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 have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, avoiding a strike, the union said Saturday.

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,