UFCW Celebrates New Jersey’s First in the Nation Ban on Surveillance Pricing and Moratorium on Electronic Shelf Labels in Grocery Stores

Legislation protects consumers from predatory pricing and heads to Governor Sherrill's desk to become law

TRENTON, N.J. - Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, UFCW Local Unions across New Jersey, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), and RWDSU Local 108 are celebrating the passage of the Fair Price Protection Act (A4085/S3612) through the New Jersey State Legislature, which would ban surveillance pricing and impose a moratorium on electronic shelf labels (ESLs) in grocery stores across New Jersey.

This is set to become the first law to effectively ban surveillance pricing and restrict ESLs, led by Senator Joseph Cryan (D-20), Senator Joseph Lagana (D-38), Assemblyman Chigozie Onyema (D-28), and Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-20), and championed by Governor Mikie Sherrill, Senate President Nicholas Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. Recent polling shows that New Jerseyans overwhelmingly support a ban on these technologies, which threaten to drive up grocery costs.

The presidents of UFCW Locals 152, 312, 360, 464A, 1262, the RWDSU, and RWDSU Local 108, who represent grocery retail workers in New Jersey, said:

"With costs continuing to rise, the last thing consumers need is price gouging at the grocery store. This legislation will protect families across New Jersey from having their personal data used against them to squeeze every cent they have. Our state has taken a stand and made history with this legislation.

"We applaud the Senate and Assembly for their work on this issue, and we thank Senate President Scutari, Speaker Coughlin, Senator Cryan, and Assemblyman Onyema, who championed this bill to protect consumers and grocery workers. We look forward to Governor Sherrill signing this bill into law."

New Jersey is among 12 states that have joined 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.

UFCW International Vice President Ademola Oyefeso said:

"New Jersey is now the first state to stand up for shoppers and make clear that this predatory technology has no place in our grocery stores. The UFCW applauds Governor Sherrill for her leadership in passing this first-of-its-kind bill.

"Electronic shelf labels are nothing more than a tool for corporations to hike prices and eliminate good jobs. Any lawmaker who is serious about lowering the cost of groceries in their state needs to make banning ESLs and surveillance pricing in grocery stores a priority - Americans cannot afford to wait."

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 61 percent of New Jersey voters think ESLs and 67 percent think surveillance pricing will cause grocery prices to increase. Support for proposed legislation in the state cut across party lines, with 65 percent in favor of banning this technology in grocery stores. More than 73 percent worried about the cost of groceries for their households.

• 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 atwww.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW Twitter:@RWDSU.

CONTACT: Finn Storer [email protected]