A&P asks bankruptcy court to set aside union provisions
A&P has asked a bankruptcy court judge to set aside two key union provisions — bumping rights and full severance pay — after reaching a negotiation impasse with labor groups, officials said in court documents filed late Tuesday.
The supermarket wants to completely eliminate bumping rights, saying the administrative burden and costs associated with allowing workers to do that are too high and undesirable to would-be buyers of its stores. Bumping rights allow employees who work the longest for the company — and at a store slated to close — to take the job of a less senior worker at a supermarket that will continue to operate.
The other sticking point is the amount of severance pay A&P will pay and when. The supermarket has proposed paying employees who will lose their jobs as part of the bankruptcy 25 percent of the severance they are entitled to on a "timely basis" with a maximum cap of $10 million for all workers. The rest of the severance would be paid later, depending on how much remains after the stores have been sold and what other A&P creditors are due, as part of settling the bankruptcy case.
Besides these two sticking points, both parties appear to have reached an agreement on most of their other issues. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/2015/08/12/aandp-bankruptcy-union-contracts/31522937/
