Under Evans management, a string of disruptive, fiscally irresponsible, cruelly irresponsible,

unresponsive and inept events have swirled through our Co-op—too many to ignore. Everyone here

has at least one hot button issue but there is a common denominator—management decisions which

have negatively impacted River Market to the point where its future is in jeopardy. This is real and it is

serious:

 

Disruptive – the manner in which the Senior Discount was announced. Was solid market research

done before it was initiated? How have members responded—how much has a real loss of loyalty

affected the Co-op's bottom line? If the books were opened to the Board, the reality of lessened income

since that decision would probably show it did not achieve the desired outcome.

 

Fiscal irresponsibility – the administration of the Co-op is top-heavy. Hard questions are not being

asked about how many Marketing Directors are needed for this relatively small enterprise. The upper-level management positions are being financed on the backs of the employees we members know and

love.

 

Irresponsible and cruel treatment of valuable employees – Way too many firings have occurred in a

very small time frame. At the previous listening session, we were told that “those people” were let go

because they weren't doing their job. All of them? In the space of 4 months? This has created a

feeling of instability among us members—we walk in and hardly see a familiar face. Employment as

cashiers and deli workers has become a revolving door. Sometimes mistakes are made at the cash registers because the workers are so new. Concern about the Co-op quality in the hot bar and soup bar

has been raised by a number of members. The new hires may soon be out the door—they were not

hired because they support Co-op values. They do what they are told. Loyal employees whom

themselves live Co-op values have been treated shabbily. They have been told as they were being

dismissed that they could not have access to the considerable PTO and unused vacation pay they had

accumulated because they were fired. This is contrary to Minnesota Law. Is their firing a stealthy cost-

cutting measure? Their job responsibilities have been sliced and diced. In one case more help was

hired immediately after an employee was let go because he and his small staff could not accomplish the

laundry list of new tasks which had just been assigned his section. No research had been done into

whether accomplishing this laundry list was feasible—instead, it was created as the poison pill which

would result in this employee being fired. Reliable employees are stalked by fear of retaliation. These

employees have been rock stars—important figures in our lives which have made this store different

from a Kowalskis or a Whole Foods.

 

Unresponsive – A major recent instance of unresponsiveness was the inability of Stillwater Fire

Department to reach any of the three individuals on the emergency phone tree when the store's power

failed last Monday night. If the General Manager is unreachable, he should delegate a reliable and

responsible second and third individual to take those calls. The third person on the phone tree had been

such a reliable individual and had done behind-the-scenes maintenance and service for us all many

times until she was fired two months ago. Her name on the phone tree had not been replaced.

 

Unresponsiveness Continued – If a member has reached out with a valid concern, our input has not

been respected. We have been “listened to” regarding the senior discount removal, our C shares, the

removal of whole classes of products in the Bulk Foods section, etc.. The “listening sessions” we have

participated in have not resulted in any change in practice—decisions, once made, have been inflexible.

Snark has been the public response to our public comments.

 

Inept – A marketing decision which died on the vine in early August was the trial balloon pizza delivery idea. The winery and brewery next door received handbills advertising the availability of

pizza delivery from the Co-op. No plan for how Co-op staff was to handle such orders was laid out to

the employees so that when the first order came in, delivery and payment procedures were nonexistent.

The quality and sourcing of Co-op ingredients used to make the pizzas were not highlighted in the

handbill—a failure to capitalize om Co-op uniqueness. An even greater communication failure of not

building the foundation for this new market outlet with the employees who were to produce it caused

management to abruptly cancel what might have been a good idea but for the ineptitude of its launch.

Has all this instability affected River Market's finances? It can't help but have done so. There are

probably local vendors who will no longer do business with us because they are concerned about being

paid in a timely fashion. Why have attempts to keep the recently fired employees from their accrued

unused benefits been so stringent? This amounts to theft. How has rescinding the Senior Discount

affected the volume of business at the Co-op? In the end, it is instability, disruptions are driven by fear,

dogged protection of higher-paid administrative staff loyal to management that is not only making

River Market so sad these days, but they are also sending the Co-op that so many have worked for and

cherished into a downward spiral. The Co-op balance sheet should be made available at least to the

Board without doctoring.

 

It's time to take a corrective measure and call for the General Manager to step down for the good of this

institution which we members care about. It's also time for our Co-op Board, which we have elected,

to represent us and right the ship. Co-op finances are used as a cudgel to drive bad decision-making--

the Board should demand to be included in direct rather than watered-down financial information.