Everything We Know About The Costco Strike So Far

Members of the Teamsters union representing Costco employees across the United States voted on Sunday, January 19, to authorize a strike. The measure passed easily, with 85% of members voting in favor of it. This vote does not guarantee a strike, however, as a new contract is still being worked out ahead of its deadline on January 31, 2025. 

The vote in favor of the strike was made in an effort to pressure the membership-based wholesale club to comply with the union's terms in contract negotiations, which have been fraught with some serious disagreements throughout the process. In earlier negotiations, Costco nixed proposals set forth by the union regarding paid family leave, sick time, bereavement leave, and policies against employee surveillance.

The union represents at least 18,000 Costco employees, a fraction of the over 200,000 people employed by the retailer in the United States. The potential strike would mostly impact Costco locations in New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., so most warehouses nationwide will not be impacted by the possible strike. In preparation of it, last week, hundreds of unionized employees organized practice pickets across the country, from Southern California to Long Island (via X, formerly Twitter).

In a recent post on X, formerly Twitter, Teamsters wrote, "The vote is a direct result of the company's continued failure to bargain constructively and refusal to present a fair contract offer that reflects the company's record-breaking profits." The post also quoted Sean M. O'Brien, the Teamsters General President, who said, "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." 

2024 was a very successful year for Costco, which saw increased sales. Additionally, the company increased its annual membership fee on September 1 for the first time in almost a decade. The wholesale club also benefited from customers opting to eat at home more often compared to dining out due to inflation, as Costco saw increased sales in meat and produce over the course of last year. The news of a potential strike, though not company-wide, may be somewhat surprising considering Costco's reputation for its relatively fair employee treatment, benefits, and pay. If an agreement is not struck between the Teamsters union members and Costco before the current one's expiration on January 31, the planned strike for unionized employees will begin on February 1, 2025.