Elected Leaders Stand with Grocery Workers! Open letter to Ron Sargent, Kroger Interim Chief Executive Officer

September 1, 2025 
Ron Sargent 
Interim Chief Executive Officer 
Chairman of the Board 
The Kroger Company 
1014 Vine Street 
Cincinnati, OH 45202-1100  

Dear Mr. Sargent, 

On Labor Day, a day set aside to honor the contributions of working people, we are writing to express our deep concern and opposition to your company’s announced closure of four Fred Meyer stores in the Puget Sound region — in Lake City (Seattle), Everett, Kent, and Redmond. These closures will result in the loss of nearly 700 union jobs and will leave working-class communities with fewer options for affordable groceries, worsening food insecurity. 

You have attempted to justify these closures by pointing to retail theft. The facts tell a different story. Retail theft has actually declined at the impacted stores.  

The real reasons for these closures derive from your corporate choices: years of underinvestment in stores, chronic understaffing, and funneling billions of dollars to Wall Street instead of reinvesting in workers and communities.  

Between 2018 and 2022 alone, you spent $9.2 billion on stock buybacks and dividends, and just last year you announced another $7.5 billion buyback. At the same time, you cut labor hours by more than 14% per store since 2019, creating a 21% staffing shortfall across your operations. 

We cannot accept the narrative that these closures are inevitable. They are the result of your deliberate corporate strategy that puts short-term payouts to investors over the long-term stability of workers, shoppers, and our neighborhoods. Abandoning working-class communities in this way is unacceptable. 

We stand with the nearly 700 workers whose jobs are on the line and the thousands of families who will lose access to essential groceries. As elected leaders, we will not sit idly by while you make decisions that destabilize our communities. 

We call on you to: 

• Halt the announced store closures and immediately engage with workers, community leaders, and local governments about alternatives. 

• Reinvest in staffing, safety, and store upkeep instead of funneling billions into Wall Street. 

• Release store-level data so the public can understand the true drivers behind these decisions. 

Our communities deserve better than to be abandoned by one of the nation’s largest and most profitable grocery corporations. On this Labor Day, we urge you to reverse course and put people before profits. 

Sincerely, 

King County Council 

Council President Girmay Zahilay  
Councilmember Claudia Balducci  
Councilmember Rod Dembowski 
Councilmember Jorge Barón  
Councilmember Sarah Perry 
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda  

Snohomish County Council  

Councilmember Megan Dunn  
Councilmember Sam Low 

Lake City  

State Senator Javier Valdez (LD 46)
Rep. Gerry Pollett (LD 46) 
Rep. Darya Farivar (LD 46)  
Seattle City Councilmember Debora Juarez 
Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck
Seattle School Board Member Joe Mizrahi 

Kent 

Kent Councilmember Satwinder Kaur 
Rep. Chris Stearns (LD 47) 
Rep. Debra Entenman (LD 47) 
Public Hospital District #1 Commissioner Dustin Lambro 

Redmond  

Redmond City Council President Vanessa Kritzker 
Redmond City Council VP Jessica Forsythe 
Redmond City Councilmember & State Rep. Osman Salahuddin (LD 48) 

Everett 

Everett Councilmember Paula Rhyne   
Everett Councilmember Don Schwab
Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin 
Everett Councilmember & State Rep. Mary Fosse (LD 38)  
Sen. June Robinson (LD 38) 
Rep. Julio Cortes (LD 48) 

PRESS RELEASE: Kroger to Close Two Additional Fred Meyer Stores in Puget Sound Region

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***

August 19, 2025
Kroger to Close Two Additional Fred Meyer Stores in Puget Sound Region
Contact: Rich Smith, UFCW 3000 Communications Director
rsmith@ufcw3000.org / 816-289-4520

No, this is not the same press release our union issued yesterday.

Kroger, the Ohio-based corporation that owns QFC and Fred Meyer, plans permanently to close two additional Fred Meyer stores in the Puget Sound region on October 17 and 18, affecting 343 workers.

The stores currently serve Lake City (13000 Lake City Way NE; 175 workers affected) and Redmond (17667 NE 76th St; 168 workers affected).

The company claims that those facilities represent some of the region’s lowest performers in terms of sales.

Today's announcement comes one day after the corporation announced plans to close Fred Meyer locations in Kent and Everett. All told, the closure of these four stores affects 703 workers.

In July, the company also announced plans to close a Tacoma Fred Meyer and the Mill Creek QFC. The announcement today raises the number of Kroger-store closures in our region to six.

We will sit down with the company to bargain over these changes in the coming days.

Our union contracts stipulate that Kroger must offer workers placement in equivalent positions at nearby stores, in accordance with their union seniority.

These closures apparently align with Kroger’s plan to shutter stores in low-sales areas and open stores in potentially high-sales areas, with new Kroger stores scheduled to open in 2026.

This strategy raises serious concerns about food access for working class communities. Three out of the four stores Kroger plans to close are located in zip codes with incomes that rank below their respective county’s household median income.

“In this era of mass consolidation, many of the workers we represent have come to expect this kind of callous, out-of-touch corporate management style from Kroger, but staggering store closure announcements that impact hundreds of workers and thousands of our neighbors over the course of two days is really something else,” said Faye Guenther, UFCW 3000 President.

She added: “Kroger’s closures put profit over people, plain and simple. This corporate strategy might please Wall Street investors, but we know it’ll create food deserts in our neighborhoods and disrupt the lives of hundreds of workers already displaced by a housing affordability crisis now ten years in the making. Without a doubt, these issues will lead our agenda when we return to the table with Kroger and Albertsons in 2027. In the meantime, our union strongly encourages elected leaders to prioritize policies that increase access to fresh, affordable food for all.”

In response to statements from Kroger attributing closures to crime, Bryan Gilderoy, a produce clerk who has worked at the Fred Meyer in Kent for 15 years, said: “From what I can tell in the store, crime has calmed down since COVID. Kroger added security after we demanded it, and things have gotten way better. As a matter of fact, a regular customer came in just yesterday and told me she comes to this store because she feels safest here.”

Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson said, “My office is watching this closely. The closure of six grocery stores in the Puget Sound region creates a lot of uncertainty for the workers and communities who depend on these stores to feed their families. In the coming months, we will be talking to workers and communities about their needs and build on the work we've been doing to make housing and food more affordable in Washington.”

Seattle Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said, “Food deserts aren’t a natural phenomenon—giant grocery store corporations create them when they put their bottom lines over the health and well-being of our communities and workers. Closing stores will put people out of work and make it harder for families to put food on the table – all for the benefit of corporate shareholders and even as CEOs take home millions in pay every single year. I founded the Monopoly Buster’s Caucus in Congress to fight back against this exact kind of treatment of working-class people – consumers and workers – and we’ll be fighting to ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable food.”

Background

On a June 20, 2025 earnings call, Kroger Interim CEO Ronald Sargent explained the context of the closures this way: “Unfortunately, today, not all of our stores are delivering the sustainable results we need. It's also important to note we paused our annual store review during the merger process ... We usually evaluate individual store performance on an annual basis, and we continue to do that, but we deferred closing any stores due to the merger process.”

Between 2022 and 2024, Kroger spent more than $1 billion in an attempt to merge with Albertsons, which owns Safeway and Haggen, among other banners.

After UFCW 3000 grocery store workers launched a campaign to stop that merger, judges blocked the $25 billion deal in December of 2024. That same month, Kroger announced $7.5 billion in stock buybacks.

Following the failed merger, C&S Wholesalers sued Kroger, claiming Kroger owed the company $125 million. Kroger settled that suit last week on August 11, 2025.

In 2024, Kroger saw a 77% higher net income and 63% higher operating income than they did in 2019, according to company filings (London Stock Exchange Group).

After authorizing a strike in June of 2025, this July grocery store workers in the Puget Sound region ratified a new contract that won first-in-the-nation language to address staffing issues, secured our union healthcare and pensions, and gained some of the largest average annual wage increases we have seen.

UFCW 3000 is the largest private-sector union in Washington State, representing more than 55,000 workers in grocery, healthcare, cannabis, retail, food packing and processing, and textiles and laundry, among other industries. We represent nearly 30,000 grocery workers in Washington, eastern Oregon, and north Idaho.

Ellensburg Fred Meyer Bargaining Update

On a nice sunny day in Ellensburg our Union Bargaining Team met with representatives from Kroger and put forth our initial proposals. The proposals we delivered are building on the strength of our union, from Spokane to Seattle. With the power of us workers inside the store, and our collective power as a union that helped us reach 39 TA’s (Tentative Agreements) with the employer! Although we are working through non-economic proposals at the moment, to achieve that many TA’s in a first contract is a great foundation for a strong contract.

Some of the TA’s include: Discipline language that prevents you from being disciplined without just cause. An article that protects workers from discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and more. Also we won great leave of absence language with protections on approved leave for up to 9 months. There are many more TA’s we achieved and are ready to continue bargaining to ensure we get a contract we can be proud of.

We have our next bargaining date set for July 22 and we are hoping to continue grabbing wins as we progress through the process. Please reach out to your union rep Tammerly Evans at 360-409-0586 or talk to a bargaining team member to get more information.

Grocery Eastern Oregon Contract Votes Set!

This Tentative Agreement is fully recommended by the Grocery Store Bargaining team!

After nearly six months of bargaining with Albertson/Safeway and Kroger for a new contract that respects our work, increases our wages, and improves our retirement and healthcare, we are holding a contract vote! This notice serves to inform all members that a critical membership meeting will be held on May 20 and 21, 2024. 

The bargaining committee will present the tentative agreement received from the Employer. Members will have the opportunity to discuss the terms and implications of the offer before voting on the fully recommended settlement.

Any member covered under the Baker City, La Grande and Enterprise Grocery contract and the Pendleton Hermiston Grocery contract who are in good standing will be able to vote at these locations:

Monday, May 20, 2024: Hermiston from 10:00am—2:00pm at Holiday Inn Express, 245 N 1st St, Hermiston, OR 97838

Monday, May 20, 2024: Pendleton from 4:00pm—8:00pm at Pendleton Convention Center - Room 7, 1601 Westgate, Pendleton, OR 97801

Tuesday May 21, 2024: LaGrande from 9:00am—1:00pm at Island City Hall – Community Room, 10605 Island Ave, Island City, OR 97850

Tuesday May 21, 2024: Enterprise from10:00am —2:00pm at The Wilderness Inn, 301 W North St, Enterprise, OR 97828

Tuesday May 21, 2024: Baker City from 4:00pm—8:00pm at Baker County Library - Riverside Room, 2400 Resort St, Baker City, OR 97814

For questions, please contact your Union Representative, bargaining committee members, and stewards for updates. If you are unable to connect with your union rep, steward or bargaining committee member you may call the MRC at 1-866-210-3000 for more information. 

All members in the Baker City, La Grande and Enterprise Grocery contract and the Pendleton Hermiston Grocery contract are encouraged to be present for this important vote.

Spokane Grocery store workers overwhelmingly ratify a new three year contract!

This is our first union negotiations since we became UFCW 3000 and our combined strength has helped us win a contract with record wages and major contract improvements. In the midst of a proposed grocery mega-merger, we’ve sent a clear message —We have power in our communities, we have a voice in our workplace, and we have a strong new contract that will be the backbone for our future. 

We did this together, by standing strong and showing up for each other and our communities.  

The many improvements in the ratified contract include: 

• Strongest journey wage increases in any Spokane Grocery Store negotiation! We increased our Journey wages by $4.00 or more.

• Big retro checks for journey going back to contract expirations January 20, 2024.

• Won an “All Purpose Clerk” scale with historic pay raises for many departments —for some over 25% wage increase during the course of this contract.

• More than quadrupling our wage escalators —that means strong wage increases throughout the pay scale when minimum wage goes up and when workers are moving through the apprentice rates. 

• Healthcare with benefit improvements with NO increases to healthcare premiums or deductibles. Healthcare eligibility will now be based on all compensable hours. 

• Major improvements to our vacation banks that will ensure that we get vacation based off of hours worked. 

• Automatic pension funding increases that go up every time wages increase. 

• Dedicated money to fund training and workforce development to ensure that we get the training we need to do our jobs and prepare for the future of the industry. 

• Stronger safety language to address top issues we face in our stores. 

“This is the most money I thought I'd ever see coming out of Kroger. The pressure we applied across all our stores was amazing! I am feeling amazed!” -Katrina Keffer, Fred Meyer 

“I am really excited for my co-workers who worked for years in the Deli, my co-workers will get wage increases that they deserve. This will help make sure we can keep people here in the store.” -Jeff Yergens, Safeway 

Grocery East Close -but not close enough!

After three days of bargaining with the Employers, Albertsons/Safeway and Kroger, we made good progress towards an agreement. Our union member Bargaining Committee made major progress on key issues like wage escalators that help ensure we keep our wages above minimum wage and workers get raises when the minimum wage goes up. We will continue to fight to get the Employers to propose more money for Journeypersons so that we get the big raises we deserve, especially in the first year of the contract.

New bargaining dates are set with the Employers for April 29 and 30, which we hope will be productive. After these sessions we will take the Employers’ last offer to a vote of the membership on May 2 at the Spokane Doubletree hotel. This will either be a strike authorization vote if the Employers’ offer falls short, or it will be a ratification vote if the employer meets our demands and our Bargaining Committee recommends a yes vote.

Continue to get strike ready! Become a picket captain, sign strike pledge cards, attend Contract Action Team meetings and become a steward!

This vote is for the Spokane & Cheney stores only due to expired contracts. NE Oregon to be announced. Please reach out to your Rep with any questions about the vote.

Grocery East Contract Action Meetings

Governor Signs Worker Protection Bill Championed by UFCW 3000 Grocery Store Workers into Law

OLYMPIA, WA – This morning, Governor Inslee signed into law Senate Bill 6007, a bill intended to protect grocery store workers and communities from the negative impacts of corporate megamergers in the grocery industry. Drafted in response to the news that grocery giants Kroger (owner of Fred Meyer and QFC) and Albertsons/Safeway are threatening to merge into one huge company, ESSB 6007 saw enormous support from local Washington grocery store workers and community allies, who advocated throughout the legislative session for its passage. 

“As I explained to legislators, we’ve already learned the hard way through past grocery chain mergers about the upheaval it causes for workers and shoppers when these chains merge and close or sell off neighborhood grocery stores,” said Yasmin Ashur, a UFCW 3000 member and checker at the Port Orchard Albertsons who testified in support of the bill and was on hand to see the governor sign it today. “We saw it in Port Orchard with the Albertsons/Safeway merger not that long ago. I am so proud to say I stood up with my fellow workers and helped pass legislation that will help protect our jobs.” 

This new legislation puts in place basic guidelines for large grocery stores when they change hands, like in an acquisition or merger, to ensure that essential food workers’ lives and our communities’ access to food and household necessities are not thrown into chaos. It requires public notice of new ownership, a period of job protection or re-hire for eligible current employees, protection of current working conditions and collective bargaining agreements, and mandatory engagement with local government if a merger would cause the closure of a store in an existing food desert. 

“The difference between unemployment caused by a pandemic and job loss caused by corporate buyouts is that the potential harm of a merger is foreseeable,” said Britt Leggett, a UFCW 3000 member and deli clerk at the Fred Meyer in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle who also testified in support of the bill and attended the bill signing today. “That’s what this legislation seeks to remediate: to help workers keep their jobs and seniority when their stores changes owners. The law also ensures that constituents will be served by grocery workers who they know well, who have the skills to do their jobs, and follow the health rules to keep food safe.” 

Hundreds of grocery store workers with UFCW 3000 across the state sent messages to lawmakers encouraging the passage of SB 6007, and some traveled to Olympia to meet lawmakers in person.  

“It’s a big sacrifice for everyday working people to take time out of their busy lives to try and engage with the local political process,” said Joe Mizrahi, Secretary Treasurer of UFCW 3000. “But being in a union means we can share the load, work together, and make real change that impacts entire industries.”