A labor union that represents thousands of grocery workers at Fred Meyer, Albertsons and Safeway stores in several Western states has endorsed a proposed merger between their parent companies.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 on Monday announced its support of the proposed $24.6 billion deal between Kroger, the parent company of Fred Meyer and QFC, and Albertsons, which also owns Safeway.

The endorsement appears to break with the national UFCW organization and other locals that have opposed the merger.

Miles Eshaia, a spokesperson for Local 555, said it has never previously weighed in on the proposed merger. The local represents 33,000 workers in Oregon, southwest Washington, Idaho and Wyoming, including some employees at Kroger- and Albertsons-owned stores.

UFCW Local 3000, a neighboring union that represents 50,000 workers across much of Washington, northeast Oregon and northern Idaho, has vocally opposed merger since the deal was announced in October 2022. It also represents some Kroger and Albertsons employees.

The national organization opposes the merger plan. It previously said that the proposed merger “has serious implications” for UFCW members and that the union would oppose any move that would threaten workers’ livelihoods.

Eshaia said the UFCW Local 555’s endorsement comes several weeks after union leaders met with representatives of C&S Wholesale Grocers. C&S, one of the largest wholesalers in the U.S., agreed to purchase at least 413 U.S. stores, including at least 49 Oregon stores, owned by Kroger and Albertsons if the Federal Trade Commission approves the merger.

He said the union has reasoned that Cerberus Capital Management, which bought Albertsons for $350 million in 2006, plans to sell Albertsons stores eventually and that the proposed merger and plan to divest the stores to C&S would be the best outcome for workers.

“You can’t assume things will stay the same by opposing the merger,” Eshaia said. “Cerberus intends to sell Albertsons stores to someone. If it’s not going to be Kroger, it’s going to be sold to someone else.”

Dan Clay, president of UFCW Local 555, echoed a similar sentiment in a statement, saying workers in the sold-off stores would be better off under C&S than other potential buyers.

“We were pleased to find not only that they understood and liked the grocery business, but also recognized the importance of quality employees to their ongoing success,” Clay said.

Kroger and Albertsons have said they would sell off stores to a competitor in a bid to win approval from the Federal Trade Commission, which is evaluating whether the merger would hurt consumers by reducing competition.

The grocery companies have not yet revealed which stores and other properties will be sold off to C&S as part of the plan. Eshaia said the union also was not told which stores C&S would take on if the merger were approved.

Founded in 1918, C&S is a grocery wholesaler and distributor to more than 7,900 independent supermarkets, retail chain stores and military bases from Maine to Texas and Hawaii. It owns the Piggly Wiggly brand of grocery stores in the South and Midwest, and it operates a distribution warehouse in Troutdale.

Attorneys general in Washington state and Colorado have filed lawsuits seeking to block the proposed merger. The Federal Trade Commission has yet to announce whether it will challenge the deal.

“You can’t assume things will stay the same by opposing the merger. Cerberus intends to sell Albertsons stores to someone. If it’s not going to be Kroger, it’s going to be sold to someone else.”

— Miles Eshala, Local 555