Class Action Filed Against Kroger and Albertsons Over Worker No-Poach Agreements

A veteran grocery store employee has become the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit alleging that two major grocery chains engaged in illegal no-poach agreements during a labor strike in 2022. The suit, filed on November 26 by Denver-based nonprofit Towards Justice, targets the King Soopers and City Market divisions of The Kroger Co. and the Safeway division of Albertsons Cos.

The lawsuit claims that these agreements violated the Colorado State Antitrust Act, suppressing wages and other economic opportunities for thousands of grocery workers across Colorado. The lead plaintiff, Valarie Morgan, a longtime King Soopers employee and a member of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7, participated in the union’s 2021–22 contract negotiations.

Allegations of Collusion During Labor Strike

According to the lawsuit, the no-poach agreements were formed during a January 2022 strike by UFCW Local 7 against King Soopers. The agreements allegedly prevented Safeway from hiring King Soopers employees and barred solicitation of King Soopers pharmacy customers. The lawsuit further contends that these actions were designed to limit competition between the two grocery chains, violating state antitrust laws.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office has been investigating similar allegations as part of a broader challenge to a proposed $24.6 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons. Weiser’s lawsuit, currently pending in Denver District Court, seeks to block the merger and impose penalties for the alleged agreements.

In a previous statement, Weiser noted, “King Soopers was concerned about losing employees and customers to Safeway during the strike and entered into an agreement with Albertsons… Such no-poach and non-solicitation agreements are illegal under the Colorado State Antitrust Act, because they are agreements to not compete.”

Read more: Kroger-Albertsons Merger Trial Concludes in Colorado; Decision Expected Soon

Seeking Economic Justice for Workers

While the Attorney General’s lawsuit focuses on penalizing the companies, the class-action case filed by Towards Justice aims to recover economic losses for affected workers. According to a statement from UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova, the alleged agreements hindered employees from securing higher wages and better benefits during the strike.

“This case is an attempt to bring light and justice to the 18,000 unionized grocery store workers, and the thousands of non-union grocery store workers, who were harmed by this hidden and illegal deal between King Soopers, City Market, and Safeway parent companies Kroger and Albertsons,” Cordova said. “Our members went on strike and won a major new contract, but now it has become clear we could have made even more gains if these corporations had not broken the law behind our backs.”

Wider Implications for the Grocery Industry

The allegations come amid growing scrutiny of labor practices and consolidation within the grocery industry. If the merger between Kroger and Albertsons proceeds, it would create one of the largest grocery chains in the United States, a development critics argue could further stifle competition and harm workers.

Source: Progressive Grocer