- Costco Union Members Prepare to Strike; Company to Raise Wages
- Target to End Some DEI Initiatives and Goals
- Study: HDHP Enrollment Fell for Second Straight Year
- Singapore Passes Bill to Tackle Workplace Discrimination
Costco Union Members Prepare to Strike; Company to Raise Wages
More than 18,000 Costco union members are prepared to go on strike if a contract is not approved by Jan. 31, according to ABC News report.
The strike was approved on Sunday, Jan. 19, with more than 85% of Costco Teamsters voting in favor of hitting the picket lines if demands aren’t met. The union said Costco had rejected contract proposals that included increased seniority pay, paid family leave, bereavement policies, sick time and safeguards against surveillance.
Employees are “fully prepared” to picket on Feb. 1 if an agreement is not reached, said Teamsters spokesperson Matt McQuaid. The Teamsters union members who voted to authorize the strike account for 8% of Costco’s mostly non-union employees.
On a related note, Reuters reported that Costco will increase pay for some of its hourly U.S. store workers to more than $30. According to a memo sent to employees this week, the company will raise 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. Bottom-of-the-scale employees will get an increase of 50 cents to $20.
“With these changes, we believe our hourly wages and benefits will continue to far outpace others in the retail industry,” the company said in the memo signed by CEO Ron Vachris.
Target to End Some DEI Initiatives and Goals
Target announced on Friday, Jan. 24, it would start scaling back its internal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, joining other corporations like Walmart, Meta and Amazon that have repealed such programs.
As reported by the Associated Press, the Minneapolis-based retailer said the changes to its “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy would include ending a program it established to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and to promote Black-owned businesses following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Target said it also would conclude the DEI goals it previously set in three-year cycles. The goals included hiring and promoting more women and members of racial minority groups, and recruiting more diverse suppliers, including businesses owned by people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities.
The retailer will no longer participate in third-party diversity surveys, including the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
Target operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people.
Study: HDHP Enrollment Fell for Second Straight Year
For the second year in a row, the percentage of private-sector employees enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) dropped, according to a study by personal finance website ValuePenguin.
The study, which analyzed information from the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, found:
- 49.7% of these employees were enrolled in HDHPs in 2023, down from 53.6% in 2022. Before 2022 and 2023, HDHP enrollment had last declined in 2013.
- Dating to 2012, HDHP enrollment was highest in 2021 at 55.7% and lowest in 2013 at 30.3%.
- South Dakota had the highest rate of private-sector employees enrolled in HDHPs for the second year in a row. Here, 75.8% of these employees were enrolled in these plans. South Carolina (70.2%) and Utah (70.1%) followed, with numbers significantly higher than the prior year.
- Hawaii ranked last for the second year in a row, with just 12.7% of private-sector employees enrolled in HDHPs. It’s the only state (plus the District of Columbia) with a rate below 30%. The District of Columbia (32.6%) and California (34%) round out the bottom three.
According to ValuePenguin health insurance expert Divya Sangameshwar, the changes are largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After the pandemic, Americans were rattled by the thought of being unprepared for an unexpected medical emergency,” she said, adding employees had a wider variety of health plans to choose from, including preferred provider organizations (PPOs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and HDHPs with expanded benefits and linked to health savings accounts (HSAs).
Singapore Passes Bill to Tackle Workplace Discrimination
Singapore’s parliament unanimously passed a bill earlier this month that would give workers greater protection against biases such as like age and nationality.
As reported by Bloomberg, the Workplace Fairness Bill states that employment choices, such as hiring, dismissals and assessments, based on specific trait categories are illegal. These encompass age, nationality, sex, marriage status, pregnancy, care-giving duties, race, religion, language, disability and mental health issues.
If the bill is passed, it will go into effect sometime in 2026 or 2027, according to Singaporean law firm Allen & Gledhill LLP.
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