Unions and striking work
Well, at least when my disabled ass loses my “welfare” (federally directed VA disability payments), I’ll have a soul crushing retail job to hope for
Worked at Costco for 2 years. Most of the employees love their jobs. I wanted more and move on, but kid you not, there are people still working at my old warehouse that started the same day I did 20 years ago. Wages were good, the benefits were great, and everyone respected each other.
How physically demanding is it?
Depends everyone starts pushing carts or in the foodcourt. Those are your two choices.
Food court is a trap and if you start there you will be unable to leave. This is where most of the turnover happens. You become good and no one wants to let you out to the floor or cash register. I had supervisors that worked the foodcourt for 8 years threaten to quit unless they could get on the floor. Even then theyd drag him back on short staff days until he said hed quit the next time the ask him to cover the court.This is where I started because it was a 100 degree summer and I didn’t want to push carts. Air conditioning is nice. Very little in the way of physical lifting but it’s fast paced and you move around a lot. I did hurt my back moving pizza trays but that was my own fault trying to lift and turn with 75 pounds.
Pushing carts. Initially a lot of physical work but you build strength and stamina fast. Push carts for 3 months and you’ll be on the floor or register. So if you want to progress to supervisor/manager/corporate role you should really start in carts if you have any sort of physical capacity.
Dang what do they do in the food court that makes it so important
At least at my Costco the food court is always understaffed and always slammed. Hot dogs are a big component of that but I would wager they do more traffic in whole pizzas. The people working the food court always seem like they are stressed and moving full speed.
#HOTDOGS
I’m not sure, but there is a bit of a classist thing where the foodcourt is looked down on. I would say that is one downside and advice to anyone thinking about working their. Push carts, avoid the food court.
I go to Costco, and I often notice the same set of workers there year over year. One of our former neighbors worked there and had several family members working there.
You don’t see that often in retail. They must be doing something right.
Here’s to less soulcrushing work and more fascistcrushing work!
I hear fascist crushers are understaffed
I hate to break it to you but they’re nearly impossible to get jobs in because practically no one quits. I tried. The only way in is as a seasonal hire and then pray they decide to keep you :/
Meanwhile Costco in Australia is pushing to have penalty rates abolished. They might be good by American standards but they can get fucked trying to erode Australian workers rights.
What’s a “penalty rates”?
Had to look it up myself, it’s their name for what Americans call “overtime”
like if you work over 40 hours in a week, any hours you work over 40 are paid out at 150% of your normal rate, some places do 200% for Sunday or holidays.Found this article from a couple days ago.
https://www.actu.org.au/media-release/1-million-australian-workers-at-risk-of-penalty-rate-cuts-while-bossesare-promised-free-lunches/Overtime is a type of penalty rate, these are the others:
- weekends
- public holidays
- overtime
- late nights shifts or
- early morning shifts.
There’s penalty to the employer for asking to work these times, in the form of more money. As it should be
Trump promised no taxes on what we call overtime. Usually employers will pay 1.5x over 40hrs. However the taxes for those hours get deducted from your paycheck at your highest marginal tax rate. When you file your tax return this all balances out, but you don’t see much immediate gain from working OT and people will say “I don’t want to get bumped into the next tax bracket, so I don’t want a raise!” Even correcting a coworker one time, they responded, “you’ll learn when you’re older.”
My guess is that employers will stop paying the additional pay and tell the workers they’re making more this way. So basically a “tax cut” but employers will ultimately get the benefit of it. People in the U.S. don’t understand how taxes work and pay to file them even though it’s really easy for the majority of people. They even call the basic form a 1040-EZ.
“I don’t want to get bumped into the next tax bracket,
There are other reasons why someone will not want a raise. There are cases where getting a small raise will bump you out of benefits completely. Extra $20 a month may cost you $200 in benefits. In the USA anyways. I agree with your statement.
I got a good chuckle out of the doubling down “learn when you’re older” until I realized you had to see them 5 times a week. Sorry, that sucks and it is sad how little Americans know of their own country. Like when people talk of immigration as if you can just fill out a form and be American tomorrow- they don’t even know most countries need a visa just for vacation into the US. And man I hate taxes so much- it grinds my gears that we’ve got these tax corporations bending us over when they have all the info to not require filling out tax forms for the majority of people.
Ok fine, maybe now I’ll consider getting a membership. But I still don’t have room for bulk items.
They sell 36x18x60 shelves for $30. Just started going last week and it was the first thing I looked for
Look at this guy who doesn’t live in a 400sqft apartment with only street parking.
No, didn’t you read? He lives in a 36x18x60 set of shelves!
They’re plastic so they’ll last forever, BIFL!
Bulk toilet paper makes a great mattress
That implies that they don’t have room for bulk items but do have room for giant shelves? Sometimes a lack of space is just a lack of space.
I don’t qualify for membership, but as far as I can tell its generally only useful if you want to get expensive branded items for a bit less. I could get the same product type for less at Aldi. 12 tins of chopped tomatoes for £7.19, meanwhile at Aldi they are £0.39 each which would come to £4.68 for 12 of them.
Also I can walk to Aldi, the nearest costco is like a £30 return on the train. I normally only spend £30 on shopping each week for the 2 of us anyway.
You need to qualify for membership in the UK?
As an American, It’s the cheapest place to get a variety of fruits, veggies, several types of cheese, coffee, and toilet paper, at least on average. The catch is just that you need to buy in large quantities. They definitely have fancy and expensive brands too, but I don’t think they do as well here. They’re also a really popular place to fuel up cars, because they’re usually cheaper than the area around them, but sometimes up to 10% cheaper.
I guess that you need to drive a car there is also a catch, but I just moved to the second place I’ve ever lived that’s within reasonable walking distance of a grocery store, so driving to get groceries is normal to me. I lived near an Aldi for a few years, which was awesome.
In the UK its pretty normal if you live in a town to have multiple shops within an easy walking distance. I usually cycle as its easier to carry stuff back in bags on my bike. Sometimes get a weeks shopping for the 2 of us on my bike.
You technically have to qualify for membership…But they’re not exactly rigorous in the checks.
There is a certain type of blow-hard over here who will make qualifying for a costco membership a point of pride.Fortunately, most of ours can be reached by bus too.
Mmm, my local Aldi was dirty with sad looking produce and really cheap tasting boxed stuff last time I went. Not even close to Costco TBH, and not even that cheap either.
This is in the southern US though, could be totally flipped elsewhere.
Didn’t know Costco did fresh produce, thought it was more for bulk stuff which would be pretty useless for fresh stuff unless you are cooking for a lot of people
You can’t buy like one lime or apple, but they have packages of fresh stuff that are usable for smaller homes, especially if you just pick a few things.
And even if you get, like, a bag of onions and use 2/3 of them, the price per used onion is good.
Again, things may be different for different regions. Maybe it’s more like a restaurant supply store there.
Yeah, Costco is a a store for the upper middle class suburban family type. That was basically always their bread and butter as those are people with the space and need for constant shopping that can be sold some faux premium items alongside some real ones as a one stop solution.
Did you know Name Brands will make specific Costco versions that are meant to mimic the expected item but be slightly modified to use cheaper parts or less material.
Edit for clarity: q-tips with less tip, Vitamix sold as same model but less parts or features, Lucky brand jeans using cheaper material, name brand sponges being thinner, name brand pads being less absorbent, all sold with the same name and branding as their non bulk counterpart but using less material to make them often inferior for price to value.There are so few things that are better or cheaper to buy in the bulk at Costco to get your money’s worth of the yearly fee and that is the point. They make a profit.
It just doesn’t make much sense to shop at Costco if you are actually on a budget or don’t have the space.lol… You just propagandized…. generic products? I can’t possibly think of a more pointlessly harmless thing that everyone is already aware of to try and villainize.
No, yes but no. I mean, and even said, name brand items like blenders with slightly smaller or cheaper bowls, lower quality metal, name brand clothes at Costco are similar to Ross in that they are made saying it the same product but are cheaper stitching and material.
I know what generic products are I am speaking towards the ones they offer as premium at a discount are discounted because of less premium parts from the brand name.
Why would I be against generics?
Edit as a further example because I guess I wasn’t understood. Q-tip brand q-tips have been called out for their Costco ones being flimsier or having less spun cotton on the tips than their products at other stores. Because it helps profit them a little more money when it’s sold at a lower price. Quality is not consistent because of its market share.
You can buy liquor from Costco without a membership, and it isn’t packaged in bulk. Prices are most likely cheaper than liquor or grocery stores.
KS brands are made for Costco typically in the same places the name brands are and quality is very decent.
That is likely very tied to where you live. Liquor sales laws vary widely from state to state, and sometimes county to county.
I’m moving from a state where I can buy liquor in Costco to one where I can’t :/
Edit: that Kirkland añejo tequila is so fuckin good.
This makes me want to buy a Costco membership, just because of this. I don’t even really need much bulk stuff.
Time to go check them out again. If I can justify buying any minimal amount of stuff, I’ll do it.
Good on Costco.
This is literally right off the back of Costco making these negotiations as difficult as possible for the union. https://teamster.org/2025/01/costco-walks-away-from-bargaining-table/
On top of that, this new move was so lackluster that a strike could still be on the table. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/31/nx-s1-5280640/costco-pay-raises-teamsters-union-threatens-strike
“Costco is still shorting their workers because nonunion workers lack the retirement security of a defined benefit pension plan and the job protections that come with a union contract,” McQuaid said in an email.
Companies are not things to love. The progress we see in this headline was because of the hard work of unions - NOT the goodness in Costco’s heartbeat
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Does anyone know if there’s a monkey paw angle on this, or genuine win for the workers?
Costco has always invested heavily in thier workers. I love the place. Even the people selling the hotdogs are making a livable wage, and you can tell by how everyone in that store is helpful and nice.
Sam’s club is the evil twin owned by Walmart. I go waaay out of my way to pass a Sam’s club and shop at Costco.
Costco has always invested heavily in thier workers.
Because of the unions, not because of the good will of the corporation…
Sure, but there was a reason that strike was threatened and unions said that Costco had been intentionally slow walking at every turn. Even waiting until the last second here was likely calculated and considered down to the dollar versus lost sentiment in public perception and PR spend to attempt to recover image. Very cynical, but happy if it ultimately worked out. If…
OMG, this is so DEI/woke! I hope donvict will lean on these guys and make them stop this terrible stuff.
Damn!
Costco has figured out that paying their employees well and treating them well is good for business and have decided that good business is more important that the feeling of satisfaction that most CEOs get from treating their employees like serfs. Their industrial investors have figured out that diverse companies with diverse management perform better than companies run by white, rich men that employ only white men and voted down a christofascist virtue signalling attempt to overturn their DEI programs.
If Costco believed that a move such as the one in the headline was a common sense, good for business strategy, then why did they draw it out over months and months of grueling union negotiations, probably spending untold millions on lawyers?
The union strong armed Costco into making this decision - as they should.
Costco offers some of the best pay and benefits in the industry. Their average employee tenure is over 8 years which is in the top 15% of companies of similar size.
They’re not perfect but they are better than most companies.
Costco offers some of the best pay and benefits in the industry.
This is because of their union… Not because of Costco, though.
The union that was certified a couple of years ago and represents just 8% of their US workers?
The union that isn’t included in this wage increase?
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I have a feeling this is some anti union move, given it’s happening during negotiations with the Teamsters. Perhaps it’s a smaller increase than what the union members want, meant to weaken their resolve?
Costco is one of the most pro worker employers in the US
Edit: every workplace should still be unionized
Until they’re not.
Everything is cool right now for them because they got good management. But at some point, some MBA grad gets elected to lead and drain Costco out of all good will.
Same with Steam.
Yeah I’m scared of what will happen to steam when Gabe retires. I hope he’s hand picked a really solid successor
Oh yeah, that’s a big one. I hope they’re learning some theory so they are able to do the right restructuring. A hand picked leader could work, transferring ownership to Valve’s employees and reforming it as a worker co-op along with that would be more resilient.
“If the good thing is bad then it’s bad”
Wow so insightful.
If you care about workers rights you should focus on the corporations that are suppressing them instead of making concessions.
This shifting attention onto fucking Costco is lazy propaganda, but i guess it works on you.
There’s no attention shift. Costco has been in active negotiation with their unionized employees for a few months now and we’ve been paying attention to that. Workers are about to strike because Costco hasn’t been forthcoming. An alternative way to see this is Costco shifting attention away from the strike and bolstering its image as propaganda that weakens the union’s hand. Are you sure you’re looking out for workers here and not (inadvertently) Costco’s leadership?
Costco is stealing the surplus labor value from every worker in the supply chain.
Check out Mondragon when you have the chance.
Right now… it’s “one of the most pro worker employers in the US” right now.
If they have no problem with being such, then they shouldn’t mind a few collectively bargained contacts which ensure they stay that way.
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Representing 10% of Costco’s workforce. The new agreement Costco announced doesn’t cover the unionized workers.
And that’s the thing, from what I read, they’ve been difficult during the ongoing negotiations.
Yep. Most companies are being huge fucks about labor relations; bigger than they’ve been in quite a while. The post-WWII “gentlemen’s agreement” between labor and capital (as pathetic as it was) has been completely abandoned. They’re back on some gilded age bullshit… sounds likely we’re gonna have to do a general strike.
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anti union move
Bold move, increasing employee salaries to fight unions!
Not sure if this is sarcasm or not so I’m gonna say it - yes offering higher wages to obsolete a union is literally a strategy to get rid of the union. It’s just the least reprehensible strategy. Once the union’s gone, the pay increases can get less steep or disappear altogether. If there’s nothing for workers to hold over the firm’s head and the labor market in their sector isn’t tight (it isn’t) then the firm sets the wages.
If I’ve learned anything about corporations over the last few years it’s that nothing stops them from seeking profit growth and the long term trend is that anything is fair game, even previously great employee compensation. There might be people in Costco’s exec/shareholder layer who are ideologically driven to pay workers well. They aren’t going to stay there forever. If you want to glean at how things are likely to change, just look at how most other firms are operated. Chances are the next exec layer would come from there.
That is a weird strategy, assuming people keep having their unions. If I’m in a union, and my salary goes up, I’ll obviously stay in the union
Yeah, was gonna say, this is 100% Anti-Union Tactics 101. Literally get warned about this kind of stuff while organizing and there’s a history of it dating back to the beginnings of labor organizing.
The trap is laid out thusly: promise unionizing workers a pay rise without a collective bargaining contact. The workers reject unionization because the wages are “fair.” A year to two years later, after all talk of unionization has died down and they’ve had a chance to fire or layoff the organizers, the company will then walk back all wage hikes citing “needed” cost cutting measures and the workers get screwed.
Remember folks, you have a right to collectively bargain and unionize (at least right now; who knows what Trump and this SCOTUS might do over the next four years)… without a legally binding labor contract, every benefit and every red cent of your pay is at the whim of the company (and lobbyist addicted politicians). Companies only have one directive: profit. They’ll do anything (including taking a wash on twelve to eighteen months of wage hikes) to ensure profits. Do not ever forget that united we bargain, divided we beg.
He fired the head of the NLRB. Our unions are in great peril. I’m thinking it might be time to buy some red handkerchiefs.
Profit growth, not merely profit. 📈
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Does it sound like I’m mad at them? I’m trying to sound like I’m suspicious of them doing the softest union busting corporations can do, which means they’re being among the nicest of the bunch. I’m also saying that if people (those who work for them and those who wish to work for them, and those who ask for higher wages by comparing to them) want the nice to continue, they better not get complacent and deunionize. I think learning to recognize anti-union tactics, no matter how nice is essential to keeping good wages long term.
That seems fair
Costco is not good. Sure, unions are good because it causes corporations like costco to make decisions like like these, but I will never support a corporation that supports the genocide of the Palestinian people.edit: Costco does not, as far as I can tell, actually support the genocide. I was mistaken, but I’m leaving it up so that the replies and subsequent conversation still make sense.
First time I’m hearing about this. A quick search shows this list of companies Muslims are/should boycott, and Costco is not listed. There is also this source I found claiming that while there is a single Costco warehouse in one Israeli city:
“Costco has publicly stated its commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which recognizes the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to self-determination. The company has also expressed its support for the efforts of organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to provide humanitarian aid and support to Palestinians.”
If you have some information I’m not seeing, feel free to share.
oh! I must be confused. I usually use that list as well to find brands that support the genocide, and thought I had seen it on there.
I didn’t find it there, though I did find that Blackrock is a major shareholder:
Costco’s major shareholders include institutional investors and renowned mutual funds like Vanguard Fiduciary Trust, BlackRock Advisors, State Street Corp, Geode Capital Management,…
Damn, I’ve been boycottting them for the wrong reason. I appreciate you pointing this out to me.
