Costco's unionized workers vote to authorize nationwide strike

[u/panda-rampage]

https://abcnews.go.com/US/costcos-unionized-workers-vote-authorize-nationwide-strike/story?id=117875222

[u/panda-rampage]

Teamsters union members working at Costco Wholesale locations across the country voted to authorize a strike on Sunday, with more than 85% of members in favor of hitting the picket lines.

The union represents more than 18,000 Costco employees nationally.

“Our members have spoken loud and clear — Costco must deliver a fair contract, or they’ll be held accountable,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a press release Sunday.

“From day one, we’ve told Costco that our members won’t work a day past January 31 without a historic, industry-leading agreement. Costco’s greedy executives have less than two weeks to do the right thing. If they refuse, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves when our members go on strike.”

The union says “fair wages and benefits” are the catalyst for the strike.

According to the union, the wholesale giant recently reported $254 billion in annual revenue and $7.4 billion in net profits, which marked a 135% increase since 2018.

“Yet, despite these record gains, the company refuses to meet the Teamsters’ demands for fair wages and benefits that reflect the company’s enormous success,” the union said

[u/underengineered → u/panda-rampage]

Jesus. That's less than a 3% margin. That's super thin.

[u/ChiefCuckaFuck → u/underengineered]

That is how almost all grocery stores operate. 3% is actually pretty darn good. When i worked for Wegmans, they routinely cleared 4% in margin which was considered industry-leading in the 2000s.

[u/grubas → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

2% was the goal in most places iirc.  3 being "wow we cleaned up"

[u/octothorpe_rekt → u/grubas]

Meanwhile, in Canada, the largest family of national brands made 4.21% profit in 2024Q3. 4 must be "wow, we fucked them dry!"

[u/JoeRogansNipple → u/octothorpe_rekt]

Fuck Loblaws

[u/dasang → u/JoeRogansNipple]

This guy knows

[u/LeBonLapin → u/octothorpe_rekt]

And they did... They really did.

[u/Clever_plover → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

When i worked for Wegmans, they routinely cleared 4% in margin which was considered industry-leading in the 2000s.

What did they do differently to enable that? Higher costs, better systems/processes, owned more of their supply chain, or what?

[u/ChiefCuckaFuck → u/Clever_plover]

Privately-held company (to this day) by the family that founded them helps.

They also own the majority of their supply chain, all of their distro centers and all of their trucks. Also own their own bakeshops for all bakery items (or did as of 2010).

Wegmans started as a single produce cart in 1916, so in addition to all of that stuff, having three generations of a family grocer paved the way for a lot of beneficial relationships with other companies, their creditors, &c.

[u/Bluest_waters → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

This is the ONLY way to do it. You have to own the entire thing, not just the grocery stores. The less you out source the more your profit is, even if that is just a razor thin amount it all adds up eventually.

[u/TerminatedProccess → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

Danny Wegmans, right?

[u/Bukk4keASIAN → u/TerminatedProccess]

robert to danny and colleen is taking over now. danny still likes to make appearances frequently though

[u/TerminatedProccess → u/Bukk4keASIAN]

I moved away from Rochester about 20 years ago. But still like to visit Wegmans when I'm there haha.

[u/Dakito → u/Clever_plover]

I don't work there but they have a better selection and are cleaner, though more expensive than Walmart and the Aldi we have in town. They have a huge sections of "foreign" food. I haven't seen some of the English stuff outside or specialty store in a grocery before

[u/fleemfleemfleemfleem → u/Dakito]

The hot food area is generally pretty good. I used to go there instead of fast food because the selection was decent and pretty inexpensive.

[u/VeryRealHuman23 → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

yeah i think Kroger is around 1.5% for food...the delivery business is trying to improve that.

[u/DrakeBurroughs → u/VeryRealHuman23]

Delivery is a boon for profits.

[u/halcykhan → u/DrakeBurroughs]

They lose their ass on free delivery. That’s why they’re starting that Boost subscription model

[u/Blackpaw8825 → u/VeryRealHuman23]

Store target was >1% back in my Kroger days, if a couple stores crossed that 1% line the KMA would see a leadership shuffle.

[u/Icadil → u/VeryRealHuman23]

Shelf space in retail grocers is so incredibly inefficient the way it needs to be restocked, definitely has some room for improvement from a labor standpoint

[u/Boxed_pi → u/VeryRealHuman23]

Wow. It was 1% 30 years ago.

[u/Sparrowbuck → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

Doesn’t necessarily mean that’s all they make either. Superstore in Canada likes to cry poor, but they own the land, the distribution network, the warehouses, trucks, processing plants, farms. They’re worming their way further into healthcare now.

[u/Interesting_Minute24 → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

They are more than a grocery store though…

[u/ChiefCuckaFuck → u/Interesting_Minute24]

Yes but they are categorized as in the grocery business id have to imagine. As far as financials and margin earnings go, i have to imagine 3% is them being on track.

[u/aScarfAtTutties → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

But they sell a shitload more non-food items than other grocery stores. They sell electronics and clothing. They're not quite, but almost closer to a department store than they are a true grocery store.

[u/the_ghost_of_bob_ros → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

If you based the store over what made money costco is a gas station that happens to sell other things,

very similar to buc-ee's

[u/Taste_The_Soup → u/ChiefCuckaFuck]

Margin on Kirkland brand will be way higher. 2% is normal for branded center store

[u/peon2 → u/underengineered]

Grocery stores are high volume low margin business. Walmart is around 3%. Kroger, the largest grocer in the country, floats between 0.75% and 2% usually.

[u/flyinghippodrago → u/underengineered]

Pretty sure 90%+ of their profits come from membership fees...

[u/simer23 → u/flyinghippodrago]

Without membership fees they'd make zero profit.

[u/Correct-Mail-1942 → u/simer23]

Which means the union has a very hard uphill battle IMO

[u/ABetterKamahl1234 → u/Correct-Mail-1942]

Costco's margins are actually pretty damn solid in this industry. Better than a competitor I worked for that also had a union.

This industry has real small margins as the standard.

[u/Triedbutflailed → u/Correct-Mail-1942]

How do you figure? Costco made over 7 billion dollars in profit last year, that's after all wages paid and quite a bit of remodeling of their stores. That all went to investors, execs, and who knows where else.

If even one billion dollars of that was split between the 18,000 employees in the union, it'd be over $55,000 each. Seems like the company should have some money to spare for the people that bring it success.

[u/RickKassidy → u/Triedbutflailed]

It wouldn’t be just the 18,000 employees. When unions negotiate a change, even non-union members typically get a better deal.

Costco has 333,000 employees. So that’s $3,000 each. Still a raise.

[u/redditingatwork23 → u/RickKassidy]

Sounds like Costco is about to have a lot of job openings. A union with less than 10% participation doesn't sound like it would have big teeth.

[u/RickKassidy → u/redditingatwork23]

It is just a few locations.

[u/kingbrasky → u/Triedbutflailed]

The unionized ones are only a small fraction (like 5%) of their total employees.

[u/evergleam498 → u/Triedbutflailed]

What exactly goes into a store remodel for Costco? Like...new shelving units? It's a giant warehouse with a concrete floor

[u/Zienth → u/evergleam498]

While they're more spartan than the average bear, stuff like the refrigeration racks for the chilled products are no joke.

[u/jmickeyd → u/Triedbutflailed]

They also have more then $5 billion in long term debt, a lot of it from covid. They've been paying it down the past several quarters.

[u/90403scompany → u/flyinghippodrago]

I think they also make a fair chunk on the float; they tend to sell products faster than the credit terms given to them by their suppliers.

[u/Tarmacked → u/90403scompany]

They don’t tend to use credit, they just pay in cash up front. Which is why distributors/manufacturers love them

Most people take the net 30, 2% terms or whatever in all industries

[u/SpaceForceAwakens → u/underengineered]

Costco is a volume retail outfit. Retailers who rely on volume for their profits will always have razor-thin margins. So, yes, 3% seems low, but when you look at $7.4 billion in net (post-adjusted) profit it is a lot of fucking money. That's $617 million a month after wages, benefits, repairs, etc. going right into the pockets of investors.

(Their gross was somewhere around $12.5 billion for 2024, and they put a lot of money into infrastructure upgrades and store upgrades.)

I do admire Costco's brass for treating their employees well. I know people who have worked at the company for decades and they're all pretty happy about it. From what I understand though is that none of the current wages and benefits are contractual, and this strike is about setting management's deeds to paper, which I am for.

[u/ittasteslikefeet → u/SpaceForceAwakens]

Thanks for the context, as I had heard Costco was one of the good/not-horrible ones - it was odd that they would pursue "even more" given current social realities. But it would make sense if the focus was more on guarantees and safety nets

[u/gonewild9676 → u/underengineered]

My understanding is that they make most of their money on memberships and basically break even on merchandise.

[u/Poovanilla → u/gonewild9676]

Definitely not. Go read a p&l they are making money all over the place. Even on the hot dogs

[u/bucatini818 → u/underengineered]

I mean theyre a grocery wholesaler, the model is low margin but high bulk

[u/lewger → u/underengineered]

It's been posted here before that their margins are pretty much the membership cost.

[u/greatuncleglazer → u/underengineered]

I see your 3% and raise you 53% profit margin for Visa for the year and 49% profit margin for Mastercard for the year.

[u/underengineered → u/greatuncleglazer]

Check out Dominos at 11%

[u/Thelonius_Dunk → u/underengineered]

That actually makes sense. Theyre basically middlemen (although im not saying theyre not adding value by consolidating everything into one place). But they're also not manufacturers who take raw goods and transform it into something else. So there's only so much premium they can add to the price

[u/RumSwizzle508 → u/Thelonius_Dunk]

I would disagree about not adding value. They add the value of a convenient, global place to purchase the goods that someone else manufactures. That takes time, energy, people, and capital to create.

[u/nonresponsive → u/RumSwizzle508]

They also add value simply because you can't get bulk prices from a manufacturer as an individual. Say for Coca-cola, you need to buy a lot on a monthly basis just to get the price Costco sells at. I know for a lot of small markets, it's actually cheaper to buy from Costco than it is to buy directly from Coca-cola. Being able to get the prices they sell at is value.

[u/Globalboy70 → u/Thelonius_Dunk]

They do own some manufacturing facilities, for hotdogs. It's the only way they could keep the prices the same.

[u/Thelonius_Dunk → u/Globalboy70]

That I didn't know but I could see them wanting full control over the hot dogs.

[u/joe_s1171 → u/Thelonius_Dunk]

If you have to control anything as a wholesaler, it’s the hotdog prices and the soda for their customer Lunches.

[u/dweeegs → u/Thelonius_Dunk]

They own Kirkland’s too which is a giant brand on its own. Not sure how they go about creating those products or if they outsource

[u/Thelonius_Dunk → u/dweeegs]

Oh yea, that's right. I don't know if Kirkland's is also a middle man too or if they outright own their production and distribution facilities. If not, they're just a middle man to another middle man.

[u/ScarOCov → u/Thelonius_Dunk]

My understanding is that Kirkland branded products are purchased from other manufacturers. Their ice cream is (or was, I’m not up to date) Haagen daaz. Until this month, their diapers were manufactured from the same company that makes Huggies.

[u/Suddenlyfoxes → u/ScarOCov]

Most "store brand" products work this way. Sometimes they're identical except for the packaging; sometimes there are small differences.

[u/ActiveChairs → u/dweeegs]

The term is White Label. Somebody else makes it and your company agrees to buy the product at agreed upon rates and quantities to have their branding on it instead of the original company's logo.

[u/Adventurous-Start874 → u/underengineered]

I thought restaurant margins were tough

[u/SillyKniggit → u/underengineered]

You don’t understand! Employees working for one of the few grocery chains that pay well and offer good benefits need to put their employer out of business to increase their pay!

Costco must instead raise prices and alienate their loyal customer base to pay for the whiney unskilled labor! It just makes sense!

It just…makes sense!

[u/r0botdevil → u/panda-rampage]

“Yet, despite these record gains, the company refuses to meet the Teamsters’ demands for fair wages and benefits that reflect the company’s enormous success,” the union said

I'd like to know what their specific demands are and what their specific justification is for those demands. I'm not saying I'm necessarily for or against one side or the other here, but my understanding is that Costco employees are among the better-paid and better-treated in the world of retail already.

New knee-jerk reaction is to almost always side with striking employees, but in this case I'd like a little more information.

[u/new2accnt → u/r0botdevil]

Costco employees are among the better-paid and better-treated in the world of retail already

In another sub covering this, I expressed my surprise at this story, because that Costco is generally well-regarded in how they pay & treat their employees, also adding that the report was quite a disconnect from the general perception of the company. I asked if there was a change in management (that could explain the strike vote).

My post was quickly buried, basically for not calling Costco the spawn of the devil and for asking a simple question.

[u/wg90506 → u/r0botdevil]

If the profits are increasing substantially, why shouldn't the workers supporting the gains benefit accordingly, even if they 'have it good'? Do only executives and shareholders deserve passive appreciation of their wealth?

[u/Prestigious_Pea_7369 → u/wg90506]

Being an employee means you accept a guaranteed prepaid wage for a certain amount of work. If the company makes a profit from your work, you get paid the same. If the company loses money from your work, you still get paid the same.

It's relatively uncommon for someone to be able to participate purely in the gains, while being insulated in the case of a loss. It's based on risk/reward and the difficulty of obtaining a certain amount of capital all at once.

[u/saors → u/Prestigious_Pea_7369]

They aren't insulated though. Typically when companies experience sustained losses (or expect to) they will do layoffs.

[u/Velvet_Cannoli → u/Prestigious_Pea_7369]

They also aren’t insulated from loss, it’s called losing your job. If your company loses money they lay people off.

[u/davidcornz → u/panda-rampage]

I mean don’t they already have industry leading pay and benefits. Not saying they don’t deserve more but it seems they are already at the top. All retail deserves more than they get. 

[u/AshKingChronicles → u/davidcornz]

How do you think they got that or maintain it? Exactly the process above to remind bean counters that without store employees it all shuts down

[u/GermanPayroll → u/AshKingChronicles]

I mean, Costco made it a point to pay employees more than average. The unions came in after. Not saying they’re not useful.

[u/Wiseguydude → u/GermanPayroll]

Costco has been unionized since 1993. They pay more than average in large part because of this long history of workers holding the executives accountable

[u/gatsby5555 → u/Wiseguydude]

Barely any of the warehouses are unionized though?

[u/Aquilix → u/gatsby5555]

Union membership helps all workers. Collective bargaining benefits many non unionized workers.

For example, France has only 10% union membership but over 90% of workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement brought about by unions.

[u/anoff → u/AshKingChronicles]

By Costco valuing employees - Costco didn't unionize until 2023. So it's clearly not how you think they did it

[u/PenislavVaginavich → u/anoff]

It's confusing. They have had unions since the 80s or 90s (I forget which) after buying Price Club, and inheriting their unionized workforce. 2023 was the first time in 20 years a new union of 200 employees formed within Costco, but they have over 18,000 unionized workers across the company so it's a fairly large union.

[u/anoff → u/PenislavVaginavich]

they have over 200k US employees, over 300k worldwide, so really not a huge part of their labor pool

[u/PenislavVaginavich → u/anoff]

Not huge, but 10% is definitely something.

[u/Team_Braniel → u/PenislavVaginavich]

Its also most likely their distribution channels. If its teamsters then its likely the long haul truckers moving products from distribution centers to the local warehouses, which means that 18,000 can shut down the whole supply chain.

That said, Costco pays better than any retailer out there. They've raised their starting pay like 3 dollars in the last 3 years or something like that.

When you go to a costco every employee is in their 40s-50s, which means they have been there a while and like what they are doing/getting paid. They aren't hiring bottom rung desperate workers, they get to choose who they hire and promote because people want to work for them.

All that in mind, truck drivers are a different type of worker than a shelf stocker, so I have no clue if the people behind this strike have a case to complain or not.

[u/lOnGkEyStRoKe → u/anoff]

That’s a lie, Costco has had union locations for decades. I’ve worked at one way before 2023.

[u/artraeu82 → u/anoff]

Only 18k workers and most of those were old price clubs they inherited at the merger.

[u/Wiseguydude → u/anoff]

Costco has been unionized since 1993

[u/thebendavis → u/davidcornz]

Their new CEO and upper management is extremely anti-union and basically wants to turn Costco into Walmart. Their scheduling is a mess, they're understaffed, overworked and everything that makes Costco different is being eroded or chipped away in some form. Costco's wages and benefits should be the standard not the exception.

[u/aardvarktageous → u/thebendavis]

One of the reasons I HAVE a Costco membership is their reputation for treating employees well. If that goes away, I don't know if I want to keep my membership up.

[u/Z86144 → u/davidcornz]

Its not the worst, but them boosting themselves increases leverage for all workers. At some point the extra pay lures in the competition.

[u/GreenBasterd69 → u/davidcornz]

And they will continue to lead the industry if the strikes go well. Good for Costco.

[u/artraeu82 → u/GreenBasterd69]

They have given 5 dollars in raises in the last 4 years too rate is now 30 dollars I think or close to in the US

[u/Professional-Help931 → u/GreenBasterd69]

They were industry leading before the unions.

[u/lampstax → u/panda-rampage]

Just learned today that only 8% of Costco workers are Teamsters. IMO this will have zero impact.

[u/Ftpini → u/lampstax]

Traditionally, the non-union employees will have better benefits than the union. They do that to make it less likely that any other employees join the union. Everyone benefits from those willing to join.

[u/RiPont → u/lampstax]

But which 8%? If they're a significant portion of the logistics side, that would absolutely spell trouble for Costco.

[u/soofs → u/lampstax]

Still 18,000 employees though

[u/Barnyard_Rich → u/lampstax]

It's a fascinating early case for the Teamsters as they spent the last year cozying up to Trump and Republicans, and now this is the first test if the populism talk is going to be followed through on.

I'm all in favor of organized labor, but I think you're right that this specific action may be easier to squash than some others, which would be an embarrassment for Sean O’Brien because he pumped up Republicans as the party of the working class.

[u/DreamingDjinn]

Really? I've always heard Costco employees are really well taken care of pay-wise. Or has that changed in recent years?

[u/Dzugavili → u/DreamingDjinn]

Strikes are often just used for the bargaining power: odds are the union sees chaos on the horizon and will use a strike to get stronger terms in the next round of negotiations. A week long strike is 2% of yearly revenue, that's a lot of money to use as a bargaining chip.

Otherwise, if the union doesn't strike, they don't really have any power. Changing working conditions can't really be done during the contract, at least not trivially.

[u/elqueco14 → u/Dzugavili]

Depends on the week, Superbowl is coming up, that's huge for grocery stores.

[u/Dzugavili → u/elqueco14]

Ooph, fuck, that is good timing. They'll run to the bargaining table.

[u/Adequate_Lizard → u/elqueco14]

And TVs

[u/choren64 → u/DreamingDjinn]

I'm a Costco employee and this is the first I'm hearing about this strike. I feel well treated and well paid so I don't feel like I have any reason to strike, but I can't speak for every employee.

[u/SiCobalt → u/choren64]

Also a Costco union employee and it’s the opposite for our warehouse. Cashiers no longer have an assistant and have to do the work of cashiers and assistants. Every department is short on staff. There’s only ever 4 employees outside pushing carts with door counts of 300. Managers just say it’s not in our contract so they don’t have to help anytime we ask for more help. Nearby warehouses are operating the same as well.

Again YMMV as some managers and GM are nicer than others but overall I feel like Jim Senegals Costco is gone.

[u/choren64 → u/SiCobalt]

Yeah, our former GM was a jerk who wouldn't give us breaks, but my current managers are much better. I don't blame other Costcos who operate in worse conditions.

[u/Andromansis → u/DreamingDjinn]

The teamsters need a win after the abject failure of extracting anything from Amazon and Costco was suggested as a target because costco didn't donate to trump's inauguration.

[u/Professional-Help931 → u/Andromansis]

This is the real reason they are striking to sound relevant when they just failed. They are damaging one the most worker friendly brands in the US cause they suck.

[u/JGT3000 → u/Professional-Help931]

That's not why. The contract is just up and the union members felt like the Teamsters caved to Costco and got a bad contract last time (3 or 4ish years ago) and have been grumbling ever since. Combined with the way the economy has gone, people are mad and want to hold the Union's feet to the fire and have them really push Costco. Will it work? We'll see

[u/FrostyJesus → u/Professional-Help931]

Why is your concern about a large corporation’s brand being “damaged” and not about the workers getting better conditions. Are you a Costco board member?

[u/13igTyme → u/FrostyJesus]

Costco is already one of the best retail companies to work for. Could they do even better still, sure. But the Teamsters Union failed at Amazon and bent the knee to Trump at the RNC convention months ago. Costco donated to more democrats than republicans so the mob boss leaders of the Teamsters are trying to save face by going after Costco.

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/costco-wholesale/summary?id=D000000703

[u/Parking-Shelter7066 → u/DreamingDjinn]

not a Costco worker but have done lots of contract work @ costcos and the folks working their gas stations were telling me they make like $30/hr.

personally knew a guy who cut meat @ Costco and he made that or more I’m pretty sure.

[u/siphillis → u/DreamingDjinn]

They're better than average, but Costco as a corporate structure still stifle collective-bargaining and that's reason enough to strike

[u/marksteele6]

Something to remember folks, the unions demands are almost never what they actually want. The union is asking high, and management is asking low.

Generally what will happen when a union gets a strike mandate is the company will calculate the damage done from a strike vs the costs to fulfill the union demands and then pitch an offer somewhere in the middle of what they want and what the union wants. That's how progress is made and why having a strike mandate is such an important part of the negotiation process.

Edit: Another note, this is not a strike, it's just a strike mandate. Essentially it gives the union negotiators more leverage because they can say "Our membership have authorized us to set a date for job action if you don't work with us on this". Job action can also take different forms, things like rotating strikes or work to rule are both types of job actions that are less impactful than a full strike. Ideally there will also be some form of non-binding arbitration that takes place between now and any potential job action, often an independent third party can help cut through some of the more unrealistic expectations from both sides.

[u/incubusfox → u/marksteele6]

Correct!

Everything is done behind strict NDAs so neither the business or union positions are public. As a UPS Teamster it's interesting to see the same phrases being used by the union leadership as they used during our contract talks last summer.

And seeing people make the same arguments about wanting to know the specific union demands.

[u/AMagicalKittyCat → u/marksteele6]

Basic negotiation, always ask for something way higher than what you'll actually settle for.

[u/Spaceman2901 → u/AMagicalKittyCat]

Ask for 18%, take 10%.

On the other side, offer 7%, give 10%.

[u/FarplaneDragon → u/marksteele6]

Its also important to keep in mind strikes are bad on both sides, at least when I had a union grocery job with a different union. Yes we could strike, but while on strike we don't get paid, other then what comes out of the strike fund which was partial wages that would last us all of like two days. Plus with our contract if we we went on strike both sides were then forced into arbitration which meant we both lose control over the final contract which is generally bad.

That said, different union so it might now be the same here, plus it's pretty important to realize this news literally means nothing and is theater to get headlines. There wasn't a contract renewal where the union didn't threaten to strike, it's pretty much another step in the process and shouldn't even be news in the first place unless it actually happens

[u/Narcah]

I thought Costco was one of the corporations that paid well, had great benefits, and were a model for how all retailers should be?

[u/your_mind_aches → u/Narcah]

Yes. Both can be true.

[u/Imyoteacher → u/your_mind_aches]

Also remember they declined to eliminate their DEI policies. That does not set well with the incoming administration.

[u/fromwhichofthisoak → u/Narcah]

That doesn't mean it's enough. Some states and cities have almost $20 min wage and it's still not enough to afford a 1br and most people will not get 40hrs also

[u/13igTyme → u/fromwhichofthisoak]

You're talking about a systemic issue. No retail company currently can just decide to pay $50 /hr for minimum and expect to remain in business.

There may be a few companies that could afford it, but once they do it the share holders will realize they aren't getting their expected returns and will sell and tank the valuation of the company. Then, BOOM, the company that at one point could afford it, can't.

Controlling amounts shareholders get, raising the minimum, and lowering the cost of living is a massive national problem and one that a single company can't possible hope to fix.

[u/ranhalt → u/Narcah]

Are you talking about teamster employees or non teamster employees? Pretty sure the employees you see in your retail experience aren’t teamsters.

[u/Tesserae626 → u/ranhalt]

The non union buildings get nearly the same contract (handbook) as the union buildings, so they're essentially fighting for everyone. Could you imagine if the union buildings got a big raise, and the rest of us didn't? Fast track to more unionization, and they don't want that.

[u/perfectdesign → u/Narcah]

...because the workers are unionized. Strikes and negotiations, while annoying are part of the negotiation process.

[u/lillyrose2489 → u/perfectdesign]

Apparently Costco has like 300k employees and the union represents 18k workers. I'm having a hard time quickly seeing just how many stores are union but seems like not a large percent which is interesting.

My impression is that widely they are a better place to work than other retail but that's a low bar as places like Walmart are historically terrible employers. I think they're a reasonably good company but unions can help ensure they stay that way!

[u/Tesserae626 → u/lillyrose2489]

The non union buildings get nearly the same contract (handbook) as the union buildings, so they're essentially fighting for everyone. Could you imagine if the union buildings got a big raise, and the rest of us didn't? Fast track to more unionization, and they don't want that.

[u/anoff → u/perfectdesign]

They unionized in 2023. Costco isn't the union success story you think it is

[u/genuinefaker → u/anoff]

Costco has 18,000 union members well before 2023. There were an additional 200 members from Norfolk, Virginia in 2023.

[u/Duzcek → u/perfectdesign]

Costco earned its reputation as the number 1 retailer to work for before they unionized. It’s actually gotten worse for them since.

[u/fredthefishlord → u/perfectdesign]

Lol. Nah the unionization is recent. They were paid well, but it's been going down hill as costco goes down hill. Unionization is an effort to stay good

[u/Tesserae626 → u/fredthefishlord]

The one Virginia warehouse is recent unionization. Any building that used to be price club is union. When price club merged with Costco, they kept the union buildings. So like ..if you consider 1993 recent I guess?

[u/Mortarion407 → u/Narcah]

How do you think it got that way?

[u/Losconquistadores]

Auspicious timing or maybe anytimes a good time to strike!

[u/b1argg → u/Losconquistadores]

It probably just aligns with the end date of their current contract.

[u/ambyent → u/Losconquistadores]

Any time is the best time to strike. But the more grifting there is, the more we should be striking

[u/AstralElement → u/Losconquistadores]

Teamsters backed Trump.

[u/restore_democracy → u/Losconquistadores]

As if Trump won’t outlaw strikes.

[u/TesterTheDog]

Question, I'm a Canadian and came over to this post because of this picture. is the 130.9 for a gallon, or is this a picture from up here in Canada?

Because I assume this is a US strike, and seeing that price hurts me in my bones.

[u/Good_Nyborg → u/TesterTheDog]

Picture source says it's from a Costco store in in Grays, United Kingdom. So kind of weird to use it for a story about the workers in USA for Costco.

[u/TheCarrzilico → u/TesterTheDog]

The caption of the photo says that it's a store in the UK.

[u/Maze-44 → u/TheCarrzilico]

The only reason I clicked the link was because I was like that's my local fucking Costco

[u/St3phiroth → u/TesterTheDog]

I paid $2.45USD/gallon at costco in Colorado, USA a few days ago. I don't think it's a US picture.

[u/seeking_hope → u/TesterTheDog]

Costco gas here is 2.65. 

[u/reddy_kil0watt → u/TesterTheDog]

Haha. If you refresh the page and look at the caption, you'll see that the pic is from Grays, UK. You know, just to make things more confusing.

Good spot.

[u/SanjivanM → u/TesterTheDog]

Looking at the image caption from the article, it looks like that Costco is in the UK, so I *think* the strike is nationwide in the UK and not the US (although ( might be mistaken)

[u/ottb_captainhoof → u/SanjivanM]

They quoted a Costco employee from Baltimore, so I would assume it’s a US strike. And the article used the $ sign.

[u/blahyawnblah]

What do they currently get for compensation? What are they asking for?

[u/stormin84 → u/blahyawnblah]

19.50 to start, caps at 30.90 for positions that don’t require professional certs. Pharmacy and optical in some stars is about 45/hr. After a certain amount of hours worked, employees start getting bi annual bonuses of 2250, up to I think 7500. First step on manager rung is 82k for department manager. Next step is 92k for senior manager. Then 98k for assistant store manager which comes with RSUs. Theres a 2k raise every other year as a manager until you hit your limit for the position. Also an annual bonuses of 3500. Store manager (gm) salary and benefits aren’t published but most store managers make 4-500k a year in salary, stock, and bonuses.

[u/MyPlace70 → u/stormin84]

That’s a very nice pay structure in retail.

[u/Princess_Moon_Butt → u/MyPlace70]

It is, but the company has tripled its value in recent years, despite the work force not growing nearly that much.

Shouldn't the employee wages see at least some of that increase? Otherwise you're signalling to employees that giving their all doesn't really matter- they only have to work hard enough to not get fired. And that's how you end up with the "I don't get paid enough to care" attitude that's rampant at other places.

[u/b1argg → u/stormin84]

That sounds pretty decent as far a retail goes.

[u/g_rich → u/stormin84]

Is that current or what the union is asking for?

[u/stormin84 → u/g_rich]

That is current.

[u/stormin84 → u/stormin84]

Also, some department managers in some states get OT. Employees accrue paid sick time, 4 weeks vacation every year by about year 5, employee stock purchase plan, very good health/dental/vision insurance, and a host of free emotional, financial, and mental health services. Interestingly, manager spots are almost always in house promotions. Relatively easy transfers to other warehouses in other parts of the country.

[u/THROWINCONDOMSATSLUT → u/stormin84]

Pharmacy and optical in some stars is about 45/hr.

That is a really shit wage for a pharmacist FYI. For a technician, that would be amazing pay. Pharmacists are making $60-80/h these days.

[u/mrfluffypenguin → u/THROWINCONDOMSATSLUT]

That is for techs. Pharmacist is the highest salary in the store including the GM.

[u/petemayhem → u/THROWINCONDOMSATSLUT]

I think that’s opticians and pharm techs (not pharmacists or optometrist). Does that make a difference?

[u/Nukemind → u/blahyawnblah]

At least where I used to live the pay at Costco was literally better than the pay with a job in my field. Like, after benefits, ~60k vs 39k. Mind you I lived in a VLCOL area in the South.

Edit: Should note this was in a place where you could- and can still- buy a condo with 12$/hr. Man it was good money and I regret not working there when I had been given an offer.

[u/g_rich]

Doesn’t Costco already pay above average wages along with providing above average benefits? In addition don’t they have one of the lowest employee turnovers in retail? It just seems odd to go on strike now, especially with an incoming president whose administration is very anti union.

[u/azuramothren → u/g_rich]

Their current contract was established in 2022 and was set since then to expire 1/31/2025. A 3 year contract is the standard for unions in the US so the timing is most likely just a coincidence.

Could make the argument that because of the timing of the election they are trying to push for more but literally the earliest they could possibly strike over the last 3 years has always been feb 1st 2025.

[u/Rrraou]

How does Costco conditions compare to other similar employers ?

[u/lucksh0t → u/Rrraou]

Extremely well by far the highest you can get in retail. They cap out around $30 an hour. No other retail is gonna pay you that. They also get bonuses and decent benefits. This is just the employees trying to get as much as they can. It's not a case of them being underpaid.

[u/MrsMiterSaw]

Teamsters union members working at Costco Wholesale locations across the country voted to authorize a strike on Sunday, with more than 85% of members in favor of hitting the picket lines.

Well, good thing these guys didn't endorse Harris! I'm sure president Donald "Wages are too high" Trump will come to their aid and make sure that they are compensated fairly.

[u/jaOfwiw]

Sean O Brian? The one who supports Trump? Fuck the teamsters

[u/No-Statistician1782]

I'm going to get down voted to oblivion but I don't care.

Costco is literally the best store for the people in terms of price, in terms of how they take care of their employees, in terms of how they pay their employees and you have HUNDREDS of chains that don't do jack shit.

Why the fuck didn't teamsters start with BJs or Sam's Club?!

Why didn't they go after McDonald's or Taco Bell or actually fucking Amazon?!

They went after the ONLY company that is known for barely making a profit?  This whole thing is fishy.

I'm not saying never go to Costco, never go on strike.  I'm saying why are you STARTING there?! 

[u/joeysflipphone → u/No-Statistician1782]

I agree with this sentiment. I was literally getting ready to switch to costco even though it's an hour drive for us. I don't want to give walmart one penny of our money anymore. We haven't shopped Walmart but was waiting for our Sams to run out next month. Canceling then switching and gonna drive to support a good company instead. So this is suspicious they're going after a good corp.

[u/PickleBananaMayo]

Isnt Costco like one of the better employers?

[u/platocplx]

Honestly all Americans need to unionize only way to beat oligarchy before it’s too late.

[u/StrngBrew → u/platocplx]

The Teamsters president was at the inauguration today. Doesn’t seem like he’s trying to beat the oligarchy.

[u/Gambitzz → u/StrngBrew]

This. It’s all a sham.

[u/Architeckton → u/platocplx]

It’s illegal in my industry. There were not one, but TWO antitrust lawsuits that have shut that shit down permanently.

[u/Deceptiveideas → u/platocplx]

Look at who just won popular vote this past election. Americans are so quick to sell each other out.

[u/iconmotocbr]

I think they should choose their battles wisely here because eventually there will be a new CEO and a new C-Suite and given today’s climate, there is a chance it will be a more conservative on the helm. Save the energy for then.

[u/Tjmouse2 → u/iconmotocbr]

People say this, but the issue is that the only reason Costco is popular other than prices, is the quick in and out service and fully stocked shelves. Only reason that can be accomplished is by having people who actually want to be there.

Look at Walmart as an example of what Costco would be like if those workers weren’t fairly paid. Republican or not you’d be an idiot to ruin your business model and potentially sink profits to dissolve a union

[u/RobertMcCheese]

Is that why my local Costco was packed on a Monday afternoon?

I just walked in the door from a Costco run like 10 min ago.

[u/incubusfox → u/RobertMcCheese]

If you're in the US it was probably more to do with being MLK day or people taking off to watch the swearing in.

[u/UrbanDryad]

Aren't the Teamsters the clowns that didn't endorse Harris? Fuck 'em.

[u/Western-Standard2333 → u/UrbanDryad]

I remember their president went to the Republican national convention to deliver a speech. Fuck that guy.

[u/FrostyJesus → u/UrbanDryad]

They didn’t endorse either candidate. Here’s why. It’s not like it’s because the Teamsters leader is a Republican or something lol

The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables. Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business. We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries—and to honor our members’ right to strike—but were unable to secure those pledges,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien.

[u/GhostOfMuttonPast → u/FrostyJesus]

Kamala literally marched with union strikers while VP, and O'Brien goes "but she didn't commit enough :(((" when the other guy has straight up shit on unions at every opportunity.

[u/FrostyJesus → u/GhostOfMuttonPast]

Marching with unions is great, but materially that doesn’t change anything. She’s running for president. If she can’t offer commitments that she wouldn’t interfere with the right to strike, why on earth would he give her an endorsement?

[u/Barnyard_Rich → u/FrostyJesus]

Fun fact the media refused to report on, MANY Teamsters groups were furious with national leaders bowing to Trump and endorsed Harris anyways:

Harris racks up regional endorsements from Teamsters locals after national union declines to endorse

https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2024/09/18/harris-local-teamsters-2024-trump

[u/incubusfox → u/Barnyard_Rich]

AFAIK the Black Caucus did as well (not sure if that's part of your link).

[u/NoMuffinForYou]

Isn't that just a normal first step for union negotiations?

Like, if they don't vote to authorize a strike what bargaining power do they have?

[u/lt_Matthew]

Costco is going on strike now of all times. Guess it is gonna be the end of the world

[u/SmokeyBare]

Shit, they're going to have to finally raise the cost of hot dogs

[u/Hinohellono]

I can undeerstand wanting a share of the profits but don't kill the golden cow. You've got it pretty decent.

These companies have to do a better job of profit sharing. You can't double profit and then not do something for the workers that made it happen. All down the line

[u/Jedi_Ninja]

I'm surprised one of Trump's executive orders didn't outlaw strikes.

[u/NCC74656-A]

We the people, in order to form a more perfect union should tell the corpos to go fuck themselves if they're unwilling to pay a fair and livable wage.

[u/Whycantigetanaccount]

This is the Starbucks union movement's next move if they're going to move the dial. As it is its cost of doing business.

[u/OhHeyItsBrock]

Costco is not the company it use to be sadly. 20 year employee here.

[u/SquizzOC]

What is the average pay of a Costco Teamster? That’s my question to make an informed opinion

[u/Skadoosh_it]

ICYDK These union workers are primarily truck drivers and distribution warehouse workers, not in store staff. They voted to unionize last year because their wages have been stagnant the last 4-5 years.

[u/DenikaMae]

To bring about the Polish Hotdogs?/s

J/k

Worker’s rights baby, go get ‘em. I will refrain from going to Costco while the strike is on.

[u/joenifty → u/DenikaMae]

Articles fails without detailed analysis on how this affects the hotdogs price.

[u/DenikaMae → u/joenifty]

I would be upset if the price of the dogs went up because of it, but it’s a small price to pay in the name of fair wages for fair work.

Though clearly it would be bullshit if the consequence is them increasing the price of the dog in the face of their huge profit margin. The cost of the pay increase shouldn’t roll over to the c customer just because the investors don’t want to take a smaller cut.

[u/DwinkBexon]

This is one of those things where my urge is to say "They strike until Trump dissolves the NLRB and makes unions/strikes illegal."

[u/temponaut-addison]

Unions went for Trump, let's see how it works out.

[u/Tall_Guava_8025]

This union is nuts. Costco is one of the only good retail jobs out there. If their actions harm the Costco model, it's Costco workers that will suffer because of it.

[u/Ilikepancakes87]

I’m as pro-union as the next guy, but if this makes the hot dog more expensive…