Opinion: Getting ‘the People Part’ Right at The Food Co-op

[caption id align="alignnone" width="1291"]

Photo by by Holli Margell.  [/caption]

An opinion piece by George Sawyer

After his sudden resignation on December 31, 2024, former Co-op Board President Owen Rowe said this in an interview with the Leader:

“I learned things that essentially people were afraid to tell the board because they knew the board would also help deflect or squash the issue down. Principally about treatment of staff; unfair promotion decisions, unfair hiring and firing decisions, potentially unsafe treatment of workplace incidents. This was shocking to me.”

After 19 months working as a cashier at The Food Co-op, it is clear to me that what Rowe eventually discovered were our actual working conditions, which have somehow become normalized at our beloved Co-op.

And what happens to those who point out troublesome issues, who ask tough questions, or challenge leadership in any way?

One thing that happens is they simply disappear. Scout, who felt threatened by anti-trans reporting by his boss? Gone. Cameron Jones who raised this issue (and more) with the board? Gone. The guy who talked about having a union a few months ago? Gone. Even Rowe, the Board President? Gone.

An employee who objected to a customer touching her body without asking was publicly shouted down and threatened with disciplinary action. They ended up leaving Port Townsend altogether. Pointing out safety issues, getting injured by following instructions – these can result in being put on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) or being written up.

While Co-op leadership has gotten more careful about firing people after paying a large cash settlement for wrongful termination of a manager in 2023, sometimes workers who are vocal about the Co-op could be pushed to the brink. They get the worst assignments, daily micromanagement, subtle or not-so-subtle mistreatment. Eventually, some quit.

The more I’ve talked directly to people the Co-op was mistreating, the more uncomfortable I became. I hear that this has been going on for years. So why aren’t more people speaking up?

Well, look at the case of the former Co-op Board President Rowe. After resigning from the Board, he posted on Facebook that “This was my choice, for my own safety”.

If a Port Townsend city counselor who has the authority to evaluate the Co-op General Manager fears for his safety over discussions about the Co-op, how powerless do you think Co-op employees feel? After all, they can be fired for anything at all.

The community is starting to get the sense that something is wrong at their local food Co-op. There are articles in The Leader, in the Jefferson County Beacon, letters to the editor, even a Facebook group - #itsmycooptoo. Well Organized is running a boycott of the Co-op. Amidst these calls for change, GM Eaton announced bold plans to do the things that have been requested for years — most recently by Cameron Jones.

Yet all of this is having no effect on the working conditions at the Co-op, as if, as Rowe puts it, “entrenched co-op leadership” is completely insulated from many of its workers, some of its members, and a large swath of the broader community

The Co-op is making money, sales are up, members get dividends. The GM’s job seems untouchable. She rules the Co-op, perhaps capably but without adequate regard for the people who work there.

We workers just want to do our jobs well, earn our paychecks, and be a part of something we can be proud of. The Co-op stands for something: it sells really good produce, great food, and it feeds the community while supporting local farmers. We’re just not getting the people part right.

George moved to Port Townsend from Bremerton in May, 2022. The Port Townsend Food Co-op is the fourth food co-op he has been a member of.