Union workers in Colorado have taken legal action against The Kroger Company and Albertsons, which have ownership over the King Soopers and Safeway grocery chains respectively. The class action lawsuit accuses both companies of establishing illegal "no-poach agreements." These agreements are purported to limit a worker's ability to move freely between competing employers, potentially stagnating compensation and employment opportunities. According to The Denver Gazette, the lawsuit materialized in the wake of a 2022 strike by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 over pay and safety, which eventually led to improved contract terms for the workers.
At the center of these allegations is Valerie Morgan, a participant in the UFCW Local 7 contract negotiation team during the strike. Morgan, as lead plaintiff, is being represented by the public-interest law firm Towards Justice, which quickly filed the lawsuit, highlighting concerns regarding the alleged clandestine agreements. A Kroger Company spokesperson has firmly denied these allegations, as per KDVR, "that data shows only between 1 and 2.5% of Kroger associates come from or move to Albertsons stores."
Further complicating the legal landscape, Kroger and Albertsons issued a joint statement earlier in the year, addressing and denying the allegations. They conveyed in February, "It is disheartening for Coloradans that General Weiser would mischaracterize the facts because there was not then, and there is not now, non-solicitation or so-called no-poach agreements between Kroger and Albertsons," as reported by Supermarket News. The statement suggests a common practice that employees across the industry, not just within their stores, often change companies, citing Walmart, Amazon, Costco, and other retailers as some of the destinations for their former workforce.
