A threatened strike at 56 Costco stores across six states has been averted after the company and Teamsters union representatives reached an 11th-hour tentative agreement. The deal, announced early Saturday morning, would address wages, benefits, and other demands made by the union.
The Teamsters union, representing 18,000 workers, had demanded improvements in seniority pay, paid family leave, bereavement policies, sick time, and safeguards against surveillance. While the full terms of the agreement are not available, it marks a significant victory for the union after their previous strike at Amazon last year.
Costco has a reputation for providing relatively good pay and benefits, especially compared to other retail chains. The company recently announced a pay increase of $1 an hour, bringing starting pay up to $20 per hour. However, the union argued that this was not enough considering Costco’s record annual net income of $7.4 billion.
The agreement still needs to be ratified by rank-and-file members of the union at Costco before it goes into effect. Despite this, the averted strike marks a significant achievement for labor advocates and demonstrates the power of collective bargaining in securing better working conditions and compensation for workers.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/01/business/costco-teamsters-strike/index.html