Colorado next up to argue its case against Kroger-Albertsons mega merger

A lawsuit by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office against the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons is set for trial starting Monday in Denver District Court. The lawsuit claims the merger between the parent companies of King Soopers, City Market and Safeway would harm Colorado customers, workers and local suppliers.

Weiser said Colorado farmers who sell their produce to King Soopers and Albertsons worry that they’ll lose out if the companies consolidate. The two currently compete against each other for such popular fare as peaches grown in Palisade.Kroger and Albertsons executives have said the merger will position them better to compete against such non-union grocery giants as Walmart and Costco and discount stores such as Dollar General.

Colorado’s lawsuit said emails between Kroger and Albertsons executives outline agreements by Albertsons not to hire any King Soopers employees or solicit King Soopers pharmacy customers during the strike. The agreements were unlawful, according to the complaint. Olson was the produce manager in a Safeway store in Lakewood when Albertsons acquired Safeway. He said 43 stores were closed in Colorado and because he had less seniority, he got bumped to a job that paid less.

Olson also worries that union membership will decrease if C&S takes over stores and decides not to continue collective bargaining. “That will reduce our membership, endangering our pension and our health care,” he said. And food deserts were created after the 2015 Albertsons-Safeway merger, Weiser said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s definition of a food desert considers the poverty rate and in an urban area applies when at least 500 people and/or at least 33% of the population lives more than 1 mile from a supermarket or large grocery store.

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