Washington, D.C. — Last Friday, United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, along with the American Economic Liberties Project and more than 70 other organizations — an alliance of packinghouse workers, ranchers, farmers, consumers, and rural Americans — sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging them to block the harmful Kroger-Albertsons merger.

“Consolidation in the retail market doesn’t just squeeze consumers; it reverberates through the entire agricultural supply chain, hitting the pockets of farmers, ranchers, and workers that make up the backbone of America’s food industry,” said Morgan Harper, Director Policy & Advocacy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “This merger is a cut and dry case of monopoly power, and the FTC should block it.”

The merger of two of America’s largest supermarket chains would supercharge consolidation in an already highly consolidated market, where the number of grocery stores has declined 30% since the 1990s.According to data from the National Grocers Association, over 60% of American grocery sales are estimated to be concentrated among Walmart, Kroger, Amazon, Albertsons and Ahold Delhaize. Due to rising industry concentration, independent grocers have seen their bargaining power eroded, which has made it increasingly difficult for them to stay in business and put communities at risk of becoming food deserts if a large chain withdraws. Farmers and ranchers have been squeezed out of profits—thanks to the outsize bargaining power of retailers as well as meatpackers, suppliers’ share of the consumer beef dollar has declined from 63% to 37% over the last forty years. And of course, the lack of competition allows chains to raise consumer prices, which they are currently doing at record levels while using inflation as a cover.

With nearly 5,000 stores between them—including regional chains Ralphs, Safeway, and Vons, among others—the Kroger-Albertsons behemoth would control 70% or more of the market in 167 cities, and employ more than 700,000 workers. There have already been indications that the move would intensify the anticompetitive harms arising from current grocery consolidation. Consumers can expect continued price increases, as a CEO (Kroger’s) who stated “a little bit of inflation is always good in our business” enjoys increased bargaining power. Suppliers can anticipate a tighter squeeze on profits, as a merged Kroger-Albertson’s forecasts an additional $1 billion in annual revenue largely from “improved sourcing.” And finally, workers will face layoffs and lose leverage against a monopolistic employer with the power to suppress already-low wages.

Read more about the harms of the Kroger-Albertsons merger in Morgan Harper’s latest op-ed.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.