Tennessee Legislators to Hold Hearing on UFCW-Backed Surveillance Pricing and Self-Checkout Bills

"Grocery prices are still sky high, and now surveillance pricing threatens to drive prices even higher. Lawmakers must stop corporations from being able to change prices on families in the blink of an eye just because they live in the wrong neighborhood or shop at a busy time of day. States are leading the charge in taking on these practices because this is not a red state or blue state issue. This affects all of us, and Tennessee is leading the way.

"We're proud to support this legislation in Tennessee that makes groceries affordable for families, improves the shopping experience for all customers, and empowers grocery store workers, including many UFCW members in "The Volunteer State," to continue to do their essential work helping people put food on the table. We thank Leader Camper for her action on these important issues."

• HB 2051 requires grocery retailers to maintain a minimum staffing ratio between self-checkout stations and staffed checkout stations, while improving the self-checkout experience by shortening wait times through additional measures. HB 2052 bans the practice of surveillance pricing by grocery retailers and requires the use of paper or sticker price tags in stores.

• In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), under Chair Lina Khan and the Biden administration, initiated a study into surveillance pricing practices and released initial findings in January 2025 detailing the practice. However, shortly after President Trump took office, the FTC killed the inquiry.

• Electronic shelf labels, or ESLs, are the missing piece of the surveillance pricing puzzle. With ESLs, companies can change prices in the blink of an eye, and when combined with the AI tools and data collection of surveillance pricing, customers don't stand a chance at the grocery stores.

• Some retailers are racing to deploy ESL technology in their stores. Walmart has announced it will bring ESLs to 2,300 of its stores by 2026. Kroger began using ESLs in dozens of stores in 2018, expanding to 500 in 2023. Schnucks (St. Louis area) is working to expand ESLs to all 115 stores by 2025.

• ESLs also threaten the livelihoods of grocery workers. These systems could replace the skilled work of grocery clerks or, at the very least, leave them to explain a company's actions to rightfully angry shoppers. The UFCW represents more than 800,000 grocery workers across North America. UFCW members are essential to keeping our communities fed, and they know how disruptive ESLs could be for workers and shoppers alike.