TEWKSBURY, MA - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick offered Market Basket shoppers a ray of hope on Wednesday, saying that a deal between the retailer and its former President and CEO Arthur T. Demoulas may be close at hand.
Having spoken with Arthur T. Demoulas, Market Basket Board Chairman Keith Cowan, and Arthur S. Demoulas, Patrick said that “I can report that I have spoken with the chair of the board, I have spoken with Arthur T. Demoulas, and I think everybody is interested in a sale. My understanding is they either have an understanding or are very close to a price."
He went on to urge Market Basket employees not to wait for a deal to return to their posts, saying that all parties would be greatly benefited by life returning to normal.
"Frankly, my greatest concern right now is with the people who work for Market Basket, the associates," Patrick said. "They have it entirely within their power to stabilize the company by going back to work, and I hope that they can see a way to do that while the buyer and seller work out the final terms of the transaction ... I think it's important for the workers to understand, the associates to understand, that they can go right back to work, and they would do a service to the people served by Market Basket, all the customers, the communities in which the shops operate, by doing so."
The Board of Directors responded warmly to the Governor's statement, saying “Today, we applaud Governor Patrick’s statement encouraging all Associates to return to work as soon as possible.”
According to NECN News however, Market Basket's employees, firm supporters of Arthur T. Demoulas, have not seemed to respond in kind.
"We will go back to work when Arthur T. Demoulas goes back to work with full authority or when the deal is in place to sell him the company. We will not go back to work when the Governor, the Board or any other entity tells us to,” read a post on the pro-Arthur T. Demoulas blog, “We Are Market Basket.”
Here at ANUK we certainly hope for a speedy and amicable solution to the crisis that has paralyzed Market Basket's operations over the past months. Whether that wish will be granted is something that only time can tell.
