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Mac's employee unsatisfied with company response

The Mac’s employee who had a knife to his throat says his fellow workers have to stand up to the company if they want their safety concerns heard.
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Larry Larivee stands outside the Arthur Street Mac’s Convenience store on Jan. 9, 2011. (Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch.com)

The Mac’s employee who had a knife to his throat says his fellow workers have to stand up to the company if they want their safety concerns heard.

During a news conference, Larry Larivee accused Mac’s officials of not caring for the safety and wellbeing of their employees. Last month, Larivee had a knife to his throat during an attempted robbery at the Mac’s store on Arthur Street that he was working at. 

The 25-year-old had only been an employee at the convenience store for about a month before the incident.

The experience left an impression with Larivee, who said the company needed to improve security at all the stores. Calling himself the 26th victim of the Mac’s store robberies in 2011, Larivee spoke openly about the conditions he said he and other employees had to go through.

But less than a month after the incident, nothing has changed, he said.

“Because there’s a social issue here, (Mac’s) doesn’t want to play marriage counselor,” Larivee said. “I would like the city to stand up and force these guys to tighten the screws on their security. The first thing out of other employees’ mouths is union. We have no voice. We have no benefits. What happens when one of us dies? Who gets the money? Our families or them?”

Larivee said Mac’s does have a security vehicle that regularly stops at each store.

The problem with the truck is that it has a sign on it labeling it as security. He said would-be robbers just have to wait for the truck to leave.

Larivee spoke with Mac’s officials during the holidays. In a letter addressed to Larivee, the market manager said they would transfer Larivee from the nightshift to a dayshift, provide more security training for him and continue employee assistance program support.

The letter went on to state that the company couldn’t support Larivee’s request to carry a weapon while working at the store.

Larivee said the letter gave him no indication that Mac’s was going to change its ways.

“There’s nothing about prevention or stopping this from ever happening again,” he said. “This is how much they care. This is how much they claim they care. Mac’s pretty much can’t guarantee our safety. They pretty much refuse to.”

If fired, Larivee said he wouldn’t walk away and would continue to fight to ensure all Mac’s employees had a safe place to work.





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