Washington, D.C. — Costco Teamsters are one step closer to a nationwide work stoppage following another day of contentious negotiations for a new national contract. The Teamsters are bargaining with the company this week for the first time since members overwhelmingly rejected Costco’s “last, best, and final” contract offer in June.
“Our members at Costco will stand up for their rights and withhold their labor if necessary,” said Sean M. O’Brien, Teamsters General President. “As always, if our members decide to act, they will have the backing of the 1.2-million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters behind them.”
In May, the Teamsters Costco National Negotiating Committee unanimously recommended a “no” vote against the company’s contract offer. On June 21, Costco Teamsters rejected the national contract offer by over 93 percent.
“Don’t be fooled by Costco’s ‘worker-friendly’ image in the public. There’s a new executive team running the show now and they want to make Costco like all the other profit-hungry wholesalers,” said Mike Bergen, Local 166 Secretary-Treasurer and Chair of the Teamsters Costco National Negotiating Committee. “Costco made record profits during the pandemic—billions in 2021 alone—yet they are refusing to share their success with the employees who make them profitable. They don’t seem to care about their workers anymore.”
Tom Erickson, International Vice President and Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division, says the union will take action if an agreement isn’t reached.
“This isn’t a bluff; we won’t back down until our members receive the contract they deserve,” Erickson said. “Costco made a killing off our members’ backs during the pandemic. They can afford to pay our members their fair share of those profits.”
