Workers at 56 Costco warehouses have voted to strike starting February 1 unless they reach an agreement before their current contract expires on January 31.
According to a statement by the Teamsters union today, members “voted by an overwhelming 85 percent” for a strike against “the company’s continued failure to bargain constructively and refusal to present a fair contract offer that reflects the company’s record-breaking profits.”
Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said, “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.”
Tom Erickson, Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division commented, “This strike vote is a direct response to Costco’s greed and blatant disregard for the bargaining process. Costco claims to treat workers better than the competition, but right now, it’s failing to live up to that reputation. Management has less than two weeks to fix this — if they don’t, they’ll face the consequences.”
Teamsters said 18,000 Costco workers are set to strike at 56 of the company’s warehouse stores spread across five states if an agreement is not made.
The union announced that Costco rejected their proposals regarding seniority pay, paid family leave, bereavement policies and sick leave.
Warehouse worker, Bryan Fields said, “We are the backbone of Costco. 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.”
The Teamsters union represents 8% of the 219,000 Costco employees at the company’s 616 US stores.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
