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.
That may have been very true for your store. Obviously the workers at the store who already unionized and those who are actively trying to unionize have had different experiences and feel differently.
You can't possibly understand the culture of working at Costco. It's almost cult like in the nicest way possible to use that expression. Jim Sinigal came to or store once and it was like a rock star was walking through. Dude was a cool guy. Really, as a former employee, it's perplexing why they would feel the need to or want to unionize. If it works out cool, I just hope it doesn't create the typical union bullshit I experienced elsewhere.
Again, clearly those that unionized felt it was necessary, and clearly those thay are trying to do as well. If they ddint, they wouldn't be doing it. I'm not saying your experience was the same or that you're wrong for having enjoyed your time there. Just that your experience is not in any way, shape, or form the end all be all.
Things vary largely from store to store in all companies. I've worked at places that were essentially the exact opposite, overall company is absolutely horrible but my specific store had managers that were amazing and kept bullshit away from us.
Acshually vibes