Teamsters signal strike readiness as Costco bargaining looms

The Teamsters spent their 31st International Convention projecting a simple message to Costco workers: the union wants members ready to push harder, not settle faster. In Las Vegas at Caesars Palace, delegates heard a case for rank-and-file power, aggressive organizing and strike readiness, with the union highlighting 350 strikes in recent years as proof that militancy is part of the playbook.

For Costco employees, that matters because the Warehouse Division has one of its largest contracts with Costco Wholesale Corporation, and that contract already runs from February 1, 2025 through January 31, 2028. The Teamsters said in January 2025 that they represented more than 18,000 Costco workers nationwide, and they warned in December 2024 that more than 18,000 workers could be forced to strike if no acceptable deal was reached. By April 2026, Teamster-represented Costco workers had already voted to authorize a nationwide strike, with one report saying more than 85 percent voted yes.

The convention rhetoric is not just theater for union insiders. When the Teamsters talk up militancy, the effect usually shows up later in the warehouse in the form of tighter organizing, more serious grievance handling, more pressure around practice pickets and less patience when management lets an issue linger. That is especially relevant for Costco, where pay, scheduling, seniority and discipline are always live issues on the floor, from front-end assistants and stockers to forklift operators, meat and bakery workers, optical staff and warehouse managers.

The recent bargaining record shows why the convention message landed. In August 2024, Costco workers in Norfolk, Virginia voted overwhelmingly to join the Teamsters national contract, and nearly 300 workers there were said to be getting their first collective bargaining agreement. Around the same period, Teamsters organizers said nearly 500 Costco workers in Virginia and Washington state had joined the union, including Seattle distribution drivers. In 2025, Teamsters Local 174 said Costco depot drivers and MDO workers ratified a contract that locked in wage increases, healthcare, pension and just-cause protections.

Costco’s scale raises the stakes. A current business summary counted 931 warehouses worldwide as of late May 2026, which makes the company one of the largest retail employers in the country and explains why the Teamsters are trying to turn a convention into a warning shot. For Costco workers, the practical readout is clear: the next bargaining phase will test whether the union’s convention talk becomes a real willingness to press harder before the contract clock runs down.