Acme, union will talk through the weekend

Acme Markets and its unionized workers in Southeastern Pennsylvania said yesterday that they would continue negotiating through at least Monday, temporarily averting a work stoppage at 41 stores staffed by 4,500 employees.

The two sides broke at 7 a.m. yesterday from all-night negotiations, with Acme saying it would hold off on imposing its new contract for the time being, officials said.

Acme said it would continue to honor the contract that expired yesterday, at least until Monday, as management and the union try to reach a settlement.

"The parties will reconvene on Monday, and the company has agreed not to implement any portion of our last, best, and final offer through Monday, July 13," Malvern-based Acme said in a statement yesterday morning.

"All Acme stores remain open for business and our associates are ready to serve customers throughout the Greater Philadelphia area," said the company, which is owned by Minnesota-based supermarket behemoth Supervalu Inc.

At the urging of Wendell Young IV, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, employees reported to work yesterday, despite earlier threats to stay home.

Young said that if no settlement were reached at a membership meeting Wednesday, and if Acme implemented the contract that UFCW members rejected in June, a work stoppage would again be put before members.

He said that there would be no strike vote but that workers could still walk off the job, contending that they were being locked out by company's take-it-or-leave-it stance. The legal distinction would likely be debated before federal labor authorities if Acme were to object.

Young said yesterday that he hoped to settle the matter at the bargaining table.

Acme says its contract, which seeks to alter work rules and employee benefits, is critical to ensuring its survival while preserving generous compensation.

UFCW has called Acme's offer "devastating," saying it would leave 2,000 workers without health insurance over the four-year contract.