David's New Company

I am very proud of David. For the first time, he has taken a job not because of the pay or the benefits, but because he believes in the company. As you all probably know (because he's probably told you once or twice what you should or should not eat) David is very nutritionally aware. I admit, I'm partially to blame, but I had no idea just how far he would take it, though I do know how driven he is.
He went to a job fair a month ago, even though he really wasn't looking, he always has his ears pricked to whats out there. He met a guy there from a company called United Natural Foods, which he had heard of. They were only looking for two drivers, and David knew he was 'in' after talking to this man, the Logistics Manager. With David's experience and his outgoing nature of course, he beat out all the other applicants.
The pay was lower than Sysco, but not union, so the possibility for more hours was there. He did some studying, and liked what he learned. So he decided to go for it.
He put in his notice to his boss at Sysco, who has made certain promises to him about pay, and not kept a single one in the year that he has worked for him. He called him in the morning, and got an angry response from him. His boss received many phone calls from the sales reps. that work on his route. They had earned bonuses this year because of David, their sales had gone up 60% since he took the route. He also received phone calls from customers insisting that he make it right with David so that he would stay. (David leaves such a trail anytime he goes to another company. He has excellent people skills!) Immediately his boss offered him more money (a $4 raise!), and back payed him for the two weeks that had past. So, David was torn. On the one hand, he could work for a company that represented all that he believed in. For years, he's delivered junk food to senior centers and elementary schools, bags of MSG (and worse) to restaraunts, not to mention five years at Coca-Cola. He liked the idea of working for a company that is commited to providing healthy organic food. On the other hand, finally getting the pay he had been waiting for was hard to ignore.
So, he decided to stay. I felt some form of relief, because he was eligible for a vacation next year, the first payed one in two years, and better pay sounds really nice.
However, at the seeming last minute, the day before he would have started his job at United Natural Foods, he changed his mind, and called me at home to ask for the number off of the UNF business card.
He got ahold of Howard, the man who he had spoken with at the job fair. Howard said he could make no promises on pay, but he could guarantee that David would be happy with the family owned company. He guaranteed that the benefits would be great, and that he would have a far better chance of a better career. Howard had worked previously for USFoods (Sysco's competitor), and was miserable. The pay was the only thing that kept him there. He took a paycut to work at UNF and has never once regretted it.
Before I knew it (and, naturally, after I'd already called my mom about him staying at Sysco), he said he was going with UNF. He was starting tomorrow. That tomorrow was yesterday. Yesterday he came home inexplicably happy.
He'd made the right choice for himself. Turns out the company does a lot of things we believe in and want to support.
They have a strict organic standard. They use alternative fuels for their trucks. They use wind energy when they can. They have inexpensive health insurance that covers liscensed alternative health practitioners. They offer 401K, something we have not been able to have since Coca-Cola. They are growing like wildfire, and will continue to, as people learn more and more about health and nutrition. Best of all, (I think!) we will be able to buy health food at %15 off the base price that Whole Foods pays for their food.

Affording organic groceries that are healthier for us and the planet,
Being true to ourselves,
Having affordable insurance that covers alternative medicines,
Working with a company that has morals and isn't afraid to adhere to them.
All of these things are what David foresaw, and he went after it. I'm so proud!
Happy is the man that has made the right choice, regardless of what others say or offer.

"To thine own self be true!" ~Shakespeare's Hamlet
~Jenn