The union representing Costco Wholesale Corp. workers reached a new tentative agreement with the retailer, avoiding for now a strike by thousands of employees.

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.

Costco and the Teamsters union came to a tentative contract agreement, averting a scheduled strike by its 18,000 union members in 56 stores.