Union Expects Little Change in A&P/Pathmark Merger

WASHINGTON -- The United Food and Commercial Workers expects all current labor contracts will be honored in the event of a merger between A&P and Pathmark, Joseph Hansen, president of the UFCW here, said in a statement Wednesday. A&P on Tuesday said it was in talks to purchase rival Pathmark but that no deal had had been reached. The UFCW represents 54,000 A&P employees nationwide and nearly 29,000 Pathmark workers. New York-based UFCW Local 1500, which represents 7,000 Pathmark workers, will be “following the situation very closely,” Bruce W. Both, president, said in a statement. “The discussions between the two companies are in the early stages, requiring us for now to be in a ‘wait-and-see‘ mode,” Both said. “However, Local 1500 will respond accordingly as additional details emerge. The protection and preservation of our members‘ jobs is our No. 1 priority.”