Private business and government are a lot like oil and water: they don’t mix. Still, politics are at play in the Market Basket dispute, even if there’s no seat at the bargaining table for government officials.
A long list of politicians on the federal, state and local level have come out in support of the protesting workforce. Gov. Deval Patrick was initially reluctant to wade into the supermarket dispute at all, but last week, he sent a letter to the Market Basket Board, offering his “assistance in reaching a resolution.”
Other elected officials have been more vocal. Mayor Joseph Curtatone of Somerville and City Manager of Chelsea Jay Ash discussed the role politicians are playing in the uprising.