Is Costco Unionized in 2024? The Full Story
With the reputation of being one of the best retail employers in America, you may be wondering – is Costco unionized? Despite strong worker benefits across all stores, only some Costco locations are part of labor unions while most remain non-unionized.
A Brief History: Unions and Costco‘s Origins
Costco has maintained positive relations with unions since its early beginnings. When Price Club, founded in 1976 with unionized staff, merged with early Costco warehouses in 1993, those original 28 out of 137 Price Club locations in California retained their Teamsters union membership.
Over 6,000 employees across these legacy stores continue to benefit from Teamster representation. Per federal laws like the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that legalized private sector unions, some additional Costco locations have also held union votes to join the Teamsters. However, most Costco warehouses opened post-1993 never unionized.
Breakdown: Union vs Non-Union Benefits
While applauded for above-average compensation company-wide, in warehouses with Teamsters contracts, unionized Costco employees enjoy even greater pay and protections:
| Non-Union Wages | Union Wages | |
|---|---|---|
| Cashiers | $15-$18/hour | $17-$25/hour |
| Supervisors | $18-$23/hour | $20-$31/hour |
Union negotiators also broker bonuses, full healthcare coverage, and guaranteed hourly pension contributions around $1.25 – nearly 5x higher than Costco‘s base 401k match.
Strict Teamster contracts provide just cause and grievance guidelines limiting management discipline, ensuring schedule consistency with 1.5x overtime over 8 hours, and preventing retaliation.
Recent Unionization Efforts
While non-union locations have compensation above competitors, CEO Craig Jelinek vocalized support in 2021 for added unionization efforts from employees seeking "whatever they think is right for them."
In the past year, new unionization votes faced mixed results across warehouses in California and New York. While a location in Manhattan overwhelmingly voted Teamsters down, a Lancaster, CA warehouse saw a narrow loss that may spur a new vote. Continued organizing could expand current membership.
Locations Currently Unionized
Of 500+ Costco warehouses operating in 2024, only around 5% have union contracts. This includes:
- 28 original Price Club legacy stores in California
- 16 additional Teamsters locations across NY, NJ, MD, and VA
So in summary – Costco values employee satisfaction across the board, but select legacy stores do maintain unionization with elevated pay and protections.
