The union for the chains’ employees had a weaker hand in negotiating wages because Albertsons agreed not to poach its rival’s workers during a strike, a complaint filed Monday alleges.

A Colorado grocery store worker has filed a lawsuit against Kroger and Albertsons over alleging the companies illegally colluded by entering into a “no-poach” agreement amid a 2022 strike against King Soopers.

A recently filed class action alleges that banners of Kroger and Albertsons in Colorado made no-poach agreements regarding King Soopers employees during a 2022 strike.

The lawsuit claims the supermarket giants reached a deal not to poach striking workers in order to reduce the union's negotiating leverage.

Two of the nation's larger grocery store companies is the subject of a new class action lawsuit in Colorado claiming it entered illegal “no-poach” agreements with each other during a union strike in 2022.