WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), America’s largest private sector union representing 1.2 million workers in meatpacking, food processing, grocery, retail, and other essential industries across North America, endorsed The Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act, introduced by U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
UFCW International President Milton Jones said:
“The UFCW wholeheartedly endorses the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act and applauds Congresswoman Tlaib’s leadership on this issue.
“With the cost of living continuing to rise, the last thing families need is price gouging at the supermarket. Technologies like electronic shelf tags threaten to usher in a new era where the price of an item you pick up from the shelf can change within the amount of time it takes to walk to the register. Even more concerning, customers could be charged different prices based on personal data like income, race, gender, and more. ‘Surveillance pricing’ is deeply unfair, potentially discriminatory, and must be banned.
“This legislation will protect consumers as well as the hard-working UFCW members who help families put food on the table each time they visit their local grocery store.”
Background
- The Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act prohibits price gouging by retail food stores. The legislation bans surveillance pricing in retail food stores, with narrow exceptions for things like senior or student discounts; requires food stores to disclose the use of facial recognition technology; prevents electronic shelf labels in large stores; and tasks the Federal Trade Commission with enforcement.
- Since 2020, grocery prices have gone up by more than 28 percent for families and now, across the country, families are struggling to put food on the table. More than 47 million Americans are food insecure, including more than 7 million children.
- Electronic shelf labels (ESLs) allow stores to change prices in a matter of seconds and enable corporations to leverage new technology against consumers. ESL technology can incorporate vast amounts of personal data and set different prices for different people based on personal characteristics, like race, gender, and income. Everyone deserves to pay the same prices for the same goods.
- Grocery retail chains are already using ESLs in pilots around the country. Kroger began using ESLs in dozens of stores in 2018, expanding to 500 in 2023. Wal-Mart has announced it will bring ESLs to 2,300 of its stores by 2026, and Schnucks is working to expand ESLs to all 115 stores by 2025.
- “Surveillance pricing” is the practice of changing prices for an item based on personal data and willingness to pay. Corporations can craft individualized profiles of their customers by collecting and purchasing a massive amount of sensitive personal information. This information, paired with mobile apps, online stores, smart carts, electronic shelf labels, and facial recognition or other biometric technology, allows companies to charge different people different prices for the same item.
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The UFCW International is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, cannabis, retail, and other essential industries. UFCW members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at ufcw.org.