Costco Teamster wins back pay settlement

The company’s excessive discipline led to a major arbitration victory for illegally demoted Local 174 member

The following is from Teamsters Local 174:

TUKWILA, WA (January 28, 2026) — Hiding behind Costco’s stellar public image is a darker reality in which workers are at times unfairly and harshly disciplined by Company management. However, justice was served recently as a Costco Teamster won an arbitration that not only gives him back his job as a truck driver, but awards back pay and benefits in the tens of thousands of dollars. The case involved a classic Double Jeopardy situation in which he was effectively disciplined multiple times for the same infraction, and the arbitrator ruled in favor of the Union’s defense of the member’s unjust treatment by the Company.

The Grievant, Chuck Thacker, has been driving commercial trucks for over 40 years and has been working at Costco for 18 years. He was illegally demoted from truck driving position and assigned to a job within Costco’s distribution warehouse at the end of 2024 after a minor incident with his trailer in the yard, but has finally prevailed in his fight against Costco to get his former job back. He now triumphantly returns to the ranks of Costco Depot Driver, a group that Teamsters Local 174 recently organized in 2024, with full lost back pay awarded for his time spent in demoted status.

Teamsters Local 174 member Chuck Thacker. Photo: IBT Local 174

“I never once gave up on the Teamsters the whole time I was waiting for this process to play itself out, and I was right to have faith because now we’ve won the case and I’m getting my job back,” said Chuck. “Costco screwed up and now they have to make it right, it’s that simple. This kind of justice doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should, but I’m glad it happened in this case and hopefully now Costco will think twice before dropping the hammer on someone else who doesn’t deserve it.”

“This is a major victory for Chuck and for the Teamsters as a whole in the fight for fair treatment for workers at Costco,” said Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks. “Chuck made a small mistake, but Costco made a big one when they decided to take on Teamsters Local 174.”

“Without the protection of the Teamsters Union, Chuck would have had no recourse,” Hicks continued. “He would have had to accept the unjust treatment by management or go start over someplace else after devoting 18 years to this Company. Being represented by a Union to fight on your behalf can mean the difference between having a job or not, as we see here. When the Union negotiates the rules of employment collectively, we hold the Company accountable for following them. The Teamsters delivered the message loud and clear like we always do.”

This story was originally published on the Teamsters Local 174 blog. Founded in 1909, Teamsters Local 174 represents 8,400 working men and women in the Seattle area. Learn more.