Resolution Calling for Fair and Transparent Grocery Pricing Without Corporate Loopholes


September 16, 2026

WHEREAS, groceries are a necessity, and no person should pay more for essential goods because a corporation uses their personal information to determine that they have fewer alternatives or can be charged more; and

WHEREAS, Seattle’s proposed Fair Pricing & Transparency ordinance, transmitted by Mayor Wilson and sponsored by Councilmembers Rinck, Foster, and Saka, is the product of extensive stakeholder engagement and already reflects significant compromises and accommodations made during that process; and

WHEREAS, allowing companies to use a customer’s personal information to decide who receives which price can leave some consumers paying more for the same product under the same purchasing conditions; and

WHEREAS, the proposed ordinance preserves qualifying publicly disclosed discounts, promotional discounts, volume discounts, discounts for groups such as seniors and veterans, and loyalty-program rewards that satisfy requirements for equal treatment and transparency; and

WHEREAS, hidden personalized prices undermine consumers’ ability to compare offers and make informed purchases, allowing companies to exploit information about a household’s needs, purchasing habits, or limited alternatives; and

WHEREAS, Kroger’s chief executive told investors earlier this year that approximately 95% of its transactions are tied to a loyalty card, demonstrating that a broad exemption for loyalty programs could encompass the overwhelming majority of transactions rather than a narrow exception; and

WHEREAS, a Consumer Reports investigation highlighted how a Kroger shopper’s profile misidentified his gender, education, and income, and that his data was sold to more than 50 companies, including data brokers and tobacco companies; and Kroger reported $1.5 billion in fiscal 2025 operating profit from its “alternative profit” businesses, like selling consumers’ personal data to target advertising, illustrating the commercial value of information collected beyond the grocery transaction; and

WHEREAS, in April 2026, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown sued Albertsons, Safeway, and Haggen over deceptive buy-one-get-one-free promotions, including that prices were inflated before “discounts” were offered, illustrating why the word “discount” alone cannot establish that consumers are receiving a genuine bargain; and

WHEREAS, on September 14, 2026, President Trump asserted that presidential leadership provides the only guardrails AI needs, even as his own FTC’s August 19 proposed enforcement policy statement identified potential harms from undisclosed personalized pricing, including charging more for food delivery when, for example, personal information suggests a customer cannot leave home; and

WHEREAS, Seattle has an opportunity to make this a historic vote, set a high national standard for consumer protection, and establish a precedent that other cities and states can follow;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that MLK Labor encourages the Seattle City Council to pass the Fair Pricing & Transparency ordinance on Tuesday, September 22, 2026; and that any amendment must preserve transparency, investigative authority, enforcement, and remedies without creating any exemption from the ordinance’s consumer protections; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that MLK Labor shall transmit a copy of this resolution to every Seattle City Councilmember and the Mayor, requesting passage of the legislation and rejection of corporate amendments that undermine its consumer protections; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that MLK Labor will long remember which councilmembers stood with working families, and which stood with large grocers and AI companies.