By J.B. Fitzsimmons | Gloucester Correspondent
GLOUCESTER — In an unprecedented show of regional solidarity and low-price loyalty, the municipalities of Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, and Manchester-by-the-Sea have formally activated mutual aid compacts and deployed coordinated police actions in response to the removal of beloved Market Basket CEO, Arthur T. Demoulas.
Local officials confirmed that the plan — dubbed Operation Cart Blanche — was activated late Wednesday after news broke that Demoulas, his two adult children, and several senior executives had been placed on paid leave by the Market Basket board of directors and placed in “executive custody.”
The operation includes a 24-hour police presence at the Gloucester Crossing Market Basket location, rapid-response units stationed on main roadways, and coordinated logistics with volunteer, pro-Artie paramilitary organizations. Officials say the plans for the rapid response were drawn up in the aftermath of the successful 2014 Market Basket protests.
“This isn’t just about groceries,” said Lt. Dominic Salerno of the Gloucester Police Department, adjusting his tactical MB baseball cap. “This is about regional stability. It’s about identity. Market Basket is the social glue holding Cape Ann together.”
A press release from Gloucester City Hall confirmed that the Gloucester SWAT (Special Wares and Artisanal Tomatoes) unit has been placed on standby, with aerial surveillance drones on loan from the DPW. Rockport issued a local emergency declaration, authorizing its harbormaster’s patrol boat to serve as a floating observation post to monitor the Annisquam River for anti-Artie activities. Essex has declared Market Basket an “Essential Cultural Landmark” under emergency preservation laws never before invoked, vowing to lend additional support to Ipswich in any actions taken at the Market Basket location in Rowley.
Unofficial militia support has already arrived at Gloucester Crossing in the form of the Cape Ann Artie Liberation Front (CAALF), a loosely organized but terrifyingly efficient unit made up of former cashiers, deli clerks, and very angry grandmothers. Clad in matching maroon aprons and supported by pallet jacks and hand-labelers from 2008, they have vowed to “hold the line” against any board-appointed managerial interlopers.
“Market Basket is sovereign territory,” said CAALF Commander Mary Jo Lafayette, while redirecting shoppers away from the can and bottle return. “We do not recognize the authority of some ‘executive committee’ that’s never sliced cold cuts on a busy Sunday morning.”
A small convoy of on-loan Council on Aging vans was seen delivering supplies donated in solidarity by Costco — primarily pallets of store-brand pasta and gallons of orange soda — to a fortified supply cache in the empty field next to the Cape Ann YMCA.
Market Basket’s board issued a brief statement encouraging “calm, respectful dialogue” and insisting that customers will “continue to enjoy the value and service they expect.” While board representatives insist the removal of Arthur T. was justified and lawful, municipal leaders across Cape Ann have rejected this assertion entirely.
“It was a hostile action, plain and simple,” said Manchester’s Deputy Chief of Operations Karen Thorne. “And we have an obligation — under both the Home Rule Charter and the unwritten Law of the Aisles — to respond with proportional force.”
By Wednesday night, traffic around the Gloucester Crossing Market Basket was backed up for miles as the blockade redirected residents on grocery runs to nearby Stop and Shop and what’s left of Shaw’s. A number of intransigent shoppers who attempted to force their way past were taken into police custody and held without bail under emergency orders.
“Artie T. is more than a CEO,” said Lafayette, staring solemnly across the Gloucester Crossing parking lot. “We’re not just fighting for a man. We’re fighting for the soul of the American supermarket.”
Area schools have launched emergency curriculum units on the 2014 Market Basket Crisis, with local fourth-graders reenacting the original walkouts using dioramas and Lunchables. At least one class in Essex is reportedly building a trebuchet out of circulars and canned beans.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Market Basket board said only, “Please stop emailing us. We’re scared.”
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