Costco strike: ‘Tentative agreement’ reached with Teamsters to likely avert work stoppage

FILE - Customers shop at a Costco Wholesale store on January 31, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Costco and the Teamsters union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, avoiding a strike.
Here’s what to know:
What we know:
Teamsters spokesman Matthew McQuaid on Saturday confirmed to The Associated Press that the union and Costco had reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, avoiding a strike.
The agreement will have to be approved by members.
What we don't know:
Details of the tentative agreement weren’t immediately available.
It’s also unclear when the union will vote on the deal.
The backstory:
Teamsters members at Costco voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike on Jan. 20 if a new three-year contract agreement could not be reached by midnight last night when the current contract expired.
The strike would have affected 50 Costco stores across New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington. Costco has 617 stores nationwide.
Big picture view:
The workers are looking for better wages, benefits, and work rules amid the company making a record $7.4 billion profit in its most recent fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 1.
The Teamsters are accusing the grocery club of not sharing its record 2024 profits – which doubled since 2019, according to FOX Business.
By the numbers:
The Teamsters union represents 18,000 Costco workers in six states: California, Washington, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New York.
Overall, Costco has 219,000 U.S. employees and 617 U.S. stores.
The company said its labor agreement with the Teamsters applies to less than 10% of those stores.
What's next:
The tentative agreement will be presented to the membership for a vote.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from a Feb. 1, 2025, post on X from the Teamsters official account announcing the tentative agreement. Background information on the labor dispute and Costco earnings was taken from The Associated Press and FOX Business. This story was reported from Detroit.