We Continue Our Fight Against the Kroger/Albertsons Merger as the FTC Trial Enters Final Week, More Trials to Follow

UFCW 324 Members' Rally Was Covered on ABC 7 in LA September 13, 2024

Dear Grocery Store Members,

Since the trial of the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit to stop the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons began on August 26, workers have been at the courthouse, talking to the media, and talking to customers about how damaging this would be for workers, customers, and our communities. We've been doing this work for nearly two years and we'll continue to do it until we finally put a stop to this disastrous merger.

The federal court case is expected to conclude on Tuesday, September 17, and the judge could make a decision on whether or not to approve the FTC's request for what is called a "preliminary injunction" as early as the first week of October. If the injunction is granted, the merger would be put on hold until after a full court case on the merits of the merger is done.

Meanwhile, on Monday, September 16, the Washington State Attorney General's lawsuit to block the merger will begin its trial in Seattle. The Colorado Attorney General's lawsuit to block the merger is scheduled to start on September 30.

The outspoken work of grocery store members and our community partners, as well as many enforcement agencies like the FTC and Attorneys General, have all been central to the successful efforts so far to stop the proposed mega-merger of Kroger and Albertsons.
 

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Kroger's Q2 Earnings Call

Kroger held its 2nd quarter earnings call on Thursday, September 12, and it showed what we've been saying all along: Kroger is doing just fine, and doesn't need this merger to compete. Same store sales were up 1.2% (higher than expected) and the company pointed to higher online sales and increased loyalty households as drivers of stronger sales and growing private label brands as a driver of increased profitability. Notably, these areas—ecommerce capacity, customer loyalty and private label manufacturing—are ones that C&S Wholesale Grocery (the proposed buyer of 579 divested stores if a merger were allowed) lacks, underscoring concerns that C&S would not be able to operate those stores in a sustainable way.

Kroger also discussed strong profits in the pharmacy sector and acknowledged pharmacies as a leading cause of loyalty. We've pointed out time and time again that C&S has little to no experience managing pharmacies that are a lifeline to our communities.

Also of note, company officials claimed that shrink (the loss from theft or other causes) has been improving, though is still elevated, and that OSHA incident rates are currently at record lows. Members, who actually work in the stores, paint a very different picture of understaffed stores with high rates of shoplifting rates and significant health and safety risks.
 

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In the News

UFCW Locals 7, 324, 400, 770, 1564, and 3000 have held press conferences, store actions, webinars and interviews to raise our concerns to the public through more than a thousand media stories from coast to coast since the very first day Kroger and Albertsons announced their proposed plan to merge. Time and again grocery store workers, sharing their experiences, have proven to be a critical part of those news stories.

Most recently, several stories around the FTC trial have been noteworthy:
 

• Stop the Merger Rally of UFCW 324 highlighted on ABC 7 in California
• NPR - All Things Considered - Shoppers and workers that stand to be affected by a Kroger-Albertsons merger weigh in
• New York Times: A Trial Asks: If Grocery Rivals Merge, Do Workers Suffer? - Front page of the Business section
• Reuters: Surging grocery prices in focus as US tries to stop Kroger deal
• AP: Kroger and Albertsons defend merger plan in federal court against US regulators' objections
• Cincinnati Enquirer: Deleted texts, grocery prices: CEOs testify in Kroger-Albertsons merger case

You can find more of the most recent news coverage on the Stop the Merger website news page >>

Protecting the jobs and collective bargaining strength of union workers and keeping choice and price competition for our customers are key reasons for our long-standing and loud opposition to the proposed merger. We recently launched a Stop the Merger customer petition to continue to build public support that has already garnered thousands of signatures! Please help spread the word about our petition by sharing www.nogrocerymerger.com/petition.

We hear from customers all over the country that Kroger and Albertsons' proposed mega-merger threatens our communities with store closures, food and pharmacy deserts, thousands of laid-off unionized grocery store workers, and higher prices.

You can take action by encouraging your co-workers, family members, fellow shoppers, friends, and others in the community to sign the petition to show Kroger and Albertson that they are opposed to this disastrous proposal.

Sign and share the petition >>

In solidarity,
The Stop the Merger Coalition