Say no to the changing corporate culture at Costco
Feel less appreciated? Even senior employees agree:
"The company has changed and the fairness we used to have is slipping away."
Feel less appreciated? Even senior employees agree:
"The company has changed and the fairness we used to have is slipping away."
The Teamsters are America’s largest and most diverse union, representing over 1.3 million workers nationwide – including more than 18,000 Costco workers and counting. Costco Teamsters are covered by the Costco National Master Agreement, a legally binding contract that guarantees strong wages, benefits, job security scheduling protections, and fair working conditions.
Right now, Costco gives nonunion workers the same pay and benefits outlined in the employee handbook – but that handbook doesn’t mean anything --- it isn’t a contract. Costco can change the handbook whenever they want, without your input. Organizing a union gives you a guaranteed say in improving your job—which is secured in your contract. A union contract locks in your pay, benefits, and rights, so the company can’t take things away or make changes without negotiating with workers.
One big difference? Costco Teamsters get a pension on top of their 401(k) – a guaranteed retirement benefit that nonunion workers don’t have. A Teamster contract is also a mechanism against discriminatory treatment—it lays out a real grievance procedure, a way to fight back if management treats you unfairly. Without one, you’re relying on Costco to always do the right thing – and they don’t have to. Join today.
Costco’s employee handbook was built on the strong wages, benefits, and protections that Teamster members fought for and won. The recent increases in our pay and benefits weren’t just gifts from Costco – they were the result of union workers standing together and demanding better. Costco Teamsters set the standard, and we deserve the same.
The more of us who organize, the stronger our wages and benefits will be. Right now, as nonunion workers, we’re missing critical protections, including:
We all feel it – especially those of us who have been here for years. Costco isn’t the same company it used to be. Corporate priorities have shifted, and more than ever, shareholders and executives are getting rewarded before workers like us. It wasn’t always this way, but Costco is starting to act like just another big retailer who doesn’t care about its employees.
Last year, you were part of generating $254 billion in revenue and $7.4 billion in net profit for Costco’s shareholders – a 135% increase since 2018. As Teamsters, we can demand our fair share and ensure that the workers who built this company into the third-largest retailer in the world aren’t left behind.
