MEDIATOR TO ENTER TALKS BETWEEN A&P AND UNION

MARK TOSH

TORONTO -- The Ontario minister of labor has appointed a special mediator to step into the stalled negotiations between A&P and the United Food and Commercial Workers union here.

About 6,500 employees have been striking 63 of A&P's Miracle Food Mart and Ultra Food Mart stores since Nov. 18. Under Canadian law, the strike forced A&P to close the stores during the strike, which is entering its 13th week.

Jim Hobbs, a UFCW spokesman, said last week negotiations have been at a standstill. The special mediator, Victor Pathe, is a former deputy minister of labor and well respected in Ontario, Hobbs said.

Pathe was called out of retirement to mediate the talks, Hobbs said.

"We're hopeful he'll get this thing back on the rails," Hobbs said. Negotiating should resume as soon as the mediator "gets himself up to speed on what has been happening," he said.

Within the past month, A&P's full-time workers voted to accept a new contract offer by a 53% majority.

At the same time, however, part-time staff rejected A&P's offer by about a 58% majority, Hobbs said. A subsequent revised offer to the part-time employees was then "soundly rejected" by a 65% majority, Hobbs said.

The union's policy is that if one group of workers turns down an offer, it is deemed to be turned down by all. "We will be negotiating for everyone at this point," he said.

A&P officials said the chain had met with the mediator as an initial step toward resuming negotiations.