Press Releases
Costco Workers in Virginia Join Teamsters
More than 200 Workers in Norfolk Win Representation with Teamsters Local 822
Press Contact: Daniel Moskowitz Phone: (770) 262-4971 Email: dmoskowitz@teamster.org
(NORFOLK, Va.) – Costco workers in Norfolk, Va., voted overwhelmingly yesterday to join Teamsters Local 822, marking the union’s first organizing victory at the wholesale retailer in two decades. The 238-worker group seeks strong representation to address years of concerns and improve working conditions.
“This campaign was all about standing together as a group and taking control over our well-being in our workplace,” said Damion Thomas, a front-end cashier at Costco who served on the organizing committee. “We can’t wait to be covered under a strong Teamster contract that will give us a real voice and bring real change to the job.”
Thomas and his co-workers will now join more than 18,000 Teamsters at Costco nationwide.
“Costco workers saw the new energy at the International under the O’Brien-Zuckerman administration, and they wanted in. I’d like to thank the Teamsters Warehouse Division and Organizing Department for their support throughout this campaign. Most of all, I want to thank the workers for standing strong,” said James Wright, President of Local 822 and International Vice President At-Large. “This campaign was all about boots on the ground. These workers understood the power that comes with being a Teamster.”
In October 2022, the Teamsters ratified a first-ever national master agreement for Costco workers. The national agreement boosts wages and pension contributions by the employer and provides members with higher semi-annual bonuses and a more flexible attendance policy, among other workplace improvements. Many Costco workers in Norfolk cited the national contract as a catalyst for organizing.
“This historic victory will reverberate across the nation. Every Costco worker in the U.S. needs to get on board and join the Teamsters,” said Tom Erickson, Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division and Teamsters Central Region International Vice President. “Together, as Teamsters, we’ll make sure Costco lives up to the worker-friendly image it likes to project to the public.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.