'The last straw': the US families ending love affair with grocery chain after Capitol riot

[DonViejo]

Families are boycotting Publix after a member of founding family donated $300,000 to the Donald Trump rally that preceded January’s deadly Capitol attack

Richard Luscombe
@richlusc
Mon 15 Feb 2021 08.19 EST

Wendy Mize’s family grew up on Publix, disciples to the giant supermarket chain’s empirical marketing slogan: “Where shopping is a pleasure”. As infants, her three daughters wore diapers bought from the Publix baby club. As children, they munched on free cookies from the bakery. There were even perks for the family’s pets, who are proud members of Publix Paws.

But now the decades-long love affair is over. After a member of Publix’s founding family donated $300,000 to the Donald Trump rally that preceded January’s deadly Capitol riots, Mize is pulling out of what she says has become “an abusive, dysfunctional relationship”, and joining others in a boycott of the Florida-based grocery chain that operates more than 1,200 stores across seven south-eastern states.

“It was the last straw,” said Mize, 57, an advertising copywriter from Orlando whose youngest twin daughters are now 19. “Insurrection at the Capitol, images of the police officer with his head being crushed, individuals dressed as Vikings on the floor of the Senate… we’re not going to call this normal. [Publix] are a private company and it is their business how they want to contribute their money, but it’s also my right to decide where I want to spend my dollars.”

Publix is an institution in Florida, the company growing from Depression-era roots in the 1930s to a regional behemoth with 225,000 workers today, and its founding Jenkins family now worth $8.8bn, according to Forbes. It prides itself on a family-friendly image, luring customers with prominent buy-one-get-one deals and a range of popular sandwich subs, and boasts of being the largest employee-owned company in the US.

more
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/15/us-families-boycotting-publix-grocery-chain-capitol-riot

[hlthe2b]

1. Once rated by Forbes as the "most admired companies" in the US. 'Way to destroy their REP

[BComplex]

2. Publix is MOSTLY owned by its employees.

It's really too bad that it was a major shareholder that made this contribution. It means the people that actually WORK there are being punished.

[katmondoo]

3. I still love Publix, my daughter works for them and she is well treated.

[NurseJackie]

37. My understanding exactly. It's a baby-&-bathwater thing.

[Ferrets are Cool]

39. This

Baby and bathwater.

[Hortensis]

4. This is DISGUSTING. Publix is employee-owned, NOT owned or managed

by heirs who got their inheritances years ago and are out. One was involved for some years after with a vendor that sold to Publix, but that relationship ended also.

I shop there and will of course continue. It averages more costly than I want, but shopping the "specials" brings it well in line, and it has a few items I want that my other local market doesn't.

Publix Named One of the Best Workplaces for Diversity

LAKELAND, Fla., Dec. 6, 2018 — Publix Super Markets has been recognized by the Great Place to Work Institute and Fortune as one of the 2018 Best Workplaces for Diversity, ranking No. 3 out of 100 companies, up from No. 6 last year.

This list focuses on the experiences of women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, those with disabilities and those who belong to the baby boomer or older generations. In a survey conducted by Great Place to Work, more than 4 million employees across the U.S. who fall into these categories were asked about camaraderie within their workplace environment, company values, company trust and leadership effectiveness.

To read more about Publix’s ranking and see the full list, visit reviews.greatplacestowork.com.

[hlthe2b]

5. They need to DENOUNCE (not merely deny relationship with) their founder family members

who funded Trump and the insurrection. Those members are still benefitting from Publix financially, so I think nothing more than a direct denunciation will make a difference.

[Hortensis]

6. Why? Try HARDER to keep aggressive people from attacking them unjustly?

Somehow I doubt that'd work in these mean and anxious times on those who don't bother to look before they leap for the throat in the first place.

"Watch for mean people." Advice from an international expert on nations going bad.

[bottomofthehill]

7. They don't have no connection

The family still owned about 20 percent of the stock. It is an employee and board owned company and they are still on the board and thus own a large stake in the company

[Hortensis]

8. NO, they're not on the board. And any stock is not voting stock.

The company's been clear on this.

[bottomofthehill]

12. The SEC report filed by the company would lead me to think you are not correct

Filed less than a year ago, maybe there has been change in the past 10 months, ...

https://sec.report/Document/0000081061-20-000009/

[Ms. Toad]

20. Family is, but Julie is not.

She is not a member of the board and, to the extent she owns any stock, her ownership is minor enough not to be listed.

[johnpvalentine]

13. Family IS on board and own 20%

I feel for employee-owners, but the truth is that the family is very involved with running the company still. See documentation in Forbes and SEC report:

https://www.forbes.com/profile/jenkins/?sh=5045f15a60e8

https://sec.report/Document/0000081061-20-000009/

[bottomofthehill]

17. 3 of the 8 members of the Board are family members

Two Jenkins and Crenshaw is a cousin per SEC

[hlthe2b]

16. This is PR... Naivete' won't cure the problem and the management no doubt knows that.

Attacking them unjustly? Well, if they don't denounce the relationship, those who blame the company won't know any better, now will they? That said, this founder still is a leading investor and benefactor of the company's profits.

[Cozmo]

9. PUhleese, not again with this employee owned excuse. How else can Publix be held accountable?

[Hortensis]

10. Nice little catch-22 conundrum. They can't, of course.

Permission created to have at them.

[maxrandb]

14. Yes, Too Big to Fail

Call me when the shareholders force this insurrection funder to relinquish her stock, sever ALL ties to the company, and not just "distance" themselves from Donnie Dipshit, but "denounce" him.

Other than a boycott, what other options to folks have to send the message that ANY support for what happened on January 6 has consequences. Surely impeachment wasn't it.

And for those bemoaning the harm to Publix employees, well, the Capitol Police are people too.

[Ms. Toad]

23. She has no ties to the company.

She is not a member of the board. If she owns any stock at all it is s small enough quantity that it is not required to be reported on their annual SEC filling (less than 5%).

[Ms. Toad]

25. The person who needs to be held accountable is Julie Jenkins Fancelli, not Publix.

She is not a member of the board, and IF she owns any stock at all, it is less than5%.

$.80 of every dollar list in stock value comes out of the pockets of employees.

Boycotting Public will not harm Fancelli, but will harm a lot of low wage employees.

[Ferrets are Cool]

40. Thank you.

[appmanga]

31. Make the actual person accountable...

...not a group of people that she has nothing to do with, and have nothing to do with her. Guilt by association isn't good enough when it comes to the livelihoods of everyday working people. That's who Democrats are supposed to be standing up for.

[azureblue]

19. and Wendy only owns 20% of the company

NT

[Submariner]

22. Publix Named One of the Best Workplaces for Diversity - They may want to revise that statement

In my local south Florida Publix Black vs White employees has been approximately a 50/50 ratio.

When the initial quarantine hit on March 21st, I started making some very early morning trips to stock up on food and essentials. What was unquestionably noticeable in the store was the total absence of white people on the store floor. Not a one to be seen anywhere.

Only Blacks were stocking shelves, bagging groceries, running the bakery and deli counters and running the cash registers. It was about 2 weeks before the first white people started showing up on the floor.

It looked more like a "lets stick it to the Blacks and play it safe for Whites" operation, than a diverse operation. I was kind of depressed to see this kind of thing happen in 2020.

[Ms. Toad]

28. Appearances do not necessarily tell the whole story.

Did you ask about the reason only blacks wrote working when you went in?

At my daughter's workplace, those in the store were self-selected. You were paid, no matter what. If you choose to work in the store, you were paid a bonus. If that is the case here, it likely says more about who felt they could afford to stay home v. Those for whom the small bump in hourly wages was necessary enough to sacrifice their health. That would be a societal issue, rather than a Publix issue.

I don't know anything about Publix other than publicly available info. But i do know that which employees were in any store (not just Publix) during the pandemic doesn't necessarily indicate a choice by management to favor or stick it to a particular group of employees.

[oldsoftie]

41. Such bullshit to hurt SO many people simply because ONE is an asshole.

And yes, I'll also continue to shop there

[HAB911]

11. I boycott them as I can

problem being, they have saturated the market to the point there are 10 within 6 miles of my home. Winn Dixie is the only viable alternative within driving distance and that is a different shopping experience. Not bad, just different.

[Fritz Walter]

15. And what about the corporate gift to Ron DeathSentence's PAC?!?

What the Jenkins family chooses to do with their own money is just one story. The news that the PUBLICKS corporation made a $100,000 donation to the incumbent DeathSentence's PAC is what makes me boycott that grocery chain.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing criticism after deciding this month that he would revoke COVID-19 vaccine access at health centers in Palm Beach County and instead, funnel the states' vaccine supply through Publix, a regional grocery chain. His decision comes just a few weeks after Publix donated $100,000 to his PAC, Friends of Ron DeSantis.

After the county runs out of its current supply, which health officials say will happen early next month, officials confirmed this week that the state would no longer distribute vaccines through Palm Beach's health department and will be giving them directly to Publix. DeSantis says that the county will be a "test site" for the pilot program to funnel the state's vaccines through Publix.

"I am absolutely disgusted that the governor of this state has 100 percent taken the ability to vaccinate our residents out of the hands of our public health officials and our medical officials and given that authority to a corporate entity," said the county commissioner at a meeting. Palm Beach County has a population of nearly 1.5 million people. Some of the county's residents live 40 miles away from a Publix.

Emphasis added.
Source: Salon

So, I'm re-discovering Winn-Dixie, Fresh Market, Costco, and especially a family-owned grocery store in my neighborhood.

[marble falls]

18. Sounds to me like you have good solutions!

[maxrandb]

26. This is what Retrumplicans always do

Major companies, owners of companies, or boards of companies make massive contributions to the Retrumplican Party so that the Retrumplican Party continues to advance laws and policies designed to screw workers.

Corporations get called on funding policies to screw workers.

When boycotts, or strikes are suggested, corporations complain you can't do that, because it only screws workers.

[Cozmo]

21. How many of Publix employees won settlements due to racial and sexual discrimination????

A lot!

[druidity33]

35. You'll likely find that in any large grocery chain. nt.

[Cozmo]

42. Sounds like a rationalization, come on

[stopdiggin]

46. I'll bite. What really large institution

or organization are you going to hold up as an example of "doing really well" with those same issues?

[druidity33]

47. Well...

I'm a Union Steward at a grocery store. When i go to the steward seminar every year, i hear LOTS of stories. Some people who attain mgmt level in a low paying job exert their dominance in other ways. Ever worked in a grocery store? Or a restaurant? Or a carnival? Or anywhere where you've been poor and needed your job? Creepers abound...

[jaxexpat]

27. Rules of thumb.

1. If an individual justifies his bread solely by sitting in on occasional board meetings they will have a perverse knowledge about things.
2. Those things will only, by the randomness of coincidence, include an accurate take on you or your peers.
3. The worst of them are carelessly clumsy, leaving their messes all over the place and NOT cleaning up after themselves.
4. The best of them stay out of sight and mind, oblivious to the real world, only vaguely aware of their place in the scheme of things.

Too cynical? It's Monday already.

[CaptainTruth]

29. FYI Publix 2020 political donations per OpenSecrets (FEC filings)

Natl Republican Senatorial Cmte $30,051
Natl Republican Congressional Cmte $30,050
Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte $30,000


[link:https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/publix-super-markets/summary?id=D000028488|]

[Dreampuff]

30. And that's only the tip of the iceberg

The descendants of George Jenkins give to every Republican cause or candidate they can find. Yes, they do still have huge interest in that company. They give away Millions a year as a family by making contributions to Pacs and candidates. I love how they tried to distance themselves from Julie by commenting that she is not an employee there. Of course she isn't. She is one of the owners and the pittance the employees own of that is minimal. I also know people who worked there years years ago when they were given good benefits and stock in the company. I also know people who currently work there and the benefits are nothing like they were in years past. Look up the contributions of Carol Jenkins Barnett, Etc.

[Ms. Toad]

44. Employees own 80% of the stock

80% is hardy a pittance.

Julie owns less than 5%, and is not a board member. (Every owner of 5% or more of the stock is listed in the SEC filings - and she is not a 5% or more owner.)

[Blue Owl]

32. Let the free markets speak

[BobTheSubgenius]

33. Yes!

No matter how ironic, amirite?

[Mary Mac]

34. Harris Teeter thanks you

And Earthfare and Aldis.

[TimeToGo]

36. I guess people can't read

[TlalocW]

38. That was a really weird first sentence to read

I grew up in a small farming town with a grocery store owned by a family with the surname of Mize.

TlalocW

[Cetacea]

43. Gov. DeathSentence is also prohibiting vaccine distribution at all Publix in two bluest counties

Broward and Miami/Dade.

[stopdiggin]

45. Seriously stupid

but, stupid or not, you have the right to spend your dollars where you wish.

(just kind of wonder how many of the 'righteous' here -- have no problem with continuing relationships with Amazon, FBook, Uber, Spotify -- or any of a hundred other predatory corporations?)