The Albertsons-Kroger merger would lower prices for consumers and preserve union jobs | Opinion

Feeding families has never been more challenging nor more important as grocery prices have increased with inflation. And that is why the Kroger-Albertsons merger is good news for consumers. It will keep grocery prices down.

In public statements and under oath in courtrooms where the merger is being challenged, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen has vowed that the merger would mean lower prices, saving $1 billion annually .

That investment is an ongoing, good-faith promise to the public. Albertsons’ prices are currently 10-12% higher than Kroger’s, McMullen testified . Should the merger go through, that “price investment” will lower those grocery prices. Albertsons customers will get a break.

And when it comes to making good on its promises to consumers, Kroger has a history to be proud of. In its mergers in 2014 and 2016, Kroger lowered prices each time at the acquired stores, according to the company . Since 2002, the company has reduced its prices, saving customers $5 billion , in a continuing effort to provide high-quality groceries at affordable prices.

In support of national organizations that feed families, in the past six years, Kroger has directed more than $1.9 billion, according to the company .

The merger is also good for union jobs. Kroger and Albertsons are union employers while their competitors — Walmart, Amazon, ALDI, to name a few — are not. At a time when union jobs grow scarcer by the year, with 250,000 lost, in the same time period, Kroger has added more than 110,000 union jobs.

For anyone worried that mergers inevitably lead to job losses and bankruptcies, think again. Research from California State Polytechnic University indicates that companies purchased in leveraged buyouts fail about 20% of the time. But when a successful operating company like Kroger makes an acquisition, that outcome is altogether different and the risk of closings are minimal by comparison — around 2%.

C&S Wholesale Grocers, with over 100 years of grocery experience, would assume the ownership of 134 divested stores in Washington and Idaho. Despite its name, “wholesale grocers,” C&S is well positioned for the merger and operates retail grocery stores in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest. Just two years ago, the company was validated by the FTC as a divestiture buyer in the merger of Price Chopper and Tops Market. Like Kroger and Albertsons, C&S is pro-union and its management has committed that no stores will close and no front-line union jobs will be lost as a result of the merger.

“In my dealings with C&S in upstate New York they have been a decent employer to deal with. They are concerned about their employees, and they realize a union relationship can only make them stronger,” UFCW Local One President Frank DeRiso said.

The stores acquired by C&S will be managed by Albertsons’ veteran executive and Boise native Susan Morris. Morris has a decades-long track record of success and is known for her experience in operational strengths, innovation and growth.

Should the merger be blocked, the real losers will be consumers and union workers. Albertsons will likely remain for sale jeopardizing union jobs and the future of its stores. That is an outcome no one supports. But if the merger is approved, families and workers across Idaho, Washington, and the entire country get a well-deserved win.

Burt Flickinger III is the CEO of Strategic Resource Group and has worked with both major grocery retail chains and unions for several decades.