Negotiations ahead of a Jan. 31 deadline are in full swing, but Costco Teamsters members voted on Sunday to head toward a strike. Reuters reports that 85% of the union's 18,000-plus members cast an "aye" vote to OK a strike—"a direct result of the company's continued failure to bargain constructively," the Teamsters wrote in a statement. The union also noted Costco's "refusal to present a fair contract offer that reflects the company's record-breaking profits."
Those profits, as reported by the warehouse giant at the end of September, per ABC News: around $250 billion in annual revenue and $7.4 billion in profits—a 135% increase from 2018. The Teamsters didn't note exactly what benefits or wage requests the union is seeking for its members. "We're demanding the best wages and benefits in the industry," a union rep told CBS News in an email. "As of this writing the company hasn't responded with a meaningful counter."
To prepare last week for the strike, hundreds of Costco Teamsters from coast to coast carried out practice pickets. "Our members have spoken loud and clear—Costco must deliver a fair contract, or they'll be held accountable," says Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien, per the union statement. "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." He added: "If they refuse, they'll have no one to blame but themselves." (More Costco stories.)
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