Costco’s unionized workers vote to authorize nationwide strike

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.

In preparation for the strike, last week hundreds of Costco Teamsters nationwide organized practice pickets from Hayward, California, to Sumner, Washington, and Long Island, New York.

“We are the backbone of Costco,” Bryan Fields, a Costco worker in Baltimore and member of Teamsters Local 570 said in the press release. “We drive its success and generate its profits. We hope the company will step up and do right by us, but if they don’t, that’s on them. The company will be striking itself.”