In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the 43,000 residents have no choice but to shop at the town's only grocery store, thanks to a restrictive covenant that locks out competition. With limited transportation, most live in what the USDA calls a food desert. Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos pushed a bill to ban such covenants, a rare win against monopolistic practices. But this is just a symptom of a deeper crisis.
Across the country, food suppliers and major chains are flouting the Robinson-Patman Act, a 1936 law that prohibits price discrimination. The Federal Trade Commission recently dropped a case alleging PepsiCo gave Walmart illegal discounts while charging smaller stores more. The decision barely registered among Democrats, even as the party struggles to reconnect with labor voters who drifted toward Trump's protectionist rhetoric.
Grocery worker wages have fallen 15% in real terms over two decades, partly due to inflation but largely because of consolidation and automation. About 12% of grocery workers now experience intermittent homelessness, according to Faye Guenther, president of UFCW Local 3000. “Workers work around food all day and can barely afford to buy it,” she told me. The pandemic hero pay of $2 an hour was quickly clawed back as chains merged.
While chains like Walmart post record profits, young Americans face the worst summer job market in nearly a century, driven by a steep drop in grocery hiring. The industry's top players are growing three times faster than the sector average, squeezing out independents. This is happening with little pushback from Washington, where both parties have accepted lobbyist money from grocery and retailer groups.
Rhode Island became the first state to limit self-checkout and ban restrictive covenants, but state-level fixes can't match the scale of the problem. As Democrats eye potential gains in 2026 and 2028, they need a federal strategy. Enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act is a start. Passing the PRO Act, which would strengthen union rights, is critical. Former President Biden never brought it to a vote, a major factor in labor's 2024 shift away from Democrats.
The party's silence on these issues is political malpractice. For a party that claims to champion workers, ignoring the link between thriving labor and democracy is a losing message. As Guenther put it, “If anybody cares about protecting democracy, people need to focus on making sure Democrats actually enact pro-labor policies. Otherwise, we’re just going to keep repeating this cycle.”
With the 2028 field already taking shape, candidates who embrace labor's fight could rebuild a fractured coalition. But first, they must prove they’re willing to take on the corporate giants that have hollowed out Main Street.
