A roundup of news and announcements we don’t want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!

by Vee Hua 華婷婷

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FTC Sues to Block Kroger-Albertson Merger, the ‘Largest Supermarket Merger in U.S. History’

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Monday, Feb. 26, that it sued to block the Kroger Company’s $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons Companies, calling the deal “anticompetitive.”

“The FTC charges that the proposed deal will eliminate fierce competition between Kroger and Albertsons, leading to higher prices for groceries and other essential household items for millions of Americans,” the FTC said in a press release. “The loss of competition will also lead to lower quality products and services, while also narrowing consumers’ choices for where to shop for groceries.”

Washington was the first state to sue to block the merger, and last week, UFCW 3000, representing more than 100,000 Kroger and Albertsons workers in more than a dozen states, announced its support of legal actions taken by Washington and Colorado.

“Our coalition has been outspoken in its opposition to the proposed mega merger of Kroger and Albertsons since it was first announced by those companies in October of 2022,” the union said in a press statement. “Over the last 16 months, our opposition has both deepened and broadened.”

City Councilmember Tammy Morales told the Emerald in 2022 that corporate mergers don’t do anything for consumers.

“They are meant to cut costs to increase profits,” Morales said. “This has the potential to dramatically increase food costs, decrease food access, and lead to worker layoffs if stores are closed. I worry that a merger like this will increase food insecurity in low-income neighborhoods in Seattle and every other community in the country.”

The FTC has lost previous attempts to block corporate mergers, and Kroger said the FTC’s efforts “makes it more likely that America’s consumers will see higher food prices.”

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Biden Administration Cancels Additional $1.2B in Student Loan Debts

Last week, the Biden administration announced it would cancel $1.2 million in student loans for eligible individuals. It’s estimated the plan would affect nearly 153,000 individuals who are presently enrolled in a program called “Saving on a Valuable Education” (SAVE). Low- and middle-income individuals who are eligible for this wave of debt cancellation must have borrowed $12,000 or less in student loans but have been repaying their debts for over 10 years.

This deal comes after last June’s Supreme Court decision, which prohibited the Biden administration from canceling what it originally hoped would be over $400 billion in student loan debts. The Supreme Court ruled the debt relief program did not comply with federal law.

Since then, the Biden administration has been working on alternate routes toward debt cancellation. In total, the White House says the administration has “approved nearly $138 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 3.9 million borrowers through more than two dozen executive actions.”

Those who are eligible to receive this present wave of debt forgiveness will receive an email from Biden.

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Medals of Merit and Valor Awarded to Donnie Chin and Dr. Abe Bergman

On Wednesday, Feb. 21, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee joined Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, Lieutenant Gov. Denny Heck, and Chief Justice Steven C. González to award the State’s Medals of Merit and Valor for the first time in nine years. The Medal of Merit is offered to individuals who have performed outstanding services for the state and its residents, while the Medal of Valor is offered to citizens and non-government employees who have saved or attempted to save the life of another, while risking their own safety along the way.

Both recipients of this year’s medals were recognized posthumously. Chinatown-International District (CID) stalwart Donnie Chin — who founded the International District Emergency Center volunteer organization in 1968 and was known for his work training two generations of youth and young adults — received the Medal of Valor. Chin was shot and killed in the summer of 2015 while patrolling the CID neighborhood in his vehicle.

Professor and pediatrician Dr. Abe Bergman, who died in November 2023 at the age of 91, received the Medal of Merit. Bergman was the founder of the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic and was chief of pediatrics at Harborview Medical Center for over two decades. He was well-known for helping create an ecosystem of more equitable health care, especially for children and individuals living with disabilities.

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Voices of Resistencia Offers Evening of Storytelling About Resilience Against Deportation and Detention

On March 3, join La Resistencia, Seattle Rep, Hinton Publishing, and the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights in an evening of storytelling around resilience and local fights against detention and deportation. The evening will entail a series of theatrical readings that honor the stories and memories of community members who were deported in the Seattle area over the past year. The stories were gathered by UW students, through Northwest Detention Center, and over phone interviews with individuals who have been forcibly removed from the U.S.

All tickets are sliding scale, $0–$50, with proceeds going to La Resistencia, a grassroots nonprofit organization led by undocumented individuals and immigrants that supports individuals who have been oppressed by the immigrant enforcement system.

RSVP online via SeattleRep.org/Resistencia.

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📸 Featured Image: Albertsons owns both Safeway and Haggen, and there are over 216 Safeway and Albertsons stores in the state, alongside 114 Kroger-owned Fred Meyer and QFC stores — meaning Albertsons and Kroger own most grocery store options for consumers in Washington State. The merger between the two companies would impact food security as well as grocery store worker jobs. (Photo: Tom Geiger)

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