International Brotherhood of Teamsters Western Region Vice President Rome Aloise has been negotiating Costco agreements since 1989 when the popular membership warehouse was still Price Club. Over those two-plus decades, Costco workers represented by the Teamsters have become the fifth largest employer in the IBT at 15,000 and the highest paid retail workers in the country.

Joint negotiations

The 2010 contract negotiations were conducted a little differently than in the past. Under the direction of VP Aloise, the East and West Coast contracts were negotiated jointly, requiring some innovative logistics and a reliance on the knowledge and expertise of over 100 shop stewards.

According to Aloise, 95% of the East and West Coast contracts have exactly the same or very similar language. The only significant difference between the two, says Aloise, is that the West Cost members have the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension and employer contributed 401(k) while the East Coast has employer contributed 401(k) and profit sharing.

Pension was the big issue

The IBT’s negotiating committee did not recommend a “yes” vote for either coast, citing Costco’s reluctance to increase pension contributions in the West and their refusal to establish a pension contribution in the East. Not recommending passage – but rather, “encourage the membership to vote their conscience,” – resulted in the lowest approval vote ever for Costco workers. “This issue (of pensions),” said Aloise in an IBT press release, “will not go away and we intend to continue to pursue this issue throughout the term of the agreement.” The East and West Coast contracts will expire in 2013.