I'm super pro-union, and strongly support the unionization of the Norfolk workers, but I should acknowledge that this looks like a pretty reasonable response from Costco that's far cry from the whiny, hostile, threatening responses we're seeing from the likes of Amazon and Tesla. (absent any other information about the situation).

If you don't want your employees to unionise, you should give them great conditions, minimising the benefit of unionization, then not sook about it if they unionize anyway - which is exactly what appears to be happening here.

That said, I'm open to being corrected.

This doesn't read like seething to me.

Like, it's great that people are unionizing, because even if there's the best possible relationship between businesses and labor, the union still makes that relationship more equitable.
But that doesn't mean that the creation of the union has to be viewed as hostility between labor and business.

I'll be interested to see if their good reputation holds up to pressure,but as of right now I haven't heard anything that makes me want disbelieve their statement.

I feel Ike most people don't realize how Costco workers are treated which is important context for this letter. Costco literally looks like a union job on its surface, good pay, full benefits, good time off accrual rates. Like yeah i understand what the letter is saying. They already treat their workers as good as most unions are able to negotiate, I'd feel a little upset about it too if i was in that leadership. Not because they joined a union but because they felt like they needed to. Would make me wonder if there were poor conditions i wasn't aware of.

I think this is a classy response. I'd love to see more about the fight if one took place .

Echoing others, Costco is a solid employer and I actually believe their sentiment.

HOWEVER

The difference between union and non-union is the difference between asking your employer pretty please to treat you well and telling your employer how you will accept being treated.

Even if the union yields no improvements whatsoever for the workers, it's worth it just to have that express and clear leveling of the playing field.

Idk how you read that letter and interpret it as "seething". I read nothing of the sort.

I understand where the Costco management is coming from, since I've heard they do, in fact, strive in putting their employees with great pay and benefits. But they got to realize that employees need to unionize so that their good pay and benefits continue in the future. There are no guarantees that Costco will continue to do so unless they have unions.

The best any Capitalist firm can offer to its employees is a "benevolent" dictatorship. Unions provide an actual change to the underlying power dynamic, which is why capitalist firms oppose them so much.

Super happy for the workers in Norfolk, let's keep this kind of collective action rolling forward!

Based on what I've heard about Costco, they're literally the only company that I could read this letter and think "yeah, they're probably genuine about their sentiment".

Unionizing is ALWAYS a good idea, just in case, but as far as companies go, Costco has always gone out of its way to make sure their people are taken care of.

https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/case-study/the-costco-model

The above is a study from the University of Texas. The conclusion seems to be that yes...it's still retail, with all the usual crap that comes with it, but the company actually tries to mitigate it as much as possible.

Costco has a reputation for treating workers well and compensating fairly, union or not.

That said, it's still great news for those workers as they have greater assurance and say on their working conditions and no longer need to rely on the goodwill of Costco's management because who knows if or when financial headwinds will change their practices.

People credulously taking corporate speak at face value. You have to understand that this letter was crafted by a committee that included whichever anti-union consulting firms they have on retainer. The persona that a corporation projects is created and maintained by its public relations machine. It’s Edward Bernays-level propaganda to manipulate their employees, their customers, the government, and the public.

I used to work at Costco, although only for a summer.

Every time I shared my experience working at Costco to friends and family, they were quick to jump to Costco's defense, as if I was insulting a dead relative. Countless times, if not every single time, I heard "it's probably only the Costco you worked at".

For comparison, I also worked at Walmart, and my experience there was neutral, but I've had some people try to dig for bad experiences. There were some bad experiences, but at the end of the day, when I clocked out, I was done working (unlike Costco).

Don't put too much trust into these corporations.

I'm quite surprised because it's been one of the things the company has been proud of for a long time, offering conditions so good that people didn't feel the need to unionize as they felt they were treated fairly... As someone else said it really just looks like an honest answer...

As others in this thread have stated, Costco is probably the only big company whose word I'd trust on this letter. Never heard anything bad about them and I genuinely believe their continued success is hedged entirely on their relationship with customers and employees.

But the "if you don't feel like we care enough, talk to a manager" always sounds bad because if lower management is the issue then that's a non-answer. Would be better to have a "reach out anonymously at this inbox" or something, otherwise they may as well tell it to the union rep.

Just last night I watched the season 1 finale to Superstore and the "joke" message they were making was exactly what this letter is saying. Seriously guys you don't need a union because we care! 🤣

Yeah, Costco has always been hated by Wall Street for how well it treats its workers, and how well they're compensated. They're always dinged for being able to send more profits to shareholders than they do, because they treat their workers too well.

They are pretty much the only large company that would send a letter like this that I would believe. Good for Norfolk, but no one should lump Costco in with, say, Walmart, as far as big box retailers go. They really do cleave to a higher ethical standard.

I mean, if working for Costco is anything like what I've heard I wouldn't expect the union to change very much. Even if things are good there I think unionizing is a good idea to make sure it stays that way. Or maybe this specific location had some problems?

Anyway, seems like a pretty tame letter and of course they have to say something about it. But I support whatever the workers decide to do next.

Sincerely, Some uninformed speculative internet commenter.

We're not anti-union, but...

If the union won’t make things better for your employees, then it won’t make anything worse for you, either.

Unions are, to employers, what HR is to employees.

If employers need to have HR, it's only natural that employees must have a union

Well, now there's collective bargaining to ensure employees are treated fairly. You don't join a union for the good times, you join it during the good times to help in the bad times.

Time will tell if management stands behind what they've said in this letter. I hope it does, but greed is greed and I don't survive on hope.

"If you have questions about this, talk to your manager"

... so we can fire your ass

Good news. Let's see it accelerate and expand to other stores and competitors