Today's job fair a Market Basket tipping point

Jack the Giraffe, the worker uprising mascot, looks out over a massive crowd at Stadium Plaza in Tewksbury, Mass., where workers and customers turned out to rally for a return of ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas. (Courtesy photo)

Today’s Market Basket job fair for applicants from outside the company could tell the tale.

If job seekers stay away like they did Monday and Tuesday the signal will be sent that workers who left their jobs nearly three weeks ago are irreplaceable and must be lured back to save the company even if it means rehiring ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, employees’ beloved former company boss.

But if applicants from outside hungry for a good-paying job show up in droves, that gives leverage to current directors who will reason if they can fill managers, warehouse and delivery driver positions from the outside, and force employees from the chain’s 71 stores to return to work or face being fired, customers will return to take advantage of low prices regardless of corporate leadership.

Monday and Tuesday’s job fairs at the Andover, Mass., warehouse were for in-store applicants. Few showed up to apply, and those that did were heckled driving by picketers.

Today’s applicants are from outside the company, which could lead to increased friction for job seekers crossing the picket line.

This final day of job fairs comes against the backdrop of Tuesday’s massive rally at Stadium Plaza in Tewksbury, where thousands of Market Basket workers and customers showed up to show their solidarity for Artie. T.

Workers at the Rochester store, meanwhile, remain steadfast in their support of the worker uprising, but some have privately said that if Artie T. doesn’t  come back and the new directors are able to get the stores going again, they would return to work, at least for a while.

“I wouldn’t be happy, but I’d return to work, but I’d start looking for another job, too,” one worker said recently.

One thing is clear. If the new directors can’t get Market Basket functioning at the headquarters and warehouse, they’re dead in the water.

Meanwhile, the company continues to lose millions of dollars every day.

But then again, if this were all about money, it would already be over.

It’s not often hatred and vitriol trump profits. But there’s always the exception.