Why This Red-State Democrat Is Backing A Corporate Merger That Has Unions Furious

Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is facing a tough battle for a fourth term, got a surge in donations from Kroger and Albertsons executives after coming out for the merger. “This merger in particular will create additional harms to independent grocers and food producers who either compete against Kroger and Albertsons, or negotiate with them for fair compensation.” Brown has insisted the merger is necessary to help the two unionized chains compete with non-union big-box stores, and sees removing Albertsons from the control of private equity — which has a long history of disassembling companies and displacing their workers — as a positive. The FTC, now under the leadership of aggressive antitrust crusader Lina Khan, announced in late February it was suing to block Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons on the grounds that it would “lead to additional grocery price hikes for everyday goods, further exacerbating the financial strain consumers across the country face today.” The FTC complaint notes that Kroger and Albertsons are themselves the products of decades of mergers, responsible for making them the largest and second-largest supermarket chains in the country, respectively. “This merger has the potential to be great for the region and great for workers.” - Sen. Sherrod Brown, June 2023 Antimonopoly advocates are especially mistrustful of the two supermarket giants because both Kroger CEO W. Rodney McMullen and Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran have reportedly spoken positively to investors about the effect of 3-4% inflation on their companies’ fortunes, since they can pass price hikes along to consumers. This would make them one of the largest union employers in the country, if they do this right.” Kroger features Brown’s comments on a webpage promoting the merger that also includes endorsements from Rep. Greg Landsman, a first-term moderate Democrat representing Cincinnati; former Sen. Cory Gardner, who is now a board member at a Washington lobbying firm; and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank.