Penn Traffic union files objection to Price Chopper's bid for P&C stores

The union representing Penn Traffic employees dislikes Price Chopper's acquisition offer for 22 P&C supermarkets, including four St. Lawrence County locations, because the Albany-based grocery store chain does not have unionized workers.

Attorneys for United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1 filed the objection Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Wilmington, Del. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Friday.

Price Chopper's bid of $54 million for 22 P&C stores includes locations in Massena, Potsdam, Canton, Gouverneur, West Carthage and Pulaski. The deal is subject to bankruptcy court approval. Penn Traffic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in mid-November.

The bid offers "no assurance that Price Chopper will continue to employ a single of Penn Traffic's employees," according to court documents.

Price Chopper, which operates stores in Ogdensburg, Watertown and Malone, does not have unionized workers. If a nonunionized company purchases Penn Traffic, it would be required to recognize a store's bargaining unit if it rehires more than 50 percent of a store's former employees.

Buffalo-based Tops Markets reportedly will join the contest to acquire Penn Traffic's 79 stores, with a bid of more than $90 million. If Tops is successful, a union work force likely would remain in the stores. Tops workers are represented by UFCW Local 1, the same union that represents more than 4,500 Penn Traffic workers.