New York Takes Strong First Step but Falls Short of Protecting Consumers from Predatory Pricing in Grocery Stores

66 percent of New Yorkers support banning surveillance pricing and ESLs from grocery stores

Large corporations taking advantage of lack of restrictions by rushing to roll out ESLs

ALBANY, N.Y. - Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, UFCW Local Unions across New York, and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) released a statement on the failure of the New York State Assembly to pass The Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Discriminatory Pricing Act, which would protect consumers by banning surveillance pricing and electronic shelf labels (ESLs) from grocery stores across New York. The New York State Assembly passed the One Fair Price Act, which aims to curb surveillance pricing without banning ESLs.

UFCW International Vice President Ademola Oyefeso said:

New York, along with 11 other states, first introduced this legislation in support of the UFCW's "Affordable Groceries and Good Jobs Campaign," to ban the predatory practice of surveillance pricing, target the encroachment of AI-driven technology in grocery stores, and deliver fair prices for families while preserving good, union grocery jobs.

Email [email protected] to speak with a spokesperson about the threat that ESLs and surveillance pricing pose to fair grocery prices and good, union jobs.

BACKGROUND

• Polling found that 64 percent of New York voters think ESLs and 69 percent think surveillance pricing will cause grocery prices to increase. Support for proposed legislation in the state cut across party lines, with 66 percent in favor of banning this technology in grocery stores. More than 70 percent of New Yorkers worry about the cost of groceries for their household.

• ESLs enable retailers to change prices instantaneously, and corporations are racing to deploy them. Walmart, for example, plans to replace traditional paper price tags with digital ones across all of its stores by the end of 2026. The corporation also recently secured patents to use shoppers' personal data to update prices at scale.

• 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.

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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 retail, grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, cannabis, 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.

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) represents 100,000 members throughout the United States. The RWDSU is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). For more information, please visit our website at www.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW Twitter:@RWDSU.