I’ve been talking about how unionization is increasing for a while now, and some organizations have figured out how to handle it. Costco just hit a home run in their comms for the first time in decades.
One of their stores in Virginia unionized, and here was their response in a letter just before New Year’s Eve.
They wrote last week in a close vote. Costco employees in Norfolk voted in favor of representation by the Teamsters Union.
It began, to be honest, were disappointed by the result in Norfolk. Were not disappointed in our employees. Were disappointed in our selves as managers and leaders.
The fact that a majority of Norfolk employees felt that they wanted or needed a union constitutes a failure on our part.
Brilliant. That’s exactly right.
If people feel heard at work, they’re not going to unionize, but these people obviously didn’t.
And leaders at Costco are taking accountability for that fact, and I think that’s going to lead to a better employer employee relationship between Costco and their employees in 2024.
So organizations of the world take note.