Labor News & Commentary February 12 Kroger worker strike hints at broader dissatisfaction among retail workers

https://onlabor.org/february-12-2025/

By Jacqueline Rayfield

Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.

In today’s News and Commentary, a Kroger worker strike hints at broader dissatisfaction among retail workers, and the American Federation of Teachers filed the latest in a string of lawsuits against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

In Colorado, over 10,000 workers at the Kroger-owned supermarket, King Soopers, reached nearly a week on strike. The workers’ union, UFCW Local 7, began bargaining with Kroger and King Soopers in October, but the union reported that both retail chains refused to bargain in good faith. UFCW called an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike on February 6 in response to the retail chain’s refusal to bargain. Yesterday, King Soopers responded to the ongoing strike by seeking a temporary restraining order against thousands of their own striking employees, claiming that these workers have created unsafe conditions outside their stores. Commentators note that despite low overall union density, retail workers continue to express interest in joining unions, and their union membership rate has increased gradually in the past year. Workers at Starbucks, Amazon, and Whole Foods have made headlines over the past year for their unionization efforts against union-hostile employers.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging that Elon Musk’s new government department, DOGE, violated federal law by disclosing U.S. citizens’ personal information. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, named after the Shiba Inu-themed meme and cryptocurrency, aims to reduce government spending and regulation. The AFT’s suit against DOGE is one of many filed by labor unions alleging that the Trump administration has breached the Privacy Act.