Grocery workers union reacts to proposed Kroger and Albertson's merger timeline
The proposed merger between Kroger and Albertson's, the parent companies of King Soopers and Safeway, is taking longer than the grocers hoped. The Federal Trade Commission has yet to approve the deal but union workers anticipate a decision on the proposal before Aug. 17.
In a press conference Friday morning, union workers said they are continuing to fight this merger, as they have since October 2022. They say merging the two companies will create less competition in the grocery industry, creating more problems. These problems include the leading of higher prices for customers, workers losing their jobs and farmers and suppliers not being able to sell their products.
Union representatives say merging the two stores will not fix current staffing issues or make these stores safer. These are two things they want to see improvements with. Union representatives also say combining the two stores will not help them compete with bigger companies like Walmart. UFCW 7 Member of Colorado Tom Olson says they need to work on creating better opportunities for current employees, including better wages, better staffing and security.
Olsen continues by saying that a merger isn't needed to fix these current issues.
"Instead of spending all this time and money on a bad merger idea, they should be investing in more wages, training hours and reduced prices," Olson said. "This would be better for us as workers and customers."
Last week, Krogers and Albertsons said the timeline was extended. Kroger also states they will invest $500 million to reduce prices, starting the very first day. The companies say they are working now to lower prices and provide more choices for customers, including fresher food options. The companies say they still anticipate the merger to happen in the first half of Kroger's 2024 fiscal year.
Following the publication of this article, a Kroger spokesperson shared the following statement:
It is unfortunate to see false and misleading information continue to be used to argue against the merger between Kroger and Albertsons.
The facts are clear - this merger is inherently pro-union, and we have the track record to prove it. Kroger added more than 100,000 good-paying union jobs since 2012 and invested $1.9 billion to grow associate wages and industry-leading, comprehensive benefits since 2018. Additionally, both Kroger and C&S committed that no stores will close and no frontline associates will be laid off as a result of the merger.
Opposing the merger only serves to further strengthen larger, non-unionized retailers like Walmart and Amazon, who continue to grow unchecked.
