UFCW Local 7 Files Unfair Labor Practice Charges with the National Labor Relations Board for Secret Agreement Between the Grocery Competitors During January 2022 Strike Against King Soopers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 15, 2024

Contact: Monique Palacios mpalacios@ufcw7.com  

Denver, CO – On February 14, 2024, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a lawsuit to challenge the proposed mega-merger of Kroger and Albertsons.[1] Local 7 applauds AG Weiser’s actions, but was dismayed to learn through AG Weiser’s Complaint that Kroger and Albertsons entered into an unlawful agreement during Local 7’s 2022 strike against King Soopers. The Complaint cites Albertson’s COO as referring to Kroger as its “enemy” – and yet the two entities banded together in an unlawful effort to strengthen their power in negotiations with Local 7 and harm their own and each other’s hard-working employees.

In early 2022, Local 7 was engaged in negotiations for successor contracts with both King Soopers/City Market and Safeway/Albertsons for bargaining units throughout Colorado. In mid-January 2022, Local 7 employees at dozens of King Soopers stores in Colorado went on strike. Separately, Local 7 and Safeway/Albertson’s reached numerous tentative agreements and agreed to extend the prior contracts to continue negotiating, seemingly in good faith. Local 7 was unaware until yesterday that behind its back, high-ranking executives from Kroger and Albertsons agreed that Safeway/Albertsons stores would not hire striking King Soopers employees and would not solicit or publicly communicate to King Soopers pharmacy customers to transfer prescriptions to Safeway and/or Albertson's pharmacies. Through these “no poach” and “no solicit” agreements, both employers hoped to gain leverage in contract negotiations.

Local 7 has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Safeway/Albertsons, King Soopers, and their parent entities. This secret pact interferes with the rights of Safeway/Albertsons and King Soopers employees protected by the National Labor Relations Act, was undertaken to retaliate against these employees for engaging in protective activity and to discourage protected, union activity, and constitutes a failure by the employers to bargain in good faith.

Although the strike secured big gains for workers at both Kroger and Albertsons subsidiaries here in Colorado and beyond, these back-handed and bad faith tactics must be called out and addressed. As indicated in the AG’s Complaint, these companies have a track record of such unlawful collusion, and it is further evidence of the harm to employees and communities in permitting these mega companies to merge. “Despite what these companies might say publicly about their motivations or the professed positives of this merger, their actions show otherwise,” said Kim Cordova, President of UFCW Local 7. “They probably never intended for their emails to be made public, but the public has a right to know that the leaders of these companies cannot be trusted to do right by their employees or customers,” she continued.

[1] Kroger is the parent company of Colorado and Wyoming grocers King Soopers, City Market, and Smith’s Foods. Albertsons is the parent company of Colorado and Wyoming grocers Safeway and Albertsons.

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The Stop the Merger campaign includes over 100 national, state and local organizations representing diverse interests who share a common goal: to stop the proposed Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger because of its negative impact on our nation’s communities. For more information visit www.NoGroceryMerger.com