On August 13, the UFCW endorsed the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act, introduced by U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
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.
“The UFCW wholeheartedly endorses the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act and applauds Congresswoman Tlaib’s leadership on this issue,” said UFCW International President Milton Jones in a statement.
“With the cost of living continuing to rise, the last thing families need is price gouging at the supermarket,” Jones added. “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.”
Representative Tlaib introduced this legislation on August 13 at an event on in front of a Walmart store in Dearborn, Mich., with UFCW Local 876 President Dan Pedersen and staff. Detroit Action, a community-based organization, and residents of Dearborn also attended the event.
“Large grocery retailers are adopting new technologies that exploit consumers and workers for profit and make it harder for struggling families to put food on the table,” said Pedersen at the Dearborn event. “Congress must protect consumers and workers from the overreach of these new technologies and the threat they pose to family budgets, workers’ hours, and all of our privacy. The Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act makes sure that families can afford the food they need, without Big Brother’s interference, and protects the essential grocery store workers here in Michigan who help put food on the table.”