REI In The News
The Trek: REI Members Reject Co-op Board Picks Amid Labor Tensions and Burgum Backlash
With three candidates on the ballot for three open board seats, REI’s recent Board of Directors election should have been non-competitive. But in a surprising outcome reflecting growing discontent with the brand, co-op members have voted down all three candidates.
Singletracks: REI Members Reject All 2025 Board Nominees, Including Two Incumbents
: In what's being claimed as the largest member turnout for an REI Board of Directors election, all nominees were rejected following a campaign led by unionized workers.
Co-Op News: REI Members Reject All Three Board Candidates In Election
A campaign led by the REI union had encouraged members to vote ‘no’ to the co-op’s slate of candidates, after REI refused to include two union-backed candidates on the original election ballot, despite the nominees receiving over 10,000 signatures of support.
Gear Junkie: Union Backers Rejoice After REI Approves No Board Members in ‘Historic’ Vote
REI members made their collective voice heard, voting down REI's nominations for the board of directors after the brand refused to put union-backed candidates on the ballot. The REI Union called the vote “historic.”
Fortune: REI’s new CEO has a plan to turn around the beloved retailer—by going back to its roots
REI’s management and board were dealt a blow on Thursday when their slate of three directors failed to receive the minimum required number of votes to be elected to the board. Their seats will remain vacant until the board fills them. “This victory was only possible because REI members and REI workers stood together to send a...
COOP News: REI workers want to take co-op ‘back to its roots’
The United States’ largest consumer co-op, Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), was founded in 1938, when 23 friends came together around a common love of the outdoors, “and a first store that was nothing more than a shelf in a gas station”. “Each member contributed what they could. Some..
KQED: Frustrated Berkeley REI Workers Accuse Co-Op of Union Busting, Straying From Values
The outdoor specialty retailer has yet to sign a legally binding agreement with any of its 11 stores that have voted to unionize over the past three years. [...] Union workers are intensifying their efforts to engage customers and the public to pressure the co-op to change course. They are urging REI…
PBS: REI withheld pay from union workers, national labor board finds
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week filed a complaint against REI Co-op, after finding the retailer illegally withheld benefits packages from workers at unionized stores. Eleven REI stores have unionized since 2022 in a contentious organizing battle that’s shaken the Washington-based…
KNKX: REI Board Blocks Labor-Backed Candidates From Ballot
Unionized REI employees are calling on members of the outdoor retail co-op to vote no in this year’s board of director elections after the company excluded two union-backed candidates from the ballot. “REI gamed the rules so they can keep anyone they don’t like off members’ ballots,” said…
Press Release: Nationwide Campaign to Take Back REI Co-Op Board From Big Oil and Anti…
At a press conference today outside REI Co-op’s Flagship Seattle store, REI members, including the store’s own workers, and leading environmental and labor organizations, called on REI members nationwide to return the company to its co-op values by voting to reject the REI Board’s corporate slate in the…
KUOW: ‘Green Vests’ Fight For Control
Workers also want representation on REI’s board of directors. The company currently doesn’t allow so-called “Green Vests” to serve on the board, but a bill in Olympia is seeking to change that. Ski season came early in the Pacific Northwest this year, keeping Tini Alexander busy in the gear department at…
KUOW: 'Green Vest’ Workers Fight for Union Representation on REI Board
“I'm there to represent the workers at REI, the people in green vests, and being a voice that pushes REI to stop union busting, to listen to the needs of the workers.” Unionized REI employees are determined to have a seat at the table of the beloved outdoor gear company's board of directors…
Washington State Standard: WA Bill Would Require REI Co-Op to Reserve Board Seats for…
“REI used to take workers’ experiences into account when making business decisions and every day people used to serve on the board,” said Andrew Soderquist, an REI employee in Seattle. “Now there are no meaningful avenues to share our perspectives or give feedback.”
Press Release: Under HB 1635, REI Co-Op Would Have To Allow Staff Back On The Co-Op’s Board
Tens of thousands of Washingtonians pay a membership fee to companies that claim to be democratic, member-owned co-ops. But Washington state has no laws holding co-ops accountable to their promises of democracy for all members. Some co-ops, like REI, currently ban members who are also…
Associated Press: REI Endorses Oil Industry Shill for Secretary of Interior
Records obtained by the Associated Press reveal Burgum’s administration eagerly assisted the industry even as the governor was profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies. REI signed a letter with other industries and retailers supporting Burgum.
Cascade PBS: A Labor-Backed Seattle Activist Fights for an REI Co-Op Board Seat
Ryu thinks employees need a bigger slice of the pie. This week, she introduced a bill requested by the union that would require large Washington-based co-ops to set aside at least two board seats for employees. The bill would apply to any co-op with more than 2,500 employees, but Ryu acknowledges…
Huffington Post: REI Workers Test The Retailer’s Co-Op Identity
Unionized employees want to change the storied retailer's direction. But they'll have to get through the "member-elected" board first. Cottrell, a 70-year-old employee at REI’s store in Bellingham, Washington. “They’re cherry-picking who they want.”
Nonprofit Quarterly: REI Workers Look to Shake up Co-op’s Board Amid Push for a First Contract
REI has nine elected board members, who serve staggered three-year terms. This year, the REI Union is backing the campaigns of two nonprofit leaders as candidates—Shemona Moreno, executive director of 350 Seattle, and Tefere Gebre, chief program officer at Greenpeace USA—in hopes of…
Press Release: New Bill Would Ensure Washington Co-Ops Are True to Their Democratic…
Today Washington State Representative Cindy Ryu introduced HB 1635 requiring large Washington businesses designated as consumer cooperatives, also known as co-ops, to include employees on their boards of directors. State Senator Javier Valdez is expected to introduce a companion bill later
Tacoma News Tribune: REI Sells Itself as a Co-Op. But It Mistreats Workers Like a Corporation
Many of us make careful choices about where we spend our money, whether it’s holiday gifts, everyday essentials or special supplies for the activities we love to do. Are we buying goods and services from companies that align with our values, or, are we inadvertently supporting businesses whose practices…
The Seattle Times: REI Members, Vote for Board Directors Who Reflect Co-Op Values
REI is straying far from its co-op roots and mountaineer founders’ vision. Just this week REI announced it was laying off 180 full-time and 248 part-time employees with outdoor recreation expertise they provide to customers through tours and classes. The company touts its commitment to ethical and…
Women’s Wear Daily: REI Alleged to Use Overseas Suppliers That Violate Labor and Human Rights
A new report alleges that REI uses contractors that violate labor and human rights in Southeast and East Asia and Central America. [...] Poor working conditions and violations of workers’ rights were described as “widespread” at REI’s supplier factories and forced labor allegations included workers…
University of Mass Amherst: Beneath REI’s Green Sheen: Union
Busting, Debt Bondage, and…
REI’s CEO Eric Artz assures co-op members that REI is “a different kind of company… One where people care about each other as human beings,” but what we find is that REI sources from factories in Asia and Central America characterized by serious systemic human rights abuses that warrant immediate…
Eight workers at the Soho location of REI walked off the job this week, protesting work conditions in the ski repair shop that they say are hazardous to their health. The workers at REI’s bike and ski repair shop earlier this year had raised concerns about health risks from chemical exposure, prompting an OSHA…
Modern Retail: REI Repair Shop Workers are Going on Strike Over Work Conditions
The Seattle Times: Struggling REI Cuts Hundreds of Employees, Axes Tour and Events Business
The Issaquah-based co-op will lay off 180 full-time and 248 part-time employees with the move, according to an email from CEO Eric Artz sent to employees Wednesday. Sixty-seven Washington-based workers will be affected. [...] “REI Management is putting profits over the very employees who make…
REI Co-op’s decision to shut down its Experiences business and lay off 428 employees caught many in the outdoor industry off guard. [...] REI has faced other headaches, too, as of late, including a recent walkout by ski shop workers in REI’s SoHo store in Manhattan, due to safety concerns….
Women's Wear Daily: REI’s Layoffs Sized Up by Outdoor Industry Authorities
Unionized workers at REI’s Soho store went on strike this week after the retailer doubled down on a new policy to stop providing respirators for potentially hazardous ski repair work and threatened ski shop workers with termination, the union representing the staffers alleged.
The Chief: SoHo REI Workers strike Over Safety Concerns, Threats of Termination
PayDay Report: REI Union Defeats Management in Board Election
Now, the REI workers’ union has defeated the management-backed nominees for the board. The move comes as workers still continue to be frustrated in their attempts to achieve a union contract at 11 REI stores nationwide.
Retail Dive: REI Union’s Successful ‘Vote No’ Campaign Leaves 3 Board Seats Empty
REI expressed disappointment Thursday after its membership failed to elect three board members — including two incumbents — it had nominated ahead of its annual meeting. But the REI Union called it a win for its “Vote No” campaign, saying in a statement that “REI members and REI workers stood together to send a resounding message that it is time for the co-op to return to its core values.
Bicycle Retailer: REI Members Reject Corporate-Backed Candidates in Historic Board…
The REI Union issued a statement after REI announced that all of its unopposed, corporate-backed candidates to serve on its Board of Directors had been soundly rejected by REI members. The announcement follows a massive "Vote No" campaign where the REI Union sent over 115,000 members to the…
SBG Media: REI Members Reject Three Co-op Backed Board of Director Candidates
The co-op, perhaps, feels a sense of loss after three Board of Directors candidates, including two current Board members, were soundly rejected by REI members voting in the Board election. Employees and organizers of the REI Union effort have taken credit for running a successful and disruptive attempt to reject the candidates put forward by the…
Bike Mag: REI Faces Scrutiny by the National Labor Relations Board for Unfair Practices
A recent complaint was filed against REI for violating federal labor laws by withholding pay and raises for unionized workers. [...] The election for the REI Board is ongoing from March 3 to May 1, 2025. Many REI members nationwide are mobilizing to vote against the company-nominated candidates to promote…
Seattle Times: REI union says co-op is turning ‘corporate’ with…
The union representing hundreds of REI workers has a simple ask for the Issaquah-based co-op’s members: Vote no on board candidates. The clash is the latest in a contentious relationship between financially struggling REI and its unionized workers who…
Texas Standard: Austin REI workers Accuse Management of Union Busting and Ignoring…
A group of workers at Austin’s downtown REI location presented a letter to store management accusing the store of using disciplinary action to intimidate workers involved with union activity – also known as union busting. Similar crackdowns have been reported at other stores with union move…
HuffPost: REI Members Reject Company’s Hand-Picked Board Candidates
Union supporters delivered a powerful message to REI this week when the cooperative’s members rejected a batch of candidates for its board of directors. The existing board had hand-picked three nominees for the ballot, passing over a pair of union-backed challengers who called for pro-worker voices on the board.
Cascade PBS: REI Co-op members reject company board picks after union campaign
In a show of discontent, REI Co-op members voted to reject the slate of candidates put forward by the company in this year’s Board of Directors elections. The election results represent a victory for the REI Union, which urged members to vote against the uncontested slate of board candidates. Members were encouraged to vote…
NPQ: REI Workers Undeterred by Co-op’s Refusal to Let Union…
Union workers at REI continue to organize at the outdoor equipment retailer cooperative, undeterred by the co-op’s refusal to permit two union-backed candidates to run for member-elected co-op board seats. The REI Union backed two member-nominated candidates to the board at the nation’s…
Co-op News: Worker Co-Ops Join Union Campaign Urging REI to ‘Bargain a Fair Contract’
The US Federation on Worker Cooperatives (USFWC) is backing a petition calling for Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) to ‘stop union-busting: bargain with employees for fair contracts’. Launched by REI Union, the petition accuses REI of betraying co-op values, alleging the outdoors retailer has…
Seattle Times: REI Members Block Leadership Picks To Guide Struggling Co-op’s Future
Three candidates for REI’s board of directors were rejected by voting members, a win for a union that launched a campaign against the picks two months ago. Two of the candidates were up for reelection, with their terms expiring this year. The other open spot was a point of contention for the REI union, which represents workers at 11 stores. Before the two-month election opened in early March…
FOX 13: REI Workers To Rally Against Company
REI workers who are rallying today say that the Co-Op has violated labor rights, including discrimination in factories that make REI-branded apparel and bicycles. The union also claims that REI removed respirators from ski and snow repair shops across the country.