UFCW Grocery Store Workers’ Strong Opposition to Proposed Kroger-Albertsons Merger Resonates on Courthouse Steps Ahead of FTC Hearing
PORTLAND, OR (August 26, 2024) – The Stop the Merger Coalition, led by UFCW Locals 7, 324, 400, 770, 1564 and 3000, today held a press conference immediately prior to the much-anticipated Federal Court hearings of the Federal Trade Commission’s challenge to block the proposed mega-merger of Kroger and Albertsons. Workers and leaders from California, Washington and Colorado, representing over 100,000 union grocery store members, reiterated their opposition to the anti-competitive, anti-worker and anti-community scheme.
“We’re fighting back because we know that the proposed mega-merger between Kroger and Albertsons would likely lead to job losses, store closures, pharmacy and food deserts, and higher prices, which would harm working families in both rural and urban communities across the country,” said Kim Cordova, UFCW International Vice President and President of Local 7, representing workers in Colorado and Wyoming. “Kroger and Albertsons claim the merger is necessary to compete with Walmart and Amazon, but their true goal is to consolidate power and increase profits at the expense of workers and customers.”
Jessica Crowley, a UFCW Local 770 member and staff pharmacist at an Albertsons-owned Pavilions Pharmacy in Los Angeles, California, said, “Competition is essential for maintaining medication access, especially during drug shortages. Let’s be clear: this mega-merger will negatively impact retail workers, smaller suppliers, independent chains, and communities already facing challenges with food and medication access.”
Carol McMillian, a Kroger-owned King Soopers Bakery Manager from Local 7 said, “Growing up, we always thought of working at a grocery store as a secure, good-paying job that could support a family like mine. I spent 11 years working my way up to become a Safeway Bakery Manager, but after the Albertsons Safeway merger in 2015, I felt like my job was at stake and left to work at King Soopers instead to protect myself as a single mom. But here we are again – facing yet another merger creating uncertainty about our jobs and our livelihoods.”
Kyong Barry, who works at an Albertsons’ Safeway store outside Seattle and has served on her union’s contract negotiations team many times added, “I am proud that our local unions have stood up and raised our concerns about this proposed merger from the very beginning. Our ability as unionized workers to negotiate a better contract is at stake with this merger. It must be stopped.”
The Federal Trade Commission’s case challenging the merger, joined by the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming, began today in federal court in Portland, Oregon, and is expected to last at least two weeks. A second case by the Washington State Attorney General is scheduled to be heard starting on September 16, and a third case brought by the Attorney General of Colorado is scheduled to be heard starting on September 30.
The Stop the Merger Coalition recently launched a customer petition ahead of the hearings, which in just a short time has already collected thousands of signatures of concerned customers telling Kroger and Albertsons to stop the merger that threatens our communities with store closures, food and pharmacy deserts, thousands of laid-off unionized grocery store workers, and higher prices. Recent media reports have indicated that Kroger and Albertsons have already spent over $864,000,000 on the merger process.
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About Stop the Merger: UFCW locals 7, 324, 400, 770, 1564 and 3000 lead the Stop the Merger Coalition, including over 100 national, state, and local organizations representing diverse interests who share a common goal: to stop the proposed Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger because of its negative impact on our nation’s communities.
