STOP the Kroger-Albertsons Mega-Merger!

Krogers and Albertsons are the two largest full-service grocery chains in the country, in Colorado, and in the Pikes Peak Region. Their proposed merger threatens the closure of many full-service grocery stores in Colorado, and these closures will worsen issues of food accessibility, raise food prices, cost us local jobs, and reduce farmers’ and other suppliers’ ability to sell their products. A similar merger in 2005 resulted in the closure of 17 grocery stores in Colorado and 750 jobs lost. Recently, Kroger announced that it will sell 50+ Colorado stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in an attempt to win antitrust approval for their merger with Albertsons, which is already affecting thousands of jobs across the state. They have done this before with their acquisition of Dominicks, selling them stores and then overcharging for products from the still-Kroger-owned distribution center to the extent that Dominicks went bankrupt and closed all their stores in less than a year. A report from the Economic Policy Institute finds that the merger could lower wages for over 746,000 grocery store workers in about 50 cities across the country. The total annual loss of wages would be $334 million, or an average loss of about $450 per year in wages for workers.

This uncompetitive corporate consolidation will encourage further disinvestment in communities that already face disparities in food access, income, and health outcomes. In Colorado Springs, 90,000 residents of the Southeast have already been affected by the closure of a King Soopers due to asbestos exposure, and this merger means that this store and many others could be at risk of closing again, threatening the long-term food security of many local neighborhoods. Food to Power is making this petition because we recognize that grocery stores not only provide the fresh food that is essential to the nourishment and wellness of our citizens, but they also provide other resources like pharmacy medical care and money services. Our grocery stores generate local economic mobility both through employment and through their relationships with local farmers and producers – all of which we are at risk of losing in this merger.

Food to Power has conducted multiple town halls and listening sessions to brainstorm food access solutions, and community members have made it clear: we need accessible grocery options and we need them now. We need to keep skyrocketing food prices at bay while protecting the rights of frontline workers who staff our grocery stores to unionize and receive a living wage. As we ask our elected officials to ensure that the monopolization of our grocery options is put to a halt, we also urge them to support sustainable community-based food systems and listen to the suggestions of our community members for more farmers’ markets, mobile markets, affordable delivery options, and local grocers.

The Colorado Secretary of State, Colorado State Treasurer, and six other Secretaries of State have already called on the Federal Trade Commission to block this merger. Our Attorney General Phil Weiser needs to also hear our calls to STOP the Kroger-Albertsons merger, and take our concerns to the national stage by making Colorado the leader in national legal efforts to challenge this merger.

Sources:
https://www.epi.org/publication/kroger-albertsons-merger/#:~:text=The%20Kroger%2DAlbertsons%20merger%20will,%24450%20in%20annual%20wage%20income.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/kroger-albertsons-selling-50-stores-in-colorado-to-piggly-wigglys-parent-company/ar-AA1gsckZ
https://foodtopowerco.org/
https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/kroger/state-secretaries-urge-ftc-halt-kroger-albertsons-merger