MONTVALE, N.J. -- United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 175 in Toronto said last week it has voted to launch a strike Aug. 4 at 87 A&P-owned stores in Ontario unless new contract terms can be negotiated.
od Basics stores throughout Ontario.
A&P here is also in negotiations with UFCW Local 1996 in the Atlanta area for contracts that expired May 4 covering approximately 1,000 employees. However, officials of the local could not be reached for comment, and A&P executives declined comment on the situations in Georgia and Ontario.
A union spokesman in Toronto said A&P is seeking to freeze wages, establish a two-tier wage scale and eliminate a clause that says it cannot close or convert stores that would reduce its total outlets to less than 60.
What the union wants, the spokesman said, is wage increases and no concessions. "When we negotiated the prior contract, we felt A&P was experiencing monetary difficulties, so we acted responsibly and let them get their financial house in order. Now that it appears A&P has turned the corner, we think it's time for the workers to share in that."
Any strike action Aug. 4 would exclude the five Food Basics, the union spokesman told SN, because the first meeting with management of those stores was not scheduled until yesterday, and no strike actions can be taken until a report to the Ministry of Labour here makes a strike action legal, which would come after the Aug. 4 deadline.
