Led by California’s Rob Bonta, Attorneys General from California, Illinois, Washington State and Washington D.C. have filed a lawsuit in District Court to stop Albertsons from paying its private equity shareholders a $4 billion dividend more than a year ahead of the company’s proposed merger with Kroger.

The action follows the lead of UFCW Locals 5, 7, 324, 367, 770 and 3000 along with Teamsters Local 38 who voiced strong opposition to the proposed merger and the dividend scheme that the unions believe would cripple Albertsons’ ability to operate its stores, threatening the jobs of thousands of members and making groceries more expensive and scarcer for millions of families.

“We applaud Attorney General Bonta for taking action to stop Albertsons from robbing communities and undercutting workers to pay billions to its private equity shareholders,” said Local 5 President John Nunes. “Putting the brakes on the proposed payout until the appropriate regulatory review of the merger is complete is clearly the prudent thing to do.”