Fights within a family are nothing new. The world’s oldest literature records them (Cain and Abel), history chronicles them (Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth 1), and folklore embellishes them (the Hatfields and McCoys).
Massachusetts is not new to family
troubles, either. In-laws in the Porter and Putnam families tussled in Salem
during the 1600s and some of that acrimony fed the Witch Trials. The Friendly’s
brothers fought over ice cream. Even the famous Koch brothers’ in-fighting has a
tie to Massachusetts – three of the Koch brothers attended Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
The Demoulas’ of grocery fame
began their epic family fight many years ago when one side of the family
discovered that they seemed to have been cut out of some of the profits from
the other. It’s a complicated story and one that really hasn’t yet ended. Most of us, however, sighed a giant sign of
relief in August 2014 when Artie T. was victorious over his cousin Artie S.
During those July and August months
I bemoaned the unhappy fact that I didn’t live closer to a Demoulas Market
Basket. I desperately wanted to picket the store myself! I nearly drove to the closest location in
Bellingham, MA just to drive in and out of the parking lot to show my support
for Market Basket employees. I devoured the news each day and subscribed to the
Save Market Basket Facebook group. Many of us eagerly awaited Artie T’s
triumph, although none of us may have truly believed it would really happen. It
was wishful thinking; after all, what grassroots campaign of working class
people really prevails?
Fast forward 30 days from July 28 to
August 27, 2014 when the seemingly impossible happened and Market Basket clerks,
managers, vendors, truck drivers, stockers, and the shopping public pulled off
an amazing feat. Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the people from Market
Basket prevailed and we sat in disbelief that people’s movement succeeded.
Artie T. had finally fashioned a deal that would result in Market Basket
rebirth.
Shortly afterward, I invested a
small amount in a Kickstarter* campaign to help finance a documentary about the
incredible business/labor/loyalty movement, “Food Fight: The Battle for Market
Basket”. The filmmaker, Jay Childs, promised that the story would be told with
footage from the 30-day saga that would focus on the popular story, from the
ground up.
When the film as finished nearly
six months ago, it was screened for audiences across New England in Portsmouth,
Cambridge and Providence and many other cities across New England. I was invited to a screening as a Kickstarter
backer of the project, but none of those screening locations were particularly
convenient to me. I knew, however, that part of the Kickstarter campaign
promise was to provide me with a copy of the DVD.
*(Kickstarter, for those of you who
don’t know, is a global online community that backs creative projects. From
Kickstarter’s website, “over 11.1 million people from every continent on earth
have backed a Kickstarter project” in dance, film,
food, fashion, art, design, journalism, music, publishing, technology and many
more worthy categories.)
About a month
ago, the filmmaker realized that the backers who were not able to watch the film
around New England desperately wanted to. Soon, we were sent a link to the documentary
and I was able to watch it online. It is fantastic and I will donate the actual
DVD to the library when it is received and we will show it at the library to
all who are interested.
The documentary
Food Fight! did not disappoint. I was struck by the fact that it is not an
Artie T. marketing tool. As a matter of fact, he rarely is on screen. The
Demoulas’ family saga is explained in an almost perfunctory manner. In fact,
many might want to Google the story online to navigate the complicated history
and backstory of the Market Basket saga. The documentary focuses on the
inspiration workers and support of the community. Many serendipitous events
helped the cause – an empty industrial complex across from Market Basket headquarters,
a summer climate that fostered barbecues and parties for striking workers, and
the loyalty of vendors, drivers, and working class families.
What the film
highlights is the non-hierarchical, o f-the-people,bottom-up movement that led
to Artie T.’s victory over his cousin, Artie S. While it was the managers who
were fired (and were fired up!) who acted first, it was the people who worked
for Market Basket, or those who shopped at Market Basket, and those who
supplied Market Basket, that put their livelihoods on the line - and prevailed.
The Gloucester
Clam, on online newspaper, chronicled the story of Market Basket in a four part
“history of crazy.” It is a non-biased story that begins with the immigrant
story of Athanasios (Arthur) Demoulas who began “a tiny grocery in Lowell
selling fresh lamb.” The story of the Demoulas family focuses on the fact that Athananios
was searching for the American Dream, and found it in the Acre, an area of
Lowell which was home to Greek immigrants from across the world. Athanasios
actually arrived at Ellis Island in 1906, found work in a tannery and sent for
his sweetheart, Efrosine.
Athanasios and his
wife started DeMoulas Market (emphasis on the capital M to make it distinctive)
in 1916, catering to the immigrants in the Acre. Fast forward to 1954 when
their sons, George and Mike, bought the business, expanding it in the 50s and
60s in the Lowell area. George died
unexpectedly in 1971 and the saga that brought on infighting in the family
began. It reached a peak with lawsuits in the 90s and continued until that
fateful summer of 2013. It is explained
in Market Basket history that you can read online or in books, or view in the
documentary, Food Fight! In 2015, a book
by Daniel Korschum and Grant Welker described in detail the incredible story in
We are Market Basket: The Story of the Unlikely Grassroots Movement That Saved
a Beloved Business. Another documentary by filmmaker Nick Buzzell, “We the
People: The Market Basket Effect,” has also been released at small theaters across
New England.
We all knew at the
time that the story of Market Basket would make a heck of a story and that
management, finance, and sociology classes would be studying this legendary
tale for years to come. If you are interested in the details behind this
amazing story, check out We Are Market Basket or express your interest in
viewing Food Fight! when we screen it at the library.
