Kroger-Albertsons Merger Update: Paused in Colorado Court

The proposed $24.6 billion Kroger-Albertsons merger has been put on pause by a lawsuit brought by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser that would permanently block the merger. Kroger and Albertsons are temporarily suspending work on the merger while the case is settled. 

Photo by Kipp Teague

The trial is scheduled to start on September 30, 2024. 

The state of Colorado is arguing that the merger would be bad for workers and for consumer choice, producing a grocery monopoly that could raise prices for customers and lower wages for workers. 

The lawsuit is in addition to the Federal Trade Commission’s challenge to the merger, set to be heard in federal court starting August 26, 2024. 

The merger would also see the sale of 579 stores, mostly across the western U.S., to C&S Wholesale Grocers. 

A coalition of local unions in the UFCW including Local 3000, Local 400, Local 7, Local 770, and Local 324 are leading a “Stop the Merger” campaign. In an update published on July 25, 2024, they wrote, “On many occasions, the employers have acted as if this merger were already a done deal. The reality is that it is not a done deal at all.” 

In order to take on mega-companies like Kroger and Albertsons, with or without the merger, our unions need to prioritize organizing members to leverage credible strike threats against the employer. But UFCW has shrank its organizing budget over the years. That’s why we need real change at the top — direct elections of top officers, increases in strike pay and organizing budgets, and one big national bargaining table with the top grocery employers — to win on the shop floor. 

To get involved in the fight for those changes, contact EW4D.