Puebloans express concerns with Kroger-Albertsons merger to Colorado AG Phil Weiser

Several Puebloans outlined their concerns about the pending merger of grocery chain giants Kroger and Albertsons Thursday as Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser stopped through Pueblo for a listening session about the merger.

Kroger and Albertsons announced their plans for the $24.6 billion merger last October. Those who came to Thursday's listening session expressed concerns that the merger could lead to a loss of jobs, increase grocery prices and could create new food deserts in the city. Grocery workers, local activists and politicians were among those in attendance at Thursday's session at the Joseph H. Edwards Active Adults Center, 230 N. Union Ave.

Reyna Carpenter, a United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 7 member, told the Chieftain she planned on her current job at the south side King Soopers being her last before retirement. However, she no longer feels her job is secure. She also said she's concerned for her coworkers' job security and her customers' wellbeing.

"I watch customers come in, from young families to our most senior customers, and they look at the product," Carpenter said. "They look at the meat and see how high the prices are. Most of them leave with just a few items, if any at all ... With this merger, prices are going up and people aren't going to be able to afford the basic necessities to survive and support their families."

During the listening session, Pueblo residents referenced Albertsons' January 2015 acquisition of Safeway, Inc. Within a year of that merger, Pueblo's north side and east side Safeway locations closed. The closing of the east side Safeway led to its census tract becoming an urban food desert, meaning at least a third of its population lives more than a mile away from a supermarket.

Roxy Pignanelli, a teen suicide prevention advocate, said further store closures from the pending Kroger-Albertsons merger will harm youth mental health in Pueblo by decreasing access to nutritious foods.

"We are sitting at a very high teen suicide rate, not only Colorado, but this particular town," Pignanelli said. "To remove options that can improve the wellbeing of a child is heinous."

Pueblo City Council candidates Tom Carrigan and Elvis Martinez both expressed concerns about closures impacting the health of those who rely on pharmacies within neighborhood grocery stores. Carrigan said he used to be able to walk to the east side Safeway to pick up his medication, but now has to drive.

"If grandma and grandpa like the people that are working at the pharmacy and don't want to transfer, but they would be forced to transfer and everything — how would that affect the health conditions that they are taking those medications for?" Martinez said.

The legality of Kroger and Albertsons' merger is currently being reviewed by the Colorado Attorney General's Office. Indications that the merger may be in violation of antitrust laws include significant reductions leading to consumers losing choice, consumers paying more, workers losing jobs or workers being paid less, Weiser said.

"If I conclude that this decision violates antitrust laws and is anticompetitive, then I have the authority and the obligation to go to court ... it's possible the companies will try to say, 'We have a solution to the concerns,'" Weiser said. "I will look at it if they do, but given what happened in the last merger of Safeway-Albertsons, there's reason for skepticism that the so-called fix would be effective."

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain atsubscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Colorado attorney general hears Pueblo's concerns about grocery merger