UFCW - United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

03/06/2026 | Press release | Archived content

UFCW Slams Walmart’s Decision to Roll Out Electronic Shelf Labels Chainwide, Urges Lawmakers to Act Quickly

Electronic Shelf Labels Represent a Key Tool in Efforts to Roll Out Predatory Pricing Strategies in Brick-and-Mortar Retail

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents 1.2 million essential workers across North America, including more than 800,000 grocery workers, released a statement in response to Walmart's plans to accelerate its rollout of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), or digital price tags, across all 5,200 of its stores.

Ademola Oyefeso, UFCW International Vice President, said:

"Walmart's move to accelerate its rollout of electronic shelf labels coincides with Congress and states considering legislation that would ban this technology and the predatory pricing practices that go along with it. No retailer should beat lawmakers to the punch and get to escape accountability for the harms these technologies will cause consumers and workers.

"Major retailers like Walmart see electronic shelf labels as the next opportunity to squeeze consumers for every dime they have. With this technology, retailers will be able to hike prices in the shopping rush before a snowstorm or after school lets out. The concept of a fair price no longer exists with electronic shelf labels. And it is not only consumers who will suffer. Workers could see their hours cut or could have to explain price changes to confused shoppers."

"Lawmakers at every level must act quickly and put protections in place now. Retailers like Walmart cannot be trusted to do the right thing."

BACKGROUND

  • UFCW launched the "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.
  • At the federal level, the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act has been introduced in the Senate by New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Luján and Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Oregon Congresswoman Val Hoyle are leading the House version of the bill.
  • In addition to federal legislation, state legislators in New York, Oklahoma, Washington, Arizona, Nebraska, Maryland, New Jersey, Iowa, Illinois, and Tennessee have introduced bills to ban ESLs and surveillance pricing.
  • 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 all 5,200 of its stores in the next year. Kroger began using ESLs in dozens of stores in 2018, expanding to 500 in 2023. Schnucks (St. Louis area) has been working to expand ESLs to all 115 stores.
  • 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 grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, cannabis, retail, 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.

UFCW - United Food and Commercial Workers International Union published this content on March 06, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 23, 2026 at 17:48 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]