This is what a boycott looks like: (picture heavy)

[MADem]

53. If you were a MB customer, it would make total sense to you. I'm boycotting and it's a pain in the

ass but I won't cross the line.

The store has nice employees who are friendly and helpful, really good prices, a wonderful selection of groceries (they cater to a wide variety of ethnic tastes)--it's just a great place to shop for groceries. It's not glamorous looking, but it's not spartan, either. It's got a kind of retro feel to it; the old school linoleum, the "functional" shelves, the generous delis--it's a great store (all 71 of them). Some of them have in-store bakeries, and the bread is wonderful.

Walmart doesn't have the same dynamic. See, these MB workers aren't fighting against a shitty boss, they are fighting to KEEP a GREAT boss. The great boss was fired, and the shitty board wants to take away all their benefits. They are well compensated, as grocery workers go--they get bonuses, leave, educational stipends--it's a good place to work. The workers don't want the Stop and Shop paradigm, where workers are devalued and scolded--they want a place where the managers care about them and they have an opportunity to move up within the system. That is what they are fighting to keep.

The customers have a personal relationship with the workers at the stores. At the one I usually go to, the manager knows me, I know him. I know a lot of the cashiers too, by face if not by name. You can tell if someone likes their job or not--these people like their jobs. It shows. Even the customers in the stores are friendly to one another--it's like an odd club.