Costco clerks will soon get some extra cash in their wallets, as the retail giant recently shared that it will raise its pay scale for hundreds of thousands of workers in March.
According to the company, pay will be increased to more than $30 an hour, with clerks at the top of the scale making up to almost $32 an hour. Costco shared that workers will soon see hourly increases of 50 cents to one dollar. Costco employs 272,000 workers in the US and Canada.
The news is no surprise for Costco, which has often been at the forefront of worker compensation as a means to stay competitive.
“We believe our hourly wages and benefits will continue to far outpace others in the retail industry,” Costco President and CEO Ron Vachris said in a Tuesday memo to employees.
Starting in March, top-of-the-scale clerks at Costco will earn $31.90 an hour, while top-of-the-scale assistants will make $30.20 an hour.
But the pay bumps don’t stop there, as a recent three-year employee agreement will also see two additional hourly increases in March 2026 and March 2027, the company shared.
As for clerks at the bottom of the pay scale, they will receive 50-cent hourly increases, bumping them to $21 an hour, while assistants at the bottom will now make $20.
The new employee agreement will also see the company add vacation time for new employees during the first year, as well as an extra week of time off for those with 30 years of employment, upping them to six weeks total.
The news comes as Costco has continued to negotiate with the Teamsters union, which represents 18,000 Costco workers in six states. The two sides were on the verge of a strike but reached an agreement before time ran out.
The full terms of the deal have not been released but were said to involve wages, benefits, seniority pay, paid family leave, bereavement policies, sick time, and safeguards against surveillance.
Suffice it to say the hotdog combo remains $1.50.