DENVER — About 50 union supporters gathered on the steps of Denver's City and County building to rally against a proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons on Monday.
"Stop the merger," one union lead shouted.
Grocery store employees and farmers unions said the merger would only benefit corporations, and people's livelihoods would be collateral damage.
"If this mega-merger goes through, our members’ jobs are on the line, prices will continue to go up and the power of the unions at the bargaining table will be under threat," UFCW Local 7 secretary-treasurer Ramon Zuniga said.
Zuniga said UFCW represents more than 23,000 grocery store workers between Colorado and Wyoming. He said they stand to lose so much just so Kroger and Albertsons can make a profit.
"When these CEOs come and promise not to shut stores if the mega-merger goes through, do we believe them?" Zuniga asked the crowd.
"No," they shouted back.
In addition to the impact it'd have on store employees, farmers unions said the entire supply chain could be devastated.
"This merger would harm our families, farmers and ranchers by taking away any power they have to negotiate prices," Director of Government Relations with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Tyler Garrett said. "Right now, farmers and ranchers only get 14.3 cents of the dollar consumers spend on groceries. Do you know who gets the rest of that money? The big corporations like Kroger or Albertsons."
Some are worried about seeing similar consequences from another large, grocery merger from 2015. Then, Safeway and Albertsons combined.
The results haven't been forgotten by Carol McMillian who was working at Safeway at the time.
"This is the story of the Albertsons-Safeway merger in 2015," McMillian said. "I'm sure you’re all familiar with it. I actually lived it. There were store closures, job losses, communities that were devastated. Other business that were also destroyed. Large empty buildings left in the wake of devastation. Kind of sounds like a horror story, doesn’t it? Actually, it is."
McMillian now works at King Soopers in Aurora, but she hasn't felt secure in her job since merger conversations began again two years ago.
"Like, here we go again," McMillian said. "One more time and it’s just it’s a lot to think about. It’s a pretty unsettling situation. I have a lot of unsettling thoughts and I’d just like to be comfortable in my workplace."
McMillian said the company leaders making these decisions don't fully realize the value of their employees and their futures.
"They run these stores," McMillian explained. "They are the ones who make these billions of dollars for these corporations. Without the customers and workers, where would they be?"
Monday was the first day of Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s legal challenge against the merger. He said the merger would force people out of their jobs and drive prices higher.
Union supporters thanked Weiser for standing up for the same cause as them and they hope the purchase will be blocked.
If the merger goes through, 91 stores in Colorado could be sold or transferred. Colorado would have the third-most stores in any state affected behind Washington and Arizona.