March 28, 2005

Food and Commercial Workers Welcome Yucaipa

Washington DC—The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is extremely pleased by the announcement that Los Angeles based Yucaipa Companies will invest $150 million in Carteret, N.J., Pathmark Stores which has 142 stores in the New York and Philadelphia metro areas.

“This is great news for 30,000 Pathmark employees represented by the UFCW,” said UFCW International President Joe Hansen. “Yucaipa has a track record of operating successful industry-leading businesses that benefit employees, shareholders and communities. The UFCW members had positive working experiences with Yucaipa when the company ran supermarkets across the country, including Ralph’s, Food4Less, Fred Meyer, Smith Food and Drug, and Dominick’s. If you asked UFCW members, today, who worked in Yucaipa-operated stores, I’m confident they would say the company was very fair as well as a good place to work.”

Pathmark, once a growing, successful, and highly respected in the supermarket industry, experienced a harmful leveraged buyout in the 1980s. Since then, the company has been saddled with extensive debt, which resulted in burdens on UFCW members employed at Pathmark Stores and on communities where the stores operate.

“The agreement with Yucaipa will allow Pathmark to undergo capital structure improvements that will provide an enhanced shopping experience for the shoppers in the company’s market areas and a more secure future for UFCW members working in the stores,” said Hansen.  “Once the investment is complete, I’m sure our affected local unions will want to meet with Yucaipa officials to offer their thoughts, including those of UFCW members working in the stores, about remaking Pathmark Stores into a profitable and productive operator with a positive working environment.”

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