(PUEBLO, Colo.) — Thursday evening, June 29, employees and concerned customers packed the Joseph H. Edwards Active Adult Center on Union Boulevard in Pueblo to voice their thoughts on the Kroger-Albertsons merger.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser led the discussion and covered how this merger can be legal and fair to shoppers and employees.

“The people of Colorado have a right to an attorney general who shows up, listens to them on an issue you guys are living,” Weiser said.

Organizers said this is an issue that will have widespread impacts.

“Look around you,” stated Kim Cordova, president, United Food and Commercial Workers Local Seven (UFCWL7). “There’s a Safeway or Albertsons across the street from a King Soopers. And so, obviously, the companies have announced that hundreds of stores will be divested, potentially closed. And we’ve seen that when Safeway and Albertsons merged and we lost stores.”

According to Pueblo natives, their city is no stranger to food deserts.

“On the west side we only have the Dollar General and the Loaf n Jug,” said Elvis Martinez. “But, there’s no fresh meat, there’s no bakery, if you want to have goods there’s no fruits and veggies.”

Martinez added this could only exacerbate the problem, and make it more difficult for people who do not have easy access to transportation to get fresh produce.

Another Pueblo native, Pam DiFatta, agreed.

“We’re fearful and concerned that we’ll be limited in our access to our food and provisions,” said DiFatta, who is also a former Safeway and King Soopers employee.

Cordova said while it would not technically be considered a monopoly, the conglomerate could have more control over their own prices.

“All the way down the food supply chain, they’re going to have a lot of control. And so, competition is really important for our community and for the consumer and… for workers,” she said.

DiFatta said she is already aware of several people concerned about their pensions if the merge goes through.

“We’ll have a whole bunch of old people who are on pension, your UFCWL7 pension holders that will be on the street. They’re out in the street saying, ‘this is wrong. This is wrong’,” she said.

In a previous statement, Kroger addressed some of these concerns.

“We are bringing together two purpose-driven organizations to deliver superior value to customers, associates, communities and shareholders,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who will continue serving as Chairman and CEO of the combined company. “Albertsons Cos. brings a complementary footprint and operates in several parts of the country with very few or no Kroger stores. This merger advances our commitment to build a more equitable and sustainable food system by expanding our footprint into new geographies to serve more of America with fresh and affordable food and accelerates our position as a more compelling alternative to larger and non-union competitors.”