FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 20, 2025
CONTACT: Maria DiPasquale | mdipasquale@rwdsu.org | 201-396-1021
NLRB FINDS REI BROKE MULTIPLE LAWS BY WITHHOLDING YEARS OF WAGES AS RETALIATION AGAINST UNIONIZED WORKERS & FAILED TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH AT BARGAINING TABLES ACROSS THE NATION
Multi-State Complaint Seeks Years of Retroactive Pay for Hundreds of Union Workers
(OAKLAND, CA) – Today, the REI Union announced that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 32 issued a complaint finding that REI broke the law by withholding merit raises and summit pay from workers at unionized stores nationwide. These benefits have been part of REI’s employee benefits package for over a decade and have been illegally withheld from unionized workers since they began bargaining, at one store (REI SoHo) that's in excess of three years.
The NLRB details that REI’s repeated decisions to withhold raises and bonuses from workers is illegal retaliation against union stores, and that the company has refused to bargain in good faith with the union stores as well. The NLRB seeks an order remediating these violations by requiring REI to retroactively provide wage increases and bonuses that match those in non-union stores. This complaint is the first step to rectifying REI’s ongoing illegal union busting.
The REI Union said the following:
“REI workers across the country have fought hard to make the Co-op a better place for workers, members, and shoppers by standing together and joining a union. This complaint is a victory, but it should not take legal intervention for REI to do the right thing.
“It’s time for REI to bargain in good faith, stop breaking the law, and start listening to the workers who make this company successful. We call on REI leadership to comply with the remedies the NLRB is demanding, return to the bargaining table with real proposals and real decisionmakers, and finally live up to the progressive values it claims to uphold. Workers will continue to stand together until we secure the fair contracts we deserve.”
REI Union worker leaders said the following:
“After working for REI for about nine years now, I still make less than people who were just hired. I also just had major surgery and had to scrounge for money while REI illegally withheld my summit pay, which would have covered many of my medical expenses. I’m so happy that the NLRB agrees with the union and hope that this can be resolved quickly and with full cooperation on REI’s part,” said Ace Hainley (He/They), Sales Specialist at the REI SoHo flagship store.
“REI has illegally withheld thousands of dollars from me and my unionized co-workers since we won our union election in 2022. The NLRB agrees. My co-workers and I believe in an REI Co-op that is democratic, follows labor law, and is an environmental and progressive leader in the industry. We call on REI to abide by the law and live up to its professed Co-op ideals. Until then, we’re asking every REI Co-op member to Vote No on REI’s handpicked candidates for the Board of Directors so we can elect Co-op leadership that reflects green vests’ and members’ values,” said Sam Wirt (He/They), Sales Specialist at the REI Berkeley store.
“I’ve worked at REI SoHo for over two years and have never received any merit or summit pay because of REI’s illegal union busting. The number of hoops REI has jumped through in an attempt to justify punishing workers at unionized stores really shows where they’re willing to spend their time, money, and energy, because it certainly isn’t at the bargaining table,” said Milo Barrett (They/Them), Sales Specialist at the REI SoHo flagship store.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
Since 2022, eleven REI stores have voted to unionize: SoHo, NY; Berkeley, CA, Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Durham, NC; Maple Grove, MN; Bellingham, WA; Castleton, IN; Santa Cruz, CA; and Greensboro, NC. None of the stores have reached first union contracts with REI. There are currently 34 unfair labor practice charges documenting 175 violations of labor law still pending with the NLRB.
The REI Board of Directors election is underway from March 3 - May 1, 2025. Two REI Union-endorsed candidates – Tefere Gebre of Greenpeace and Shemona Moreno of 350.org – submitted paperwork to be included as candidates on the ballot for open Board seats, but were rejected by the company without real consideration. Thousands of REI members around the country are joining the call to vote against REI’s hand-picked, corporate nominees to hold the company accountable for its recent actions.
In February, REI members were outraged by the Co-op’s decision to join a trade association letter endorsing Trump’s Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, who has been widely criticized for his position on extraction on public lands. In December, a report by UMass Amherst found rampant violations of worker rights in REI’s Co-op Brand supply chain, including instances of forced labor.
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REI Union members are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Learn more about the growing REI unionization movement here.
The UFCW International is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in retail, grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, cannabis, and other essential industries. UFCW members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at ufcw.org.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) represents 100,000 members throughout the United States. The RWDSU is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). For more information, please visit our website at www.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW Twitter:@RWDSU.