Costco bosses basked in praise for making union-friendly statements but have yet to commit to bargain in good faith.
Last December, a group of 238 Costco workers in Norfolk, Virginia, voted to unionize and join Teamsters Local 822. The local declared the vote “the union’s first organizing victory at the wholesale retailer in two decades.” The voices of the pro-union workers who won this contested election — the vote was 111-92 — were quickly overshadowed, however, by a letter from Costco’s leadership that garnered much attention beyond the shop floor.
Outgoing Chief Executive Officer Craig Jelinek and incoming CEO President Ron Vachris stated in a letter addressed to all Costco employees, that “we’re disappointed by the result” of the union election. But, they added, “We’re not disappointed in our employees; we’re disappointed in ourselves as managers and leaders.” In their view, the employees voted for a union because management failed to satisfy its “core value of ‘taking care of our employees.’”
For an HR letter, it went viral. Much praise was lavished onto Jelinek and Vachris for their “graceful” and “classy” response. CNN described the letter as “surprising” and in “stark contrast” to “other companies, such as Starbucks, [which] have pushed back hard against union organizing.” Others praised Costco’s “emotional intelligence” and ability to look “inward.”
During the early 1990s, Costco competed with Price Club, another retailer that already had unionized workers. When Costco merged with Price Club in 1993, many of the union warehouses (mostly located in California) remained union. In the early to mid-2000s, the Teamsters expanded the number of union warehouses with some successful campaigns in New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Virginia. But it was always a challenge.
There’s tons of high paying jobs for work that doesn’t require a degree. A lot of the time they’re very niche, or dangerous… but degrees aren’t the only factor in pay scale. I’m assuming you didn’t get six figures in your position.
Besides… just because something is subjectively good doesn’t mean it can’t be better. Unions aren’t just a way to say “fuck you, pay me”, they’re also a way for workers to organize and present an organized list of requests. It benefits a good company to be able to go to a large group of people with a general idea of what’s good for them than try and please individuals with individual needs and goals.
One of the easiest ways to 6 figures is a degree. Which I went from making $17.50/hr to 100k in 5 years by getting my degree. You can get 100k without a degree but it usually comes with trading wear and tear on your body.
That’s the thing, Costco treats it’s employees better than any union environment ive worked along. Costco is a prime example of not needing a union. I used to say I’m pro union but I’ve come to think I want to work for a company that respects and pays for it’s labor and that’s what Costco does.