WASHINGTON – Tuesday, Oregon United States District Judge Adrienne Nelson decided in favor of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and ruled to block the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger. The proposed merger would have eliminated healthy competition for grocery shoppers, leading to dangerous monopolistic tendencies, risking limited labor competition, workers’ ability to negotiate higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions.

“Today’s result is exactly what I, alongside countless Alaskans, have been fighting for throughout my time in Congress,” said Representative Peltola. “I told Alaskans I would do everything in my power to stop this life-altering merger–and now we have results. It’s why I signed onto a bipartisan amicus brief to the FTC, held town halls in Alaska, and met with FTC Chair Lina Khan to share the concerns that I was hearing from Alaskans across the state. A blocked merger means protecting produce on our shelves, good-paying jobs in our communities, and preservation of our way of life.”

Today’s lawsuit was originally filed in February of this year by the FTC. For the last three weeks, the FTC argued in Portland that the merger would eliminate competition between the two grocery chains, leading to even higher prices for shoppers and reduced bargaining leverage for unionized workers.

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  albertsons, fta, kroger, merger, peltola, stores