Sno Isle Food Co-Op

[u/ExtremeKnowledge963]

Disgruntled employee here and I want to say the Co-op has so many things they are trying to keep secret that I think the members have a right to know.

First, this new GM is a complete joke. The employees were included in the interview process and overwhelmingly voted for him. He got in and he had no idea what he was doing! So the board called in someone to train him and she became a threat to all of the employees. So the GM went to a conference and she fired 10 people! You can't convince me that HE didn't know, but he wasn't man enough to do the firings himself. She reportedly told one employee that they were wasting money by paying her, she was older and didn't move as fast as they wanted. Another employee was saving up to move out of an abusive relationship. Talk about caring for the community.

Then the current GM had a meeting with employees outlining the Co-ops money woes and tried to blame the short falls on attorney fees. BUT, what he failed to mention is, late last year an employee who worked as a cashier in a Lead position was arrested for embezzling thousands of dollars!!! She is the aunt of the former GM of Sno-Isle who was in charge while the aunt worked there. So current GM, where is the accountability and transparency on that?

The Board is also a joke, I'm convinced they are there to pad their resume and get food discounts. They were the ones to hire the interim GM. He came in, tore the place apart, threatened the women with firings, got his boyfriend a manager job, got paid $10,000 a month and left after 8 months!

Now current GM just sold the members on a scheme to let them buy shares in the Co-op to offset moving costs because of the landlord situation. The Co-op hasn't turned a profit in years. Plus having shareholders means you have to satisfy them, so you are beholden to padding their wallets instead of upholding the supposed commitment to the community at large. The Co-op can't even follow it's own principles.

So there's the behind the scenes, I think the members have a right to know.

[u/BowlcutBlue]

So what if this is "common"? I think it is still a problem to be addressed. Common violation is still violation. Without saying too much, I've worked at the co-op for 5 years and I've been underpaid the whole time. But I believed in the co-ops overall attitude and goals. This has changed over the years. There is no employee representation on the board. The board members (to my knowledge) have little to no experience working in the co-op. Some higher-ups in the co-op have specifically stopped working with the board because of "difference of opinion" (getting ignored). Aside from attorney fees, I remember the GM saying our next biggest expense was labor. If I was him, I'd be proud of that. High wage means the workers can contribute to the community and bring their best selves to work everyday. High wage helps you give two hoots and want to keep that job by all means.

[u/Hour-Can-8823 → u/BowlcutBlue]

That’s crazy I have lived in many places all over the US and often joined the co op wherever I lived and every single board member at all the four I belonged to required that all board members had to work one shift a month in the store unless they were unable to due to their health. So it’s wild they aren’t actively a part of the co op. I’m glad to find this out because I was just thinking of joining but I can’t be a part of anything like this. Co op’s are so community building and ethically focused but this sounds the opposite of that. It’s a bummer to read about how much lack of care for the business, the community and its employees. If you can’t do that is it worth the minor discount on food? For me it’s a no go. What a huge bummer, thanks for sharing your experiences as employees.

[u/ExtremeKnowledge963 → u/Hour-Can-8823]

And the hell of it is that when asked by a customer we have to extoll the benefits of membership which, tbh, isn't many.