Judd LegumMay 17, 2023

1. The consolidation of corporate power, along with the decline of unions, has weakened the ability of workers to negotiate wages.

In the grocery industry, this could get worse if Kroger, the largest supermarket chain, is permitted to acquire Albertsons, the second-largest

🧵

D. ZinnMay 18, 2023
Show threadJudd Legum

2. A study by @[email protected] concluded that Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons would "reduce the number of outside employment options available to workers, lowering grocery store workers’ annual wages by a total of $334 million."

https://popular.info/p/how-a-grocery-store-mega-merger-could

How a grocery store mega-merger could cost workers millions

In October 2022, Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket chain, reached an agreement to purchase Albertsons, the nation's second-largest supermarket chain, in a deal valued at $25 billion. Albertsons itself acquired another major competitor, Safeway, in 2015 for $9.2 billion. The deal, which is subject to review by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), would create a

Popular Information
May 17, 2023 at 7:21pmWeb
Show threadJudd LegumMay 17, 2023

3. That works out to about $450 less annually per worker, which is a significant reduction for a workforce already hovering at or below the poverty line.

https://economicrt.org/publication/hungry-at-the-table/

Economic Roundtable | Hungry at the Table

Show threadJudd LegumMay 17, 2023
4. Notably, it would not just be Kroger workers that are impacted. Since the merger reduces competition across the industry, it would lower wages for all grocery workers in 55 metropolitan areas.
Show threadsj_zeroMay 21, 2023
Unions are a manifestation of worker power, not the source of it. This misunderstanding leads to people saying a lot of things that are nonsensical.

The decline in unions is in part because of the decline in worker power. That's come about in part because of globalization and in part because of many measures taken over the past 70 years that ensure businesses have the upper hand making workers less valuable and powerful at home as well.

I always like to remind everyone that the powers that be have rooms full of the smartest people on earth trying to figure out how to get you to cheer for the boot on their necks.
Show threadTransitBikerMay 17, 2023
@juddlegum I say we break up Kroger.
Show threadRichie EnamellerMay 17, 2023
@juddlegum @BrianJopek sounds like this was the main driver behind the plan. To fuck over workers, that is.
Show threadRichie EnamellerMay 17, 2023

@juddlegum @BrianJopek Guess who’s on the Board of Directors of Kroger? The wife of one of the most odious senators to ever set foot into the Capitol, Mitch McConnell

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kroger-elects-elaine-chao-to-board-of-directors-301346250.html

Kroger Elects Elaine Chao to Board of Directors

/PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced that Elaine Chao has been elected to the company's board of directors. "We are pleased to welcome...