Stop the Merger Coalition of UFCW Locals Held Press Conference Following Kroger and Albertsons’ Announcement of Proposed Divested Stores

UFCW 3000 of WA & ID
UFCW 400 of MD, DC, VA, WV, KY, OH, & TN
UFCW 7 of CO & WY
UFCW 770 of Southern CA
UFCW 324 of Orange County, CA and Southern Los Angeles County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 11, 2024

Contact: Tom Geiger, UFCW 3000, 206-604-3421, tgeiger@ufcw3000.org

UFCW Local Unions (7, 324, 400, 770 and 3000) Provide Updates On Their Opposition to Proposed Mega-Merger Ahead of a Series of Court Cases to Begin in July

Today, UFCW unions (Locals 7, 324, 400, 770 and 3000), who have helped lead the anti-merger efforts against the Kroger and Albertsons proposed mega-merger, held a press conference to provide updates on their efforts to block the merger from going forward, after the companies’ disclosed their list of proposed divested stores, should the merger be approved.

The press conference was held just a few weeks before a series of court cases to block the proposed Kroger and Albertsons mega-merger brought by the Attorney General of Washington, the Attorney General of Colorado, and the Federal Trade Commission begin.

"This proposed merger was a bad idea from the get-go and I'm glad our Washington State Attorney General is one of many going to court to stop it,” said Brendan Gallagher a meat wrapper at a Kroger-owned QFC in Seattle and member of UFCW 3000. “It's bad for our customers and bad for us as grocery store workers because it would raise prices, close stores, and lay off workers. These companies should do just the opposite: stop the merger, lower prices, hire more staff and open more stores."

“History shows we can't take merger promises at face value,” said Jessica Crowley, UFCW Local 770 member and pharmacist at Albertsons-owned Pavilions in Los Angeles, California. “When Albertsons acquired Safeway in 2015 and divested about 150 stores to Haggen, many grocery stores shut down, leaving thousands jobless for months. 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. C&S Wholesale Grocers’ limited experience in retail pharmacy makes the divestiture plan highly unlikely to succeed.”

“As a member of our last collective bargaining team, I’m worried about how the proposed merger would impact our ability to advocate for better wages, good health benefits, and a strong pension,” said Bill Valdez, UFCW Local 7 member and 50-year career meat cutter from Colorado Springs, Colorado. “If these corporations merge, it would seriously impact our union’s power in bargaining. The companies won’t need to be competitive about pricing and they won’t need to be competitive about bargaining.”

“Since the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons was announced nearly two years ago, my co-workers and I have been on edge,” said Jane St. Louis, UFCW Local 400 member at Safeway in Maryland. “We knew the merger would result in stores being sold, and until this week, we had no idea which stores might be on the chopping block. You can't imagine the anxiety we feel every day we come to work. We wonder: What will happen to our store? What will happen to our jobs? What about our pensions? Will I be able to retire after all these years? You worry - you worry about your co-workers, your family, and your customers. The uncertainty is causing a lot of anxiety.”

“Earlier this week, Kroger and Albertsons released a list of 579 stores across the nation that they are proposing to divest to C&S Wholesale Grocers if the merger is allowed to proceed,” said Kathy Finn, UFCW Local 770 president. “Kroger and Albertsons have known which stores they plan to divest for months, and the last-ditch release of the list was an underhanded attempt to influence the courts and create the perception that the mega-merger is close to final, creating more uncertainty for our members. The merger is not a done deal ¬– far from it.”

“These two companies are doing very well as standalone companies, they do not need to merge to be successful,” said John Marshall, financial analyst with UFCW Local 3000 and UFCW Local 324. “They are growing sales, making money, and posting profits. What they should be doing is investing their profits in more staffing, higher wages, lower prices, and opening more stores to increase their market share. This merger proposal would do the opposite: it would take billions of dollars out of the grocery business and hand it over to Wall Street investors.”

About Stop the Merger:
The Stop the Merger campaign includes 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.