A&P Bankruptcy News: New APA's Signed by Wakefern & Morton Williams

Today two Asset Purchase Agreements (APA) were signed and presented to the bankruptcy court for approval. One of the APA's is for 12 A&P stores being purchased by Wakefern. Two of the twelve stores, Pathmark's 649 and 653, are represented by us, Local 1500.   As you may know, Wakefern is a Co-Op, and as of right now the specific owner who made the bids has not been publicly identified. Wakefern's bids have been designated as Stalking Horse, just like Acme's & Stop & Shop's bids. A stalking horse offer, agreement, or bid is an attempt by a debtor to test the market in advance of an auction. The intent is to maximize the value of its assets as part of (or before) a court auction in case of bankruptcy. Morton Williams has also signed an APA on three Food Emporium stores in New York City. As of 12:30 this afternoon, A&P notified the court of its intention to the extend the deadline for bids yet again. The new deadline is now Monday, Sept. 28th at 5pm.  A&P attorneys claim this is due to the continued influx of new bids and new bidders on the stores that will be in the auction.  Based on the court documents we believe that the qualifying bids on all stores will be made public by Monday at 5 PM. Today's meeting with Key Food was canceled due to a last minute scheduling conflict, once it is rescheduled we will let you know.  For all archived Pathmark updates, vist: www.ufcw1500.org/pathmarkupdates Last Update: 9/25: Update on A&P Auction, Key Food & Stop & Shop.

—IMPORTANT A&P BANKRUPTCY DATES — Friday, September 11th The Bankruptcy Court will hear UFCW's objections to A&P’s KERP (corporate bonus plan). Monday, September 28th (tentative) Bid Deadline: All qualifying bids on the stores are due into the Bankruptcy Court. The Bankruptcy Court will announce what Tier I stores have agreements to be sold and what stores will be sold at the auction on 10/1 & 10/2. Thursday, October 1st and/or Friday, October 2nd The auction for the remaining unsold and or closed stores will be held (depending on number of stores, dates could extend). Friday, October 2nd (tentative) 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. Friday, October 16th 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. A hearing will be held on A&P's filing of a 1113(c). Bid winners will be formally announced. —UPCOMING UNION EVENTS — Resource Fairs: You may have read that we will be hosting workshops and resource fairs for members displaced by the A&P bankruptcy in our September Newspaper.  Our first Member Resource Fair will be on October 7th at our Union Hall (425 Merrick Ave. Westbury, NY) from 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM (you may come and leave at anytime). If you're interested in attending please RSVP here.  There will be two other fairs in our area, one in Suffolk County on October 15th at IBEW Local 25 in Hauppauge, RSVP here. There will also be a Fair in New York City.  The New York City date is still tentative, once it is confirmed we will let you know. In the meantime you can visit www.ufcwmemberresources.com for more information.

Pathmark Bankruptcy Update: 9/25

On Monday our union along with Locals 338 and 342, continued meeting with Key Food regarding their acquisition of our Pathmark stores. All of our Local Unions are negotiating together as we did with Stop & Shop and Acme. Negotiations are progressing, and we will all meet again today (Friday 09/25). 

Bankruptcy Court Updates: On Monday Stop & Shop and Acme's purchases of A&P stores were approved by Bankruptcy Judge Drain.

Acme’s original 77 store bid has been reduced to 71. Stop & Shop has been out-bid for the A&P store in Mount Kisco reducing their count of stores to 24.  However, Stop & Shop still has the opportunity to bid higher during the auction.

The Auction: The remaining stores will be auctioned on Thurs. 10/1 and Fri. 10/2 (and if necessary Mon. 10/6 & Tues. 10/7).  We will have representatives at the auction on all dates and will keep you posted on any information that breaks during the auction.

We have been told that there are more than 120 bids submitted for stores in the auction, BUT we do not have any knowledge of how many stores were actually bid on OR who all the potential bidders are. We are still working with all of our Employers and trying to help them to purchase additional stores during the auction.

There will be no final 1113/1114 hearing until after the auction has been completed …. Currently it is scheduled for 10/7/16 (subject to change).

Store Transitions: The transition plans for the Pathmark stores purchased by Stop & Shop are starting to become clear.  The first three of our stores, Pathmark's 619, 626 & 661, will begin transitioning to Stop & Shop next week. 

Stop & Shop will start the application & interview process on Tuesday 09/29/15, and then follow with orientations for the membership in the days that follow.

Resource Fairs: You may have read that we will be hosting workshops and resource fairs for members displaced by the A&P bankruptcy in our September Newspaper.  Our first Member Resource Fair will be on October 7th at our Union Hall (425 Merrick Ave. Westbury, NY) from 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM (you may come and leave at anytime). If you're interested in attending please RSVP here. 

There will be two other fairs in our area, one in Suffolk County on October 15th at IBEW Local 25 in Hauppauge, RSVP here. There will also be a Fair in New York City.  The New York City date is still tentative, once it is confirmed we will let you know. In the meantime you can visit www.ufcwmemberresources.com for more information.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any questions, concerns or issues.

Thanks again,

Bruce W. Both

President

UFCW Local 1500

For all archived Pathmark updates, vist: www.ufcw1500.org/pathmarkupdates

—IMPORTANT A&P BANKRUPTCY DATES —

Friday, September 11th The Bankruptcy Court will hear UFCW's objections to A&P’s KERP (corporate bonus plan).

Monday, September 21st (tentative) Bid Deadline: All qualifying bids on the stores are due into the Bankruptcy Court. The Bankruptcy Court will announce what Tier I stores have agreements to be sold and what stores will be sold at the auction on 10/1 & 10/2.

Thursday, October 1st and/or Friday, October 2nd The auction for the remaining unsold and or closed stores will be held (depending on number of stores, dates could extend).

Friday, October 2nd (tentative) 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.

Friday, October 16th 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. A hearing will be held on A&P's filing of a 1113(c). Bid winners 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 Bankruptcy Update: Key Food, Stop & Shop Negotiations & New Bid Date

This week our union along with Locals 338 and 342, continued to meet with Stop & Shop and Key Food regarding their acquisition of our Pathmark stores. 

Yesterday we met with Key Food late into the night and made significant progress. Negotiations will resume with Key Food on Monday.  

We met with Stop & Shop all day Wednesday and again today. After a very long negotiating session, we've come to a tentative agreement with Ahold (Stop & Shop) on the 12 Pathmark stores they will be acquiring. The tentative agreement preserves the jobs, benefits, rates of pay and entitlements of all Pathmark members in the 12 stores. 

Bankruptcy Court Procedures Update: We are aware how stressful and anxious the situation is for our Pathmark members working at a store that is currently unsold. Late last night we were notified that the bidding deadline has again been moved.

Our professionals and attorneys have advised us that new bidders are coming to the table with new offers every single day.  The final bids on A&P stores are now due in the court Monday, Sept 21st by 5 PM.  The bids will not be public and we will not officially know who is bidding on what store until the auction process is completed.

Our Union Team is diligently working to save jobs.  We will continue to meet with all companies and will not stop fighting to save the benefits, entitlements and jobs of all men and women working for A&P have earned and families depend on.

Today's A&P Bankruptcy Update

Today the bankruptcy judge heard our objections to A&P's KERP (corporate bonus plan). A&P had filed to hand out over $5 million in bonuses to corporate employees. In leiu of the objections, A&P presented a proposal for $3.9m in bonuses. The judge would not approve the $3.9m, unless they included the additional $1.1 million to the UFCW members' severance packages. Read the article here: http://www.northjersey.com/news/judge-will-not-ok-retention-plan-unless-a-p-increases-severance-payments-1.1408287.

Additionally upcoming procedure dates have also been modified:

New dates:

Bid deadline – 9/17/15
Auction – 10/1 and 10/2
Sale Hearing – 10/16/15
1113(c) Hearing – 10/16/15

We've updated the chart below to reflect the new dates, please keep them for your records.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any questions, concerns or issues.


Thanks again,

Bruce W. Both
President
UFCW Local 1500

—IMPORTANT A&P BANKRUPTCY DATES —


Friday, September 11th
The Bankruptcy Court will hear UFCW's objections to A&P’s KERP (corporate bonus plan).

Thursday, September 17th
Bid Deadline: All qualifying bids on the stores are due into the Bankruptcy Court.

Monday, September 21st (tentative)
The Bankruptcy Court will announce what Tier I stores have agreements to be sold and what stores will be sold at the auction on 10/1 & 10/2.

Thursday, October 1st and/or Friday, October 2nd
The auction for the remaining unsold and or closed stores will be held (depending on number of stores, dates could extend).

Friday, October 2nd (tentative)
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.

Friday, October 16th
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.

A hearing will be held on A&P's filing of a 1113(c).

Bid winners will be formally announced.

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