General manager Kari Bradley announced in an email to employees and members of Hunger Mountain Co-op that he will step down from his role on Sept. 1 following accusations that co-op management mishandled sexual misconduct complaints.
“While I sincerely believe I made responsible decisions with regard to the sexual harassment matter based on the information available, I recognize that my presence will be divisive and distracting for our co-op at a time when we need unity,” Bradley said in the email.
On July 20, Reis Winkeljohn, 27, of Montpelier, pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual exploitation and attempted luring of a child, sending indecent material and disturbing the peace by phone. Police allege Winkeljohn sent lewd photos to an underage girl while overseeing her training at the co-op.
In court documents, police also alleged that Winkeljohn’s behavior was a “pattern” and that six other complaints were made to Hunger Mountain human resources, all of which were dismissed by management. Winkeljohn is no longer an employee of the co-op, a spokesperson said in a statement last week.
The charges against Winkeljohn and revelations of previous complaints have ignited a backlash among the co-op’s member-owners.
Marni Leikin, a Montpelier resident and co-op member, started a petition to gather 150 member signatures, as required by co-op bylaws, to call for a special meeting to discuss the situation. Leikin said in an interview held prior to Bradley’s announcement on Thursday that she hoped the meeting would include a motion for the removal of Bradley and other senior-level managers at the store.
As of mid-afternoon on Thursday, Leikin’s petition had 204 signatures. Following the news of Bradley’s departure Thursday afternoon, she said in a follow up email that the petition would proceed.
Leikin said she has been a longtime shopper and member but has never been active in co-op governance. Leikin said she went to the co-op on July 31 to shop and decided to stop at the customer service counter to ask for a manager to speak to about the Winkeljohn situation. Leikin said Bradley spoke to her and was dismissive of the situation and reportedly blamed the employee union. He told her a statement would be released the following day.
The statement, written by Eva Schectman, the president of the co-op’s governing council, acknowledged “alleged criminal behavior” by a former employee but did not provide any details, citing legal concerns.
“We acknowledge that these events have shaken many in our community, they are unacceptable, and we deeply regret that this has transpired,” Schectman wrote.
She defended management’s handling of the complaints.
“The Co-op’s leadership team investigated complaints related to the former employee and took appropriate action according to Co-op policies, given what we knew and learned at that time,” she wrote. “Regardless, we acknowledge the harm that was caused and we are committed to making sure it never happens again.”
Schectman also wrote that the council would review the store’s harassment policy.
Shopper says her concerns were dismissed
Winkeljohn is not the only Hunger Mountain Co-op employee whose alleged behavior has led to complaints about sexual harassment or misconduct.
In late December 2022, a woman was checking out in the co-op when a cashier approached her and handed her a folded up piece of paper, the woman told VTDigger this week.
She did not look at the paper until she was in her car. It was a cut-out page from Seven Days’ “i Spy” section, which publishes anonymous love notes between strangers. One note had been circled with the name and phone number of the employee. The woman recognized herself as being the subject of the i-Spy from a previous transaction at a cash register in the co-op.
The woman is a survivor of sexual assault, she told VTDigger, and requested anonymity to discuss the situation. She said she was working with an advocate at Mosaic, a sexual violence prevention and social services agency in central Vermont, at the time of the interaction.
At the urging of her advocate, the woman contacted co-op management in January, according to emails which she shared with VTDigger. She received a response from human resources director Jay Wisner, who initially tried to set up a meeting between management, the woman and the employee named in the complaint. After a back-and-forth, Wisner said the employee union pushed back against the idea of the employee taking part in the meeting. A meeting never took place, the woman said.
Wisner responded by email to the woman that the employee’s conduct “was contrary to the Co-op’s expectations for customer service.” Wisner later wrote that the employee’s proposition “with an implied sexual element appeared to have had a severe impact, even though it was intended to build on previous friendly casual interactions.”
The employee was offered a chance to apologize and declined, Wisner wrote. But because it was an “isolated incident” and because the “contact was an indirect proposition rather than an overt action, I find there is insufficient cause to take disciplinary action at this time,” Wisner wrote.
The woman, who lives in Barre, has not been back to the co-op since, she said, and even has anxiety about being in Montpelier. She expressed disappointment in the store’s response.
“The fact that they couldn’t even facilitate a conversation for an apology and just, like, ‘Hey, this person is not going to talk to you when you go in the co-op,’ that kind of thing, was just really disappointing,” she said.
Wisner, reached by phone on Thursday, declined to comment, citing a “confidential personnel matter.” Messages left for Bradley were not returned by Thursday afternoon.
