Costco raises wages that Teamsters Union threatens strike: NPR

Shoppers leave a Costco storage in Cranberry, Pa., January 28th.

Gene J. Puskar/AP

Hide caption

Change caption

Gene J. Puskar/AP

Costco raises wages – over $ 30 an hour for many workers – when the deadline is clinging to the company reaching a new contract with its union employees.

Teamsters’ powerful International Brotherhood represents about 18,000 Costco employees or approx. 8% of the company’s US workers. Union’s current collective bargaining contract expires at the end of Friday and the union members have voted to approve a strike If the negotiations fail.

Now Costco CEO Ron Vachris has announced wage increases for non -unionized workers over the next three years, according to an internal memo seen by NPR.

In March, hourly wage for store offices and assistants at the top of the payroll scale will increase by $ 1 to $ 30.20 per hour, which increases by another $ 1 each year after that. Wages for workers at the entry level are increasing by 50 cents to $ 20 per hour.

Costco Teamsters spokesman Matthew McQuaid said the company would not raise wages if not for the union’s pressure. It represents workers at Costco locations in California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Washington.

“Costco is still short -circulating their workers because nonunion workers lack pension security for a benefit -based pension plan and the job protection that comes with a trade union contract,” McQuaid said in an E email.

The Teamsters contract with Costco expires at midnight on Friday. Workers press for for better wages and benefits and say they should be rewarded for helping the chain to achieve Its record financial gains.

Costco -Representatives rejected comment. The dealer is the third largest in the world after revenue behind Walmart and Amazon.

Last year Costco similarly had increased its salary by $ 1 at the top of the pay scale and 50 cents for others, the company said in its The end-of-year report. The chain’s salary is among the highest in retail, which has helped Costco maintain a lower turnover rate than most rivals.

Vachris’ memo, dated Tuesday, appointed other planned changes, including holiday time for new workers in their first years.

“There is a regular and simple reason that Costco chooses to offer industry -leading wages” and various benefits, the note said. “We think our employees are the very best in the retail industry.”

Last week, Costco made news when its shareholders rejected a proposal from a conservative think tank that pushed the company to roll back its diversity’s employment practice. This made Costco an outlier as many US-based companies have begun to withdraw from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Monday, 19 Republican State Attorneys General wrote to costco demanding The company cancels its DEI policies within a month.