Resolution Opposing Kroger’s Closure of Fred Meyer Stores and Abandonment of Working-Class Communities

August 21, 2025

WHEREAS, Kroger, the parent company of Fred Meyer, has announced the closure of four Fred Meyer stores in the Puget Sound region resulting in the loss of nearly 700 union jobs; and

WHEREAS, three of the four stores slated for closure are located in communities with household incomes significantly below the county median, further depriving working-class neighborhoods of stable jobs, affordable food access, and community anchors; and

WHEREAS, Kroger has systematically underinvested in store operations, allowing stores to deteriorate while diverting resources into ecommerce experiments that consistently lose money, subsidized by higher in-store prices and reduced labor costs; and

WHEREAS, research by the Economic Roundtable has documented a 21% labor shortfall at Kroger between 2019 and 2023, meaning the gap between the amount of labor needed to operate stores and the staffing actually provided has grown dramatically, forcing workers to skip breaks, endure longer lines, and forgo essential tasks like cleaning and stocking; and

WHEREAS, understaffing has worsened customer service, increased theft through expanded self-checkout systems, and pushed workloads onto workers who already face housing insecurity and poverty wages; and

WHEREAS, Kroger has prioritized Wall Street over workers and communities, spending over $9 billion on stock buybacks and dividends in the last five years, and announcing an additional $7.5 billion buyback last year, even though that $7.5 billion could have built 280 new grocery stores or hired tens of thousands of full-time workers with family-supporting wages; and

WHEREAS, this corporate strategy has produced record profits for investors—Kroger’s profit of $2.7 billion in 2024 was nearly 77% higher than in 2019—while eroding job standards, community food access, and the long-term stability of the grocery industry; 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that MLK Labor strongly condemns Kroger’s decision to close these Fred Meyer stores, eliminate nearly 700 good union jobs, and abandon working-class neighborhoods in favor of Wall Street payouts; and

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Labor Council stands in solidarity with the affected UFCW 3000 members and their families, and commits to supporting their fight for protections, fair treatment, and community reinvestment; and

BE IT FURTHER  RESOLVED, that this Labor Council calls on Kroger to halt these closures, reinvest in staffing, wages, and store conditions, and prioritize workers and communities over speculative ecommerce losses and financial engineering; and

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Labor Council will convene a community town hall meeting with affected workers, community members, elected officials, and allies to highlight the impacts these store closures will have on food access, good union jobs, and neighborhood stability, and to build a united response demanding that Kroger reinvest in workers and communities rather than abandoning them.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this Labor Council urges elected officials, regulatory agencies, and community partners to hold Kroger accountable for its destructive business practices, to defend food access in working-class neighborhoods, and to advance policies that strengthen workers’ rights and protect our communities from corporate abandonment.

Report from Economic Roundtable from May 2025, ‘Bullies at the Table’: https://economicrt.org/publication/bullies-at-the-table/