METRO WASHINGTON LABOR COUNCIL AFL-CIO
  • Home
  • Board & Staff
  • Who We Are
  • Calendar
  • Evening With Labor
    • Archive >
      • 2021 Evening With Labor
      • 2019 Evening With Labor
      • 2017 Evening With Labor
      • 2018 Evening With Labor
      • 2015 Evening With Labor
      • 2016 Evening With Labor
  • Stay Connected
  • Programs
    • Community Services >
      • Espanol
      • Mission
      • Donate Now
      • Programs
      • Funders
      • Archives
    • Political Action >
      • Archive
      • Mission
      • Elected Officials
      • Endorsements
      • DMV Voters Guide
      • Candidate Questionnaires: Archive 2006-2014 >
        • 2018
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • Other
        • 2012
        • 2010
        • 2008
        • 2007
        • 2006
    • DC unemployment appeals
  • Hiring Hall
    • ADMINISTRATIVE
    • COMMUNICATIONS
    • INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
    • INTERNSHIPS
    • LEGAL
    • MISC
    • ORGANIZING
    • POLITICAL
    • RESEARCH
  • Affiliates

Union says Safeway undermined by private equity plunderers

8/16/2019

 
Picture
As UFCW Local 400 members prepare for contract negotiations with Safeway, the union says one factor looms as perhaps the greatest obstacle they face: the toxic impact of private equity. “Private equity is the ultimate example of our rigged economy,” says Local 400 President Mark Federici. “They’ve gamed the system so no matter what happens to the corporations they acquire, it’s ‘heads they win, tails you lose.’” In 2013, Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm, bought Albertsons through a leveraged buy-out and then in 2015, when Albertson’s bought Safeway, Cerberus borrowed almost $8 billion dollars to finance the transaction. “As a result,” says Local 400, “the entire Albertsons empire is under the control of Cerberus and owes $12.5 billion dollars to bond-holders. Meeting this enormous debt burden has thus become the priority for Cerberus, rather than investing in Safeway’s stores and workers.” But even that’s not the whole story, because Cerberus is also paying itself millions in management fees. Federici said that success at the bargaining table depends on both inside and outside strategies, finding investor-related pressure points while empowering members to mobilize at the same time.
Read more about this on Local 400’s website.
photo: Steve Feinberg, billionaire co-founder and CEO of Cerberus Capital Management


Comments are closed.
    Picture

      Sign up here for the latest DC-area labor news!

    Subscribe to Newsletter

    COMMUNITY SERVICES

    EN ESPANOL

    DC UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS

    LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

    Tweets by @DCLabor

    ​Leaders & Staff

    AFFILIATES

    Constitution

    Documents

    AFFILIATE Social Media

    HIRING HALL

    Evening with Labor

    Union City News

    UNION SHOP

    UNION PLUS

Share any story to Facebook, Twitter or via email!
Just click on the story ​and then click on the  social media icon!
COPYRIGHT METRO WASHINGTON LABOR COUNCIL AFL-CIO 2023
202-974-8150; [email protected]
  • Home
  • Board & Staff
  • Who We Are
  • Calendar
  • Evening With Labor
    • Archive >
      • 2021 Evening With Labor
      • 2019 Evening With Labor
      • 2017 Evening With Labor
      • 2018 Evening With Labor
      • 2015 Evening With Labor
      • 2016 Evening With Labor
  • Stay Connected
  • Programs
    • Community Services >
      • Espanol
      • Mission
      • Donate Now
      • Programs
      • Funders
      • Archives
    • Political Action >
      • Archive
      • Mission
      • Elected Officials
      • Endorsements
      • DMV Voters Guide
      • Candidate Questionnaires: Archive 2006-2014 >
        • 2018
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • Other
        • 2012
        • 2010
        • 2008
        • 2007
        • 2006
    • DC unemployment appeals
  • Hiring Hall
    • ADMINISTRATIVE
    • COMMUNICATIONS
    • INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
    • INTERNSHIPS
    • LEGAL
    • MISC
    • ORGANIZING
    • POLITICAL
    • RESEARCH
  • Affiliates