by Joe Courter
The following was released to email, Facebook and the media in late February; it was welcome news:
Our Apology: We at Citizens Co-op have made mistakes in the past, but have recently been working to rectify them. In the past few months we have been meeting with the members of the Union who were fired on March 24, 2014 in order to make amends and come to resolution.
Some policies set in place did not protect our workers and did not live up to the standards that all members could support. Right now we are actively working to change policies including formal recognition of the union.
We are officially and publicly apologizing for terminating the unionized workers: Kelsey Naylor, Ryan O’Malley, Sylvia Arnold, and Teresa Burlingame. We apologize as well for the abrupt termination of our two longest standing employees: Julie Matheney and Kathy Whipple. In the future we hope that those who have lost faith will join us again and help this store continue to be a prosperous part of the Gainesville community.
Sincerely,
Citizens Co-op Board of Directors & General Manager