UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580 

Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson 

In the Matter of Anchor Glass Container Corp. 

File No. 211-0182 

March 14, 2023 

Today, the Commission announced that it has accepted, subject to final approval, another 

consent agreement with a company in the glass container industry. The consent resolves 

allegations that the use of non-compete agreements in employee contracts constitutes an unfair 

method of competition that violates Section 5 of the FTC Act. This case against Anchor Glass 

follows law enforcement actions announced in January 2023 involving two other industry 

participants, O-I Glass and Ardagh Group.1

 Today’s case involves a similar fact pattern and 

suffers from the same flaws as those earlier cases. For the same reasons that I dissented in those 

cases,2 I dissent here. 

Like the January 2023 actions, this case reflects the approach of the new Section 5 Policy 

Statement.3 It alleges that the use of non-compete agreements has a tendency to harm 

competition and workers, but fails to provide facts to support the hypothesized outcome. Similar 

to the Commission’s complaints against O-I Glass and Ardagh Group, the complaint against 

Anchor Glass suffers from several omissions. It does not allege that the company’s non-compete 

provisions are unreasonable based on their temporal length, subject matter, or geographic scope; 

neither does it allege that the non-compete clauses were enforced. The complaint does not make 

factual allegations regarding the inability of a competing rival in the glass container industry to 

enter or expand. While the complaint alleges that the non-compete clauses reduce employee 

mobility, thereby leading to lower wages, reduced benefits, and less favorable working 

1 See In the Matter of O-I Glass, Inc., FTC File No. 211-0182 (Jan. 4, 2023), 

https://www ftc.gov/system/files/ftc gov/pdf/2110182o-iglasscomplaint.pdf; In the Matter of Ardagh Group S.A., 

FTC File No. 211-0182, https://www ftc.gov/system/files/ftc gov/pdf/2110182ardaghcomplaint.pdf. 

2

 Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson, In the Matter of O-I Glass, Inc. and In the Matter of 

Ardagh Group S.A., FTC File No. 211-0182 (Jan. 4, 2023), https://www ftc.gov/system/files/ftc gov/pdf/wilsondissenting-statement-glass-container-cases.pdf. 

3

 Fed. Trade Comm’n, Policy Statement Regarding the Scope of Unfair Methods of Competition Under Section 5 of 

the Federal Trade Commission Act (Nov. 10, 2022), 

https://www ftc.gov/system/files/ftc gov/pdf/p221202sec5enforcementpolicystatement 002.pdf; Christine S. 

Wilson, Dissenting Statement Regarding the “Policy Statement Regarding the Scope of Unfair Methods of 

Competition Under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act” (Nov. 10, 2022), 

https://www ftc.gov/system/files/ftc gov/pdf/P221202Section5PolicyWilsonDissentStmt.pdf. 
 

conditions, the complaint does not identify a relevant market for particular types of labor and 

fails to allege a market effect on wages or other terms of employment. 

For the reasons outlined here and explained in detail in my January 2023 statement, I dissent.