NORFOLK, Va. — Costco employees at its Norfolk location recently decided to unionize.
More than 240 employees will now be represented by the Teamsters union.
The Teamsters already represent 18,000 Costco employees nationwide, but the Norfolk effort is their most successful organizing effort in the last two decades.
David Long, a professor with the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William & Mary, says union efforts like the one at the Norfolk Costco often come after frustration from employees.
"It can actually be driven by things like mistreatment. There's some sort of mistreatment in the workplace that employees think is wrong, that could be... as drastic as harassment or as minor as feeling like the organization is misleading them in some way," Long explained.
The employees in Norfolk said their push to unionize with the Teamsters comes after years of concerns about working conditions.
One organizer says the union will bring them a "real voice and bring real change to the job."
The vote was 111 to 92, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Under Virginia's "Right to Work" law, employees don't have to join the union to remain employed at the store and they don't have to pay union dues.
The Teamsters feel like the union vote sent a message to Costco. Employees have released a letter from company leaders calling the vote a disappointment, and saying it constitutes a failure on their part.
Long says employers' best option is to show employees they're listening, rather than by telling them.
"The more important step is the showing. You know, backing up your actions, your words, with actions and behaviors. That's really a good way to work through some of these things," Long stated.
Costco has not yet responded to our request for comment. The Teamsters and Costco agreed to a wide-ranging agreement in late 2022 for better pay and more flexible attendance policies. The Norfolk employees say that was a factor in their decision to organize locally.
