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Mean-spirited internet users quickly find out working at Costco is nothing to mock.

As the adage goes, there's an exception to every rule, and the exception to the rule of retail employment being a hellscape of low pay and high turnover is the warehouse giant Costco. Costco is beloved by its customers (hello, suburban parents and anyone else who likes to buy protein bars 400 at a time) for fair prices and really good quality products. Its Kirkland brand products are almost always the best things on the shelf, and when you're done shopping, you can grab a jumbo hot dog and a large soda for what seems like a criminally low price. In fact, one of the chain's cofounders once threatened the then-CEO with severe bodily harm should he ever raise the food court prices. And Costco never has.

It seems not everyone is aware of Costco's reputation as an employer, though, since a woman sharing her triumph at landing a job there was initially met with surprising derision on social media. But the critics were quickly corrected by both Costco employees and people familiar with the company's employment practices, launching a celebration of Costco as a responsible business that takes care of its employees.

A woman named Doreau shared a selfie from her car holding up her Costco employee badge with a caption that read, "After almost 3 months. I'm officially hired."

Whether she'd been searching for a job in general for 3 months or had been in the hiring process with Costco for that long isn't clear, but her smile and triumph emoji indicated that she was proud of the accomplishment.


Not everyone was so enthusiastic, though, in what appears to be a misunderstanding by some about what it means to work at Costco.

Some commenters mocked the woman, indicating that working at Costco was nothing to boast about, as if it's just another retail job. As one example, someone wrote, "Who tf spends 3 months chasing a job at Costco."

First of all, anyone who's been in the bowels of a modern job hunt knows that landing any kind of stable employment in 2025 should be considered a major win. But at Costco? You could throw a damn parade and still not be considered too excited.

People in the know shut the haters down immediately.

"They must not know that Costco’s employee turnover rate…She hit a lick on that one!!"

"Costco pays their employees INCREDIBLY well and has benefits unlike any other grocer. I’m so happy for her!!!"

"Man i’ve been trying to get a job at costco for sooo long i know somebody who works at the door checking receipts and makes $25/hour"

"The best employee benefits, satisfaction, retention and upwards mobility in American retail. God bless her."

"My guy has been at Costco for 20yrs, makes 6 figures and has almost 1M in his 401k. No stress at work, tons of PTO, and has a wonderful work/life balance. Y'all still struggling with basic life stuff."

"People don’t leave Costco when they find employment there. It’s getting your foot in the door that’s the hard part. Good for her."


Reposts with hundreds of thousands of likes showed that she had every right to be proud of landing that Costco badge, especially in an economy where people seem to be having a hard time finding jobs despite low unemployment rates.

Months later, her posts indicate she's still working there, which says a lot. Once hired, people tend to stay with Costco for a long time because — again — it's a great place to work!


What makes Costco a great place to work?

Of course, you can find people who will complain about any job, but the numbers at Costco speak for themselves. According data cited in the Harvard Business Review, Costco's turnover rate—the percentage of employees that leave—is only 8%, a notably small fraction of the retail industry average rate of 60%.

There's a reason for that extraordinary statistic—several of them, in fact.

Costco prioritizes paying employees well—including good benefits

According to an Ethics Unwrapped case study, Costco pay tends to be around 40% more than Walmart and Target and the company provides more comprehensive health and retirement benefits as well. Part of what enables them to do that is the money they save with their low turnover rate, as it costs a lot to hire and train new employees.

Costco cofounder Jim Sinegal rejected the idea that a company had to either take care of its shareholders or its workers, calling that "a false choice."

"It's really pretty simple. It's good business," Sinegal said in 2009. "When you hire good people, and you provide good jobs and good wages and a career, good things are going to happen."

It truly is that simple. Costco's philosophy hasn't changed since Sinegal's retirement in 2012; it's all about the reciprocal care between employee and employer: "Costco’s success depends on the well-being of employees within all areas of our business. Our operational practices, benefits, and paid time-off policies acknowledge and reward employees for their continued contribution to our culture and success."

According to Investopedia, Costco's average wage is over $30 per hour, around $5.50 per hour higher than the national retail average. Its minimum wage is $19.50/hr.

costco, jobs, employment, retail, retail workers, paycheck, hired, job hunt, economy, business, money, living wage Costco is known in the retail world\u00a0for its excellent pay and benefits. Curlyrnd/Wikimedia Commons

Costco provides lots of opportunity for advancement

Look no further than Costco's new CEO, Ron Vachris, for proof of Costco's internal promotion philosophy. Vachris began as a forklift driver at Costco as a teenager (technically when it was known as Price Club, before it became Costco). Now, at 58, he runs the whole company.

He's an extreme example, but Costco has purposefully opportunity baked into its employment model, encouraging employees "to view Costco as a place for a long-term career rather than just a job." As the company website states:

"When it comes to employee development, our goals are to:

● Provide all employees with training, education and opportunities for career development and advancement.

● Ensure there is fair access and resources to help employees succeed.

● Encourage leaders to continue to teach and mentor employees, so that employees will be prepared for opportunities and greater responsibility.

● Encourage employees to take advantage of opportunities for development and advancement."

From the stories people tell of moving up the ranks in their Costco careers, that's not just lip service. Doreau herself, depending on whether she's working full-time or part-time, is likely already in line for a raise — sticking it even further to her doubters.

Costco has a well-earned reputation as an ethical company

Costco is often held up as an ethical example of capitalism in the way it treats the people it employs, serves, and works with. Internally, the company abides by a 4-rule code of ethics, which seems remarkably simple on the surface:

1. Obey the law.

2. Take care of our members.

3. Take care of our employees.

4. Respect our suppliers.

But when you dig into what each of those rules entails in the company's Mission Statement and Code of Ethics, it's easy to see why it works. "At the core of our philosophy as a company is the implicit understanding that all of us, employees and management alike, must conduct ourselves in an honest and ethical manner every day," the document reads. "Dishonest conduct will not be tolerated. To do any less would be unfair to the overwhelming majority of our employees who support and respect Costco’s commitment to ethical business conduct… If you are ever in doubt as to what course of action to take on a business matter that is open to varying ethical interpretations, TAKE THE HIGH ROAD AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT."

Well, that's quite clear. Costco demonstrated its own commitment to its own ethics when it resisted pressure to abandon its DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in late 2024, saying, "Our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary."

Perhaps most importantly, Costco emphasizes that abiding by this code of ethics is what enables shareholders to be rewarded, and at this point, they've proven that to be true. A good business practicing good ethics ultimately leads to good results—it really does seem to be that simple.

All that to say, next time you visit Costco, don't for a second think the employees are toiling away in a retail job they hate. No company is perfect, but overall this warehouse giant is considered one of the best places in the country to be employed. And that is why Doreau was so excited to celebrate.

This article originally appeared in January. It has been updated.

Five years ago, Dan Price upended the status quo of the corporate world—one in which executives reap many times what employees sow—by taking a radical stance on salaries at his credit card processing company, Gravity Payments. First, he cut his own salary from more than $1 million to $70,000. Then he created a minimum salary of $70,000 for every employee at his company.

These moves made waves. People debated whether it was brilliance or silly idealism on Price's part.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding. And after five years, Price has receipts.

He recently wrote on Twitter:

"When I started a $70k minimum wage for my company in 2015, Rush Limbaugh said: 'I hope this company is a case study in MBA programs on how socialism does not work, because it's gonna fail.'

Since then our company tripled & we're a successful case study at Harvard Business School."

He added in another tweet:

"Since my company started a $70k min wage in 2015:


*Our business tripled

*Staff who own homes grew 10x

*401(k) contributions doubled

*70% of employees paid off debt

*Staff having kids soared 10x *

Turnover dropped in half

*76% of staff are engaged at work, 2x the national average"


Price seems to have hit on a truth that somehow eludes many in our cutthroat capitalist system—happy, satisfied employees are good for the bottom line. In Price's words, "When someone can actually focus on work without outside stresses, the company also benefits."

And that employee loyalty has paid off through the economic upheaval of the pandemic. Price told the Idaho Statesman that when the shutdown happened in March, Gravity faced a 55% revenue loss. Determined not to lay anyone off, Price cut his own salary down to $0. He met with his 185 employees, and nearly all of them volunteered temporary pay cuts of between 5% and 100%.

In 16 years of business, Gravity has never laid off employees and he didn't intend to start now. "I'm so proud of my team," Price told the Statesman. "I'm genuinely shocked by their willingness to sacrifice in so many ways and to help so many small businesses and get us to a place where we're going to be around for a long time."

Price is an outspoken advocate for employee pay structures that don't disproportionately enrich executives and upper management. In a tweet just today, he pointed out how much more CEOs make than their median worker—a number that has always been fairly ridiculous, but which has grown exponentially in the past few decades.

"At my company the highest-paid person makes 3x the median worker, down from 36x in 2015. Since raising wages and slashing my CEO pay, our business tripled."

There's no doubt that a CEO has more stress and higher risk, and may even work far more hours than an average worker. But 300 times more? No. That's not even humanly possible.

He's also highlighted the ludicrous reality that the stock market continues to climb and the uber-wealthy keep getting uber-wealthier during the pandemic, while tens of millions of Americans remain unemployed. Some of the reason for that, Price claims, is that companies are saving their billion-dollar profits by massively cutting jobs.

"Companies everywhere are doing this, which is how the stock market booms amid lower revenues," Price wrote. "Remember which companies valued profits over humans."

Price is a breath of fresh air in the business world—one it would be nice to see from more corporate executives. People over profits isn't just a saying, but a deliberate choice people in charge have to make. Price made that choice five years ago, and it has paid off in more ways than one. Employees are healthier, they're having more babies, they're buying more houses, and putting more money into their retirement plans.

"We saw, every day, the effects of giving somebody freedom," Price told the BBC.

And they're appreciative of Price's own sacrifices. So appreciative, in fact, that the team pitched in to buy Price a Tesla to replace the 12-year-old Audi he drove to work every day in 2016—a move they called giving Price "a taste of his own medicine."

Gravity Payments Team Surprises CEO, Dan Price, With A Tesla!www.youtube.com


More of this, please.

In July 2015, Jens Rushing — like so many people — took to Facebook to rant about something.

Rushing, a paramedic, wrote an angry post that has since gone viral in reaction to fast food workers winning a $15/hour wage. But instead of getting angry that his skilled job only pays him the same amount as those in fast food, he stood in solidarity with the underpaid workers and had this to say to everyone complaining about the wage increase:


"That's exactly what the bosses want! They want us fighting over who has the bigger pile of crumbs so we don't realize they made off with almost the whole damn cake."

Check out the text of his full post below — it is as relevant today as it was in 2015 and will be until a living wage is common for everyone:

"Fast food workers in NY just won a $15/hr wage.

I'm a paramedic. My job requires a broad set of skills: interpersonal, medical, and technical skills, as well as the crucial skill of performing under pressure. I often make decisions on my own, in seconds, under chaotic circumstances, that impact people's health and lives. I make $15/hr.

And these burger flippers think they deserve as much as me?

Good for them.

Look, if any job is going to take up someone's life, it deserves a living wage. If a job exists and you have to hire someone to do it, they deserve a living wage. End of story. There's a lot of talk going around my workplace along the lines of, 'These guys with no education and no skills think they deserve as much as us? Fuck those guys.' And elsewhere on FB: 'I'm a licensed electrician, I make $13/hr, fuck these burger flippers.'

And that's exactly what the bosses want! They want us fighting over who has the bigger pile of crumbs so we don't realize they made off with almost the whole damn cake. Why are you angry about fast food workers making two bucks more an hour when your CEO makes four hundred TIMES what you do? It's in the bosses' interests to keep your anger directed downward, at the poor people who are just trying to get by, like you, rather than at the rich assholes who consume almost everything we produce and give next to nothing for it.

My company, as they're so fond of telling us in boosterist emails, cleared 1.3 billion dollars last year. They expect guys supporting families on 26-27k/year to applaud that. And that's to say nothing of the techs and janitors and cashiers and bed pushers who make even less than us, but they are as absolutely crucial to making a hospital work as the fucking CEO or the neurosurgeons. Can they pay us more? Absolutely. But why would they? No one's making them.

The workers in NY *made* them. They fought for and won a living wage. So how incredibly petty and counterproductive is it to fuss that their pile of crumbs is bigger than ours? Put that energy elsewhere. Organize. Fight. Win."













True
SEIU

Child care workers across America are a part of the Fight for $15 to demand higher wages.

Why?

Because the current system makes it difficult for the people caring for our children to be able to care for their own.


The Fight for $15 rally in New York City. Image via The All-Nite Images/Flickr.

Betty Henderson knows all about this.

Betty Henderson at a Child Care and Development Block Grant hearing in Lansing, Michigan, calling for more funding for child care. Image via Betty Henderson, used with permission.

Henderson's been a child care provider for 16 years. Last year, she opened her own child care center, Angels of Essence. She has three teachers working for her, but because of a lack of funding, she can only pay them $9 an hour — despite them having degrees and being extremely deserving.

Most of the people who rely on Betty's team to care for their kids pay for child care through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the federal program that's primarily responsible for funding state child care assistance programs like Michigan's Child Development and Care subsidy. But the rate the state of Michigan pays out for this service is often too low to cover the cost of care and overhead. As owner and director of Angels of Essence, Henderson could charge the parents a copay, but they can't afford it and child care is a necessity.

So she places the needs of others above her own even if that means her hourly rate dipping to $2.58 from time to time. She knows in her heart, though, that the work she does is incredibly important to a child's development.

"It's not only rewarding, it's beneficial. Not only to parents, but to the children," said Henderson. "We watch these kids 10 to 12 to 14 hours per day. We see them, we care for them, we love them, but yet what we get paid is very very minimal.

The teachers of Angels of Essence and their students. Image via Betty Henderson, used with permission.

The challenges Henderson faces affect other important aspects of her life.

She's not able to address her health challenges because she isn't provided with any medical benefits. And even if she were to pay the cost on her own, she can't afford to take time off work. It's a heartbreaking dilemma that extends to her education and day-to-day operations.

"There're certain educational requirements that have to be met for the state of Michigan in order to run a center and to continue to operate a center," said Henderson. "That within itself is another heavy financial burden because there’s money that's just not there to do that. But yet it has to be done or my center can be closed down."

Despite the hurdles, Henderson won't be stopped.

Betty Henderson at a press conference held in front of Angels of Essence. Image via Betty Henderson, used with permission.

Henderson has been all over the U.S., attending rallies and conventions and joining her fellow fighters in their pursuit of a better livelihood. She's rallying for a livable wage for herself, her workers, and everyone in the same position. She's seen the good that can be achieved and knows that the movement's goals are very much on the horizon.

"We're just going to keep fighting until we get it done all over the map," said Henderson. "Even when Michigan gets it, that's still not a reason for me to just stop because now we finally have it. I'll keep fighting until all the states have their minimum wage."

No doubt the community and camaraderie has made their collective voices stronger than ever.

Reflecting on a rally held at Angels of Essence, Henderson talks about the beauty of people coming together for a common cause:

"The health care workers were here. The fast food workers were here. The airport workers were here. It's unity! And even though it's not a union, we still unite together because we're all fighting for the same thing."

No doubt this is what's right. Image via The All-Nite Images/Flickr.

It's not just the workers who have something at stake.

Think about kids learning new developmental skills because they had the proper resources. Or the parents who are able to work more efficiently, knowing their children are in good hands. In fact, just think about the future generations of this country.

Said Henderson: "Even though I've been doing this for a while and I'm 45 years old, I’m still caring for my son's future and my granddaughter's future, so it's not just about us. It's about the ones under us as well, so we need everyone to join together and be a part of this fight."

No matter the industry, the Fight for $15 is about people and their right to make a living wage — for themselves and their families. And working together is the only way we'll get there.