PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Kroger and Albertsons defended their merger plan and sought to overcome objections from the U.S. government in a hearing in federal court in Oregon that began Monday.

The two companies have proposed the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history in October 2022. They say the merger would help them contain costs and better compete with major rivals such as Walmart and Costco.

However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tried to block the deal because it would eliminate competition and increase food prices at a time of already high food inflation.

“This lawsuit is part of an effort to help Americans feed their families,” FTC Chief Counsel Susan Musser said in her opening statement Monday.

The commission also alleges that quality would suffer and workers’ wages and benefits would decline if Kroger and Albertsons no longer competed with each other.

Before the hearing, several members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International union gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland with signs reading “Stop the Merger” to speak out against the proposed deal.

“Enough is enough,” said Carol McMillian, bakery manager at a Kroger-owned grocery store in Colorado. “We can no longer stand by and tolerate corporate greed that puts profits before people. Our workers, our communities and our customers deserve better.”

Kroger said the merger will help preserve union jobs. The company said it has created 100,000 union jobs since 2012.

In the three-week hearing that began Monday, the FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction that would block the deal while its lawsuit is heard before an internal administrative law judge. U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson is expected to hear from about 40 witnesses, including the CEOs of Kroger and Albertsons, before deciding whether to issue the preliminary injunction.

The attorneys general of Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming joined the FTC in the lawsuit. Washington and Colorado filed separate lawsuits in state court to block the merger.

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, operates 2,800 stores in 35 states, including brands such as Ralphs, Smith’s and Harris Teeter. Albertsons, based in Boise, Idaho, operates 2,273 stores in 34 states, including brands such as Safeway, Jewel Osco and Shaw’s. Together, the companies employ about 710,000 people.

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