A&P Bankruptcy Procedure Dates

Keeping you up to date on all A&P news, we have created a chart below of upcoming scheduled bankruptcy court procedures for your records. 

—IMPORTANT A&P BANKRUPTCY DATES —

Friday, September 11th 

• All qualifying bids on the stores are due into the Bankruptcy Court.The Bankruptcy Court will hear UFCW's objections to A&P’s KERP (corporate bonus plan).

 Monday, September 21st 

• The Bankruptcy Court will announce what Tier I stores have agreements to be sold and what stores will be sold at the auction on September 24rd or 25th.
  

Wednesday, September 24rd and/or Thursday, September 25th 

• The auction for the remaining unsold stores will be held. All qualifying bids on the stores are due into the Bankruptcy Court. The Bankruptcy Court will hear UFCW's objections to A&P’s KERP (corporate bonus plan). 

Friday, October 2nd 

• Bidders can file objections to the sale of stores in the Bankruptcy Court. The UFCW can also file objections to bids made on the stores. 

Wednesday, October 7th 

• A hearing will be held regarding the objections to the sales filed to the Bankruptcy Court. At this stage, the UFCW will have a voice during the auction process to make recommendations on bidders. For instance, if two companies place a comparable bid on the same store and one is a union employer, while the other is non-union, the unionized store would have an advantage and they should likely win the bid. Thursday, October 15th The winning bids of the stores will be formally announced. 

Recent A&P posts:

UFCW Local 1500 files official objections to A&P's KERP plan (corporate bonus plan)

Bankruptcy Ruling on Severance & Bumping

A&P/Pathmark's Bogus Proposals Are Simply Insulting

For years, you, your co-workers, and your families have personally and financially sacrificed to invest in A&P’s success.

You made these sacrifices for the sake of your families, their co-workers, and the communities you so deeply care about. In light of all that you have done, we know how angry you are about what the company has done. It is an outrageous failure. 

You did everything right, and it’s because of their repeated mismanagement and strategic mistakes that A&P is where it is.

Now, we want you to know, in the interests of selling more stores, A&P is asking for even more sacrifices from you and every co-worker.

Enough is enough!

Among the bogus proposals they have made:

• Preventing any new buyers from recognizing our union contracts
• Displacing workers with seniority
• Trying to limit our right to strike
• Turning their backs on our agreed contracts and threatening us in their new proposals
• Letting non-union workers come into our stores and do our jobs
• Demanding we go quietly while they threaten our jobs and contracts
• Manipulating and interrupting how we get our severance pay
• Taking away our vacation and entitlement pay
• Declaring that we can either roll over and comply with these bogus terms, or we can go to court

Our message to the company is this…

We will not sacrifice more to pay-off a select group of executives and corporate investors. Period.
As we have told the company, our members and their families have already sacrificed.

The truth is what will make your store a financial success are not more sacrifices by you or A&P’s hard-working men and women – you have already done that. What will make them a success is new and responsible management.

If A&P, its executive team, or its investors want to play the blame game, they should all look in the mirror. 

We will fight as hard as we can to protect what you have earned and deserve, and will do everything in our power to make A&P honor their responsibilities to every members and their families.

Our Union is prepared to answer any of your questions and will continue to keep you informed through our Shop Stewards, visits by our Union Delegates, our website, social networks or your phone calls.  Above all, keep the faith and remember we’re fighting every second to protect your future, your jobs and our union.

Thank you and in Solidarity,


Bruce W. Both
President
UFCW Local 1500

Bankruptcy Judge Approves A&P's Chapter 11 Exit Plan

From Supermarket News: http://supermarketnews.com/latest-news/court-approves-ap-plan

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The U.S. Bankruptcy Court here has approved A&P's Chapter 11 exit plan, and the company could emerge from bankruptcy as soon as this week, reports said Monday.

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The company filed Chapter 11 in December 2010 and has since shuttered dozens of stores.
As previously reported, the reorganization plan includes $490 million in debt and equity financing from Yucaipa Cos., the Ron Burkle-led investment group that has a long history of investments in food retailing. A&P also renegotiated its labor contracts late last year to reduce its costs and to prepare to emerge from bankruptcy. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert D. Drain was quoted in a Dow Jones report on Monday saying that the contract cuts were “very painful” to the unions.

According to the Dow Jones and other reports, a $40 million fund to pay unsecured creditors will not be part of the reorganization plan, but those creditors could be repaid if the company is acquired within five years for a large enough sum.

A spokesowman for A&P confirmed that the court had approved its reorganization plan and that it was "taking the necessary steps to emerge from Chapter 11 as soon as possible."
A&P had an estimated $6.7 billion in sales for the fiscal year that ended Feb. 25, operating 336 stores under the A&P, Pathmark, Food Emporium, Waldbaum's Food Basics, Super Fresh and Best Cellars banners.

Monday Lunch Time One Liners:

After A&P's weak 2Q, they're seeking a new loan. [Supermarket News]

WSJ reported on Friday that the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.  expects to wrap up a complex new loan in "weeks, not months," buying time for the struggling grocer to implement its turnaround plan of cutting costs, selling assets and lowering prices.

Crain's covers the new Stop & Shop supermarket which opens, Friday in Queens.  The store is one of the latest examples of a commercial project benefiting from federal tax-exempt funding.
The $23 million, 55,000-square-foot supermarket on the Rockaway Peninsula received $5.5 million in tax-exempt Recovery Zone bonds made available through the Obama administration's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Great job by using Federal Funding to create good UNION jobs!

Plans for a new Riverhead Wal-Mart are moving ahead.

Must Read: Sunday Time Magazine: Walmart & Shoppers- Will Win This War

The Huffington Post looks at Walmart's big promise of "Local Food"

Walmart, back in the news again over accusations of exploitation of immigrant workers.

Last weekend it was Whole Foods' food storage problems, this weekend, the gourmet grocer Agata and Valentina decided to join the fun by storing some fish on the 1st Avenue.   Check out the photos at the Gothamist.