Four More REI Stores File for Union Election
More REI stores across the U.S. are looking to unionize their workplaces, joining a growing wave of similar efforts across the chain in recent months.
Since March 31, four more REI stores have filed petitions for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to be represented by the The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) or the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). The surge in union interest comes shortly after employees at an REI store in Cleveland last month voted 27-12 in favor of unionizing their store, becoming the third REI location to do so.
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Two other REI stores — one in Berkeley, Calif and one in New York City’s Soho neighborhood — voted to unionize their stores in 2022.
Now, stores in Chicago, Ill., Eugene, Ore., Boston Mass. and Durham, N.C. are looking to become the next locations to join the growing list of unionized workplaces across REI’s store network.
REI confirmed that four of its 181 stores were actively seeking a union vote.
“We will fully support the petition process and vote—including the right of every employee to vote for or against union representation,” the company said in a statement.
Alice Bennett, a retail sales specialist at REI Durham who was involved in the organizing effort, said in a statement that her store’s filing represented an effort that was months in the making.
“Our fellow REI workers across the country are building this movement coast to coast and north to south because we imagine a better Co-op where we have a true voice,” Bennett said. “It’s time for REI to put their values into practice by recognizing our union and bargaining with us to secure the benefits we deserve.”
“REI Boston is coming together to have a say in the decisions that impact us daily,” read a tweet from an account representing REI’s Boston’s unit consisting of 80 employees. “We are organizing our union to fight for consistency in hours, sustainable wages, and improved store safety. We seek greater transparency and accountability from the co-op we run and love.”
REI Boston is coming together to have a say in the decisions that impact us daily. We are organizing our union to fight for consistency in hours, sustainable wages, and improved store safety. We seek greater transparency and accountability from the co-op we run and love.
— REI Union Boston (@reiunionboston) April 12, 2023
In a tweet announcing their union drive, REI Durham listed similar asks.
The NLRB confirmed it is investigating 12 unfair labor practice charges filed against REI across various stores. The company settled an unfair labor practice charge in Bedford, Pa. in December.
Other retail workers across Starbucks, Target and Amazon warehouses have also joined the wave of unionization efforts across retail in the last year. In April of last year, employees at an Amazon warehouse on New York’s Staten Island officially formed a union, becoming the first Amazon group to do so.
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