Costco Raising Hourly Pay for Most US Store Workers to More Than $30

A shopper pushes a shopping cart at a Costco store in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 27, 2024. Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Retailer Costco Wholesale will increase pay for most of its hourly store workers in the United States to more than $30 in 2025, according to an internal memo CEO Ron Vachris sent to employees on Jan. 28.

The company will raise hourly pay for its top of the scale employees over the next three years, with pay rising by $1, to $31.90 for clerks and $30.20 for assistants in March of this year, according to the memo.

There will then be additional $1 pay increases in March 2026 and March 2027, the memo states.

In addition, bottom-of-the-scale employees will see an increase of $0.50, while the supervisor premium will rise from $1.50 to $2, according to the memo.

Other benefits include an additional week of vacation for workers after 30 years of employment, and vacation for new employees during their first year with the company.

“With these changes, we believe our hourly wages and benefits will continue to far outpace others in the retail industry,” Vachris wrote in the memo.

Costco is not the only retailer to boost employee wages and benefits this month.

Walmart spokesperson Anne Hatfield confirmed to Axios on Jan. 23 that the company is increasing the starting base pay for market managers from $130,000 to $160,000, beginning on Feb. 1.

The retail giant is also raising the annual stock grant from $75,000 to $100,000 for market managers, and the market manager’s bonus potential will increase from up to 90 percent of their base salary to up to 100 percent, Hatfield said.

Each of Walmart’s 4,606 stores in the United States has a store manager.

The Epoch Times has contacted Walmart for further comment.

Costco Teamsters union members said earlier this month that they had voted in favor of a nationwide strike as employment contracts are set to expire ahead of a Jan. 31 deadline.

Members voted by an overwhelming 85 percent margin to authorize a strike, the union said in a Jan. 20 statement.

“The vote is a direct result of the company’s continued failure to bargain constructively and refusal to present a fair contract offer that reflects the company’s record-breaking profits,” the union said.

Costco Teamsters represents more than 18,000 workers at Costco.

According to the union, the wholesale giant reported annual net sales of $249.6 billion for the 52-week fiscal year ended Sept. 1, 2024. In addition, Costco reported almost $7.4 billion in net income, which was a 135 percent increase from 2018, according to the Teamsters.

Despite these gains, Costco declines to “meet the Teamsters’ demands for fair wages and benefits that reflect the company’s enormous success,” according to the union.

“Our members have spoken loud and clear: Costco must deliver a fair contract, or they’ll be held accountable,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “From day one, we’ve told Costco that our members won’t work a day past January 31 without a historic, industry-leading agreement. Costco’s greedy executives have less than two weeks to do the right thing. If they refuse, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves when our members go on strike.”

The Epoch Times has contacted Costco for comment.

Naveen Athrappully and Reuters contributed to this report.