Representatives Lee, Jayapal, House Democrats Call on FTC to Closely Review Kroger-Albertsons Merger
Oakland, CA – Representatives Barbara Lee (CA-12) and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) led a group of 16 members of Congress in a letter urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to carefully scrutinize the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons, the largest and second-largest supermarket chains in the US.
“This proposal is the culmination of a decades-long consolidation trend, led by these two companies, that has eliminated neighborhood stores, leading to higher prices, while also creating pharmacy and food deserts in vulnerable communities,” the lawmakers wrote. “As the two companies have bought out their competitors, they have accrued increased market power – negatively affecting labor markets.
They continued, “Past mergers have left some regions with just a single major employer, who, holding monopoly power, can impose lower wages and benefits than the unions achieve in regions where there are several employers that the union negotiators can negotiate with. According to United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union reports, in regions where Kroger has no major competition, it has resorted to numerous unfair labor practices to impede unionization. We understand that today, Kroger has been held in contempt for failure to abide by adjudicated remedies for its past unfair practices—practices that persist today. Across the country, this merger would sharply reduce labor’s ability to effectively represent workers.”
To read the full letter, click here.