Why Take a Stand?
After years of a slow-moving agenda, it has become overwhelmingly clear that our small town River Market Community Cooperative is being swallowed up by the new operation guidelines suggested by the NCG* as well as Columinate and UNFI* who have been implementing such things as "Fresh Start By-Laws" and a "New Normal" policy. Additionally, our board and Co-op are under the "Policy Governance" meeting model of which among other things, confines them to speak under a "One Voice Policy" and stifles any interaction or relationship the board may have with employees of the River Market other than their one employee, the General Manager.
While our long-time staff (Larke, Maren, Michelle, Tanner, Keegan, Julie, Colin, and Patty just to name a few...) are being traded out for new faces at lesser labor costs, the payroll is becoming top-heavy offering the shoppers less educated and less personally-invested employees. We, the members of the River Market Community Co-op feel that our models and intrinsic values regarding people, healthy food, strong local community connections and support of local farmers and producers are in danger of dissolution as this very quiet agenda is picking up speed at an alarming pace under the new management train that has been forming over this past year.
Comments at the June 2019 board meeting addressed the removal of senior discounts, with one owner saying "Over many years I have done ALL of my grocery shopping at the Coop, with very few exceptions ... one of the joys of getting older was looking forward to qualifying for the senior discount. It has been very helpful to my household in the years since I turned 60." this owner went on to ask the question "Will letting senior members know they are no longer special bring in more shoppers?" to which our GM, Evan Sayre, after explaining the difficulty of the decision, dismissively replies in a later newsletter "We did not want to lead engaged owners to believe that our decision could be swayed."
If you read the board meeting minutes from the last few months, you can see that the expansion of the deli and the makeover of the bulk area (as directed by the Columinate) has put our market in the red. While the rest of the world is moving away from plastics, our market is decimating our bulk department by opting for plastic clam shells, cutting products, etc. under the continued guidance of our management team who remain steadfast in this pursuit. This example of destruction is just a minuscule part of the whole story within our little market. Please view this short youtube video from the River Market's 40th Anniversary, which celebrates the success of the bulk department.
Other Co-Op's nationwide are experiencing similar scenario's and thus began the Take Back The Co-op movement in 2015.
We have many great concerns regarding the management and viability of our organization. We insist that something is done to save who we are and what we stand for, therefore it is up to us, the owners and members of our beloved co-op to empower our board with reminders of why we originally made the choice to become a member. The required magic number as outlined in section 14 of the bylaws states we as owners need to come together in a group at a minimum of 20% of owners (roughly 1,400 accounts) to sign this petition before the board will acknowledge our request for a special meeting to focus on these issues.
It is our belief that under the current leadership regime the loss of ALL the values & principles Co-Op's were founded on is just around the bend. Please help keep your local River Market Co-Op independently strong and successful.
Thank you on behalf of all the free thinkers and peacemakers!
NCG* -National Co+op Grocers
UNFI* -United Natural Foods, Inc.