A judge on Monday held off ruling on whether Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. can modify parts of its collective-bargaining agreements (CBAs) with unions, something the grocer has indicated would be the first step toward a more drastic overhaul of the CBAs, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain met with lawyers for the company and the unions after hearing testimony yesterday, and he later said that they should negotiate more and come back to court on Wednesday with a compromise. A&P wants to change a provision in the contracts that allows senior employees in stores that are closing to take the jobs of lower-paid employees with less seniority at other locations. The other change would cut the amount of severance pay A&P has to immediately pay to employees being laid off.
