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A federal trial began this week to determine the fate of dozens of grocery stores in Portland, including all Fred Meyer and Safeway stores.
Kroger Co., owner of the Fred Meyer chain, wants to buy Albertsons Companies Inc., owner of Safeway, for $25 billion in what would be the biggest grocery merger ever. The Federal Trade Commission sued the grocery chains in U.S. District Court in February, saying the deal would diminish competition and drive up prices. A dozen states, including Oregon, joined the lawsuit or filed ones of their own.
Albertsons and Kroger say they must combine in order to compete with Costco, Walmart and Amazon’s Whole Foods chain.
On Wednesday, Aug. 28, the court will hear from Dan Clay, president of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555, which represents 4,500 workers at Fred Meyer stores in the Portland area. The union supported the merger until earlier this month, when it flipped to oppose it, saying Fred Meyer had failed to address “major wage discrepancies” at stores in Oregon and Washington during current contract negotiations.
“This is a clear breach of contract,” says UFCW Local 555 secretary-treasurer Sandy Humphrey, “and we are determined to hold them accountable and ensure they meet their obligations to our members.”
UFCW workers also voted to authorize an unfair labor practices strike, and are expected to walk out at 6 am Wednesday, Aug. 28.
“Fred Meyer remains committed to investing in our associates with competitive pay while also ensuring our doors stay open and groceries remain affordable,” Fred Meyer president Todd Kammeyer said in a statement.
Together, Cincinnati-based Kroger and Boise-based Albertsons operate 5,000 stores in the U.S. and 176 in Oregon. To assuage antitrust concerns, Kroger and Albertsons have said they plan to sell 579 stores nationwide, including 62 grocery stores in Oregon, to C&S Wholesale Grocers based in New Hampshire.
Kroger has also pledged to cut grocery prices by $1 billion if the merger goes through.