Kitsap grocery workers voice against Kroger-Albertsons merger as part of national actions

Editor's note: This story was updated since it was first published to add Kroger's statement regarding the merger.

PORT ORCHARD — Like many grocery workers at Albertsons and Kroger around the nation, Sandy Pyle of Port Orchard has deep concerns about the negative impacts the Kroger-Albertsons merger could cause once it becomes reality. The two U.S.'s largest grocery chains announced their merger agreement in October with Kroger's plan to acquire Albertsons for about $24.6 billion and Albertsons' intent to pay its shareholders up to $4 billion of special dividends.

70-year-old Pyle, who has worked at Albertsons for almost 20 years, stood outside the door of Safeway at Port Orchard to hand some leaflets and shopping bags to customers on Wednesday. With a "stop the merger" post in her hands, she hoped to raise the public's awareness of the issue because the proposed merger will affect both the shoppers and grocery workers, Pyle said.

"You'll have less of a selection, higher prices and just no competition," Pyle said of the potential impacts. "Competition is a healthy thing," she added.

Currently, about 1,500 people work for grocery stores owned by Kroger and Albertsons in Kitsap County and neighboring Mason County, according to local union, UFCW 3000 (the United Food and Commercial Workers). There are seven Safeway stores and two Fred Meyer locations in Kitsap County and a QFC and a Safeway in Belfair, along Highway 3.

"If Kroger takes over all the Albertsons and Safeway and becomes one big grocery chain, it would be a monopoly and people won't have a lot of choices to choose from," Yasmin Asher, another Albertsons' worker said. Asher participated in Tuesday's leaflet action to interact with shoppers outside Fred Meyer on Sedgwick Road in Port Orchard.

Pyle and Asher's participation was part of the local unions' activities to connect with customers about the impacts of the proposed merger in 11 states and the District of Columbia from Tuesday to April 13. Those who oppose the merger are asking the Federal Trade Commission to stop the deal from moving forward.

Washington state's Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court in November as an attempt to stop Albertsons from paying the $4 billion dividends, which is $6.85 per share, to shareholders, but the state Supreme Court in January issued an order that denied the state's requests and terminated the temporary restraining order issued in December that was against Albertsons's payout.

The latest attempt to stop the merger happened in California, where 25 consumers around the nation, including one from Kirkland, Washington, filed a lawsuit against the two companies at the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California in February. The plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction to prohibit Kroger from acquiring Albertsons, according to documents filed to the court.

"The combination of these two giants will create a supermarket behemoth with a combined market share and control of 36% of the U.S. grocery supermarket operators with a combined annual sales of more than $200 billion," the plaintiffs claimed in the document filed to the court.

Wendy McGill, a customer who listened to Pyle after finishing her shopping at Safeway, said she hasn't heard of the merger before and she'll probably look more into the issue, McGill said.

"I've shopped at both places. So, it is nice to have a variety to shop the deals," McGill said.

Kroger's response

Kroger said in a statement to Kitsap Sun on Thursday that the company will not lay off any frontline workers or close any stores, distribution centers or manufacturing facilities as a result of the merger. And, the company will invest more to increase wages and benefits, according to the statement.

“Kroger is one of America’s largest unionized workforces, and this merger secures the long-term future of union jobs while creating a more competitive alternative to large, non-union retailers. Beginning day one, we will invest an additional $1 billion to raise wages and benefits, continuing our longstanding track record of associate investments," the company said in the statement.

"We pursued this merger to grow jobs, lower prices and provide more choices to consumers across the U.S.,” according to Kroger's statement on Thursday.

Previous coverage:Port Orchard Safeway worker adds voice in DC opposing proposed Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger