Given that it is the holiday season...along with which comes lots of baking, big family meals, parties and celebrations I thought to pass along this (2005) article from the NYT. While Mr. Senegal is no longer the CEO, the company (when compared to others) continues to be a role model when it comes to how one treats employees (and customers). While I understand (and support) the concept of "buying local" I would encourage everyone to read this article and consider giving COSTCO your business when it suits your needs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/17/busin ... wanted=all
For those of you who may not wish to follow the link, here are a couple of quotes from the article:
...But not everyone is happy with Costco's business strategy. Some Wall Street analysts assert that Mr. Sinegal is overly generous not only to Costco's customers but to its workers as well.
Costco's average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam's Club. And Costco's health plan makes those at many other retailers look Scroogish. One analyst, Bill Dreher of Deutsche Bank, complained last year that at Costco "it's better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder..."
...Emme Kozloff, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, faulted Mr. Sinegal as being too generous to employees, noting that when analysts complained that Costco's workers were paying just 4 percent toward their health costs, he raised that percentage only to 8 percent, when the retail average is 25 percent.
"He has been too benevolent," she said. "He's right that a happy employee is a productive long-term employee, but he could force employees to pick up a little more of the burden..."
..."This knack for seeing things in a new way also explains Costco's approach to retaining employees as well as shoppers. Besides paying considerably more than competitors, for example, Costco contributes generously to its workers' 401(k) plans, starting with 3 percent of salary the second year and rising to 9 percent after 25 years..."
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