Retailer Costco Wholesale will increase pay for most of its hourly US store workers to more than $30 according to a memo sent to employees last week.
The company will increase hourly pay for its top of the scale employees over the next three years, with the pay rising by $1 to $30.20 in the first year and an extra $1 each in the subsequent two years, according to the memo.
The pay hike comes after Costco Teamsters union members said earlier this month that they voted in favour of a nationwide strike as they entered final rounds of talks to reach a new contract ahead of a 31 January deadline.
Representing more than 18,000 workers at Costco, the union said at the time that 85% of its members voted to authorise a strike.
The bottom of the scale employees will also get an increase of 50 cents to $20, according to the memo.
Costco said in the memo, signed by CEO Ron Vachris, “With these changes, we believe our hourly wages and benefits will continue to far outpace others in the retail industry.”
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