][19] 300 warehouse workers and 68 drivers refused to make deliveries, which left store shelves severely depleted.
[26] Beginning on August 7, 2014, a handful of protesters gathered outside of a home in York, Maine, that reportedly belonged to a Market Basket shareholder.
[28] That same day, a replacement driver for Market Basket got out of his truck with a hammer and approached protesters at the company's headquarters in Tewksbury in a threatening manner.
"[26][30][31] At a rally at the Tewksbury store, protesters threw beach balls in the air as loud music played from large speakers set up around the parking lot.
[32] The letter prompted a response from Massachusetts and New Hampshire Attorneys General Martha Coakley and Joseph Foster, respectively, who reminded the company's executives that their actions had "serious implications" on many small businesses that relied on their relationship with Market Basket for their means of support as well as Market Basket's obligations to compensate fired employees.
Thornton and Gooch responded by stating that they "sincerely hoped" they would not have to fire any employees and desired to get the "stores back up and running for our customers and, importantly, for the many local vendors that rely on Market Basket to make their own businesses successful.
The letter, signed by Gooch and Thornton, informed employees that if they did not return to work by August 15, 2014, the company would consider their jobs abandoned and terminate their employment.
[29] The Market Basket protests struck a chord nationally because, as BBC business reporter Kim Gittleson wrote, "the dispute seemed to encapsulate everything that is wrong with corporate America.
All previous offers by outside parties to buy the company had been withdrawn, and the board was reportedly "furiously negotiating" with Arthur T. to resolve the situation.
Patrick came under fire for suggesting employees return to work, as his wife is a co-managing partner and labor attorney for Ropes & Gray, the law firm that represented Market Basket's independent board members.
[8] On August 22, 2014, Arthur T. made a $1.5 billion offer for the 50.5% of shares owned by the opposing side of the family; several subsequent days of negotiations initially failed to reach an accord.
[4] On August 27, 2014, the shareholders of Market Basket reached a deal to sell the remaining 50.5% shares of the company to Arthur T. Demoulas for $1.5 billion.
[44] According to Fortune, Demoulas was backed by The Blackstone Group, a private equity firm that put up over $500 million towards the purchase price.
