Why This Red-State Democrat Is Backing A Corporate Merger That Has Unions Furious

Sen. Sherrod Brown has a well-deserved reputation as an economic progressive and staunch union ally, whose focus on the “dignity of work” has helped him hold his seat for three terms in the increasingly Republican state of Ohio.

But Brown, who is up for reelection in a race that will be critical to Democrats retaining control of the Senate, broke from that reputation when he endorsed Cincinnati-based Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons — a merger that progressive groups have lined up against and the Federal Trade Commission is challenging. Albertsons and Kroger are already the two largest grocery store chains in the country, and if successful, the $24.6 billion purchase would be the biggest supermarket merger in U.S. history.

Brown’s support for the merger also puts him at odds with the influential labor unions involved, who oppose the deal because of expected layoffs. Antitrust experts also insist that by reducing options in key markets, the merger would hammer consumers.

“We’ve seen over and over that mergers of this size and scale are bad for consumers and bad for workers,” said Lee Hepner, legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, an anti-monopoly think tank, which produced a paper analyzing the merger’s potential effects.

“This merger in particular will create additional harms to independent grocers and food producers who either compete against Kroger and Albertsons, or negotiate with them for fair compensation.”

Brown has insisted the merger is necessary to help the two unionized chains compete with non-union big-box stores, and sees removing Albertsons from the control of private equity — which has a long history of disassembling companies and displacing their workers — as a positive.

“Senator