United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, which represents more than 30,000 workers in Oregon, Idaho and Washington state, said Monday it supports the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger and the grocers’ divestiture plan with C&S Wholesale Grocers.
The local union met with C&S to talk about the divestiture plan, UFCW Local 555 President Dan Clay said in a statement.
“[W]e were pleased to find not only that they understood and liked the grocery business, but also recognized the importance of quality employees to their ongoing success,” Clay said. “C&S has the opportunity to bring a long term strategy to a grocery industry focused on the short-term demands of shareholders and private equity investors.”
Clay added that C&S “seems poised to deliver a much needed fresh perspective for employees and customers alike.”
C&S has agreed to buy at least 166 stores across the three states where UFCW Local 555 represents grocery workers as part of the proposed divestiture deal, including 13 Albertsons stores in Idaho, 49 Kroger and Albertsons stores in Oregon and 104 Kroger and Albertsons stores in Washington.
UFCW Local 555 Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Humphrey said in the statement that “C&S understands the grocery business and wants to bring its fresh perspective to the Pacific Northwest.”
“This merger, combined with a significant divestiture to C&S, represents a good outcome for workers caught in the wake of a private equity company that wants to sell Albertsons,” Ann Poff, UFCW Local 555 vice-president and a Safeway employee, said in the statement.
With its support of the merger, UFCW Local 555 is a seeming outlier among unions that have voiced thoughts on the mega-deal.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and several local chapters under the union have raised concerns about the merger or outright opposed it. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters also opposes the deal, and Colorado’s attorney general filed a lawsuit earlier this month that seeks to block it.
The Kroger-Albertsons merger is currently undergoing review by the Federal Trade Commission.
