The Teamsters union, representing over 18,000 Costco employees in the United States, has voted to authorize a nationwide strike as negotiations for a new contract approach their January 31 deadline. The union announced that 85% of its members supported the strike authorization, citing dissatisfaction with Costco’s approach to bargaining. The master agreement between the union and the company is set to expire at the end of the month. Final negotiations begin on January 20, with the potential strike looming if no agreement is reached. Costco has not commented on the situation.