The looming threat of 18,000 Costco store employees heading to the picket lines appears less likely, with the Teamsters labor union announcing Saturday that it has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract with the grocery chain.

The Teamsters Union said a strike at 56 Costco membership club stores across six states was averted, one day after the wholesale club announced pay for non-union workers will rise to between $20 and $

A threatened strike at 56 Costco stores across six states has been averted for now, as the company and negotiators for the Teamsters union, representing 18,000 workers, reached an 11th hour tentative agreement,