FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2023
Contact: Chelsea Connor | cconnor@rwdsu.org | 347-866-6259
REI SOHO & CLEVELAND WORKERS FILE ULP CHARGES AGAINST COMPANY AMID BARGAINING DELAYS
ULP Charges Include Violations of Obligations to Bargain and Violations of Status Quo Among Others
(NEW YORK, NY) – Today, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced it will be filing Unfair Labor Practice charges (ULPs) against REI, Inc. in both the Cleveland (Beachwood, Ohio) and SoHo (Manhattan, New York) unionized stores. This comes on the heels of REI’s notification to the union through its new legal counsel that many workers at the SoHo, New York store would be receiving pay cuts in their next paycheck amid a shakeup of the company’s legal representation at the bargaining table. All the charges highlight examples of REI’s continued efforts to undermine and suppress workers’ rights to bargain for a fair contract. Unionized workers at REI, Inc. will continue to fight to ensure their rights are respected and REI is held accountable for its outrageous behavior. The allegations lodged against REI below demonstrate a flagrant disregard by REI for workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
“We believe it is clear that REI’s behavior is in direct violation of the NLRA and we will fight to ensure they’re held accountable for these and their numerous other abuses of this fundamental law. A company cannot hire the most notoriously anti-union law firm, fail to comply with basic federal labor law, and then turn around and call themselves progressive and preach progressive values. REI must be held accountable by the labor board and they must bargain in good faith,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
Earlier today, workers from both stores held a media briefing, quotes can be pulled from workers who participated via the recording available here.
Filings associated with this press release can be found here and are usable for publication.
SUMMARY OF ULP CHARGES:
Failure to Provide Standard Information to Prepare for Bargaining at the Cleveland (Beachwood, Ohio) Store: The RWDSU sent a standard information request to REI’s then-counsel on May 8, 2023, in order to prepare for contract negotiations for the Beachwood store. Thus far—36 days later and counting—REI has only sent a store roster and no other information. RWDSU alleges that this failure and delay violates REI’s bargaining obligation under the law.
Unilateral Reduction of Certain Wage Rates and Retaliation at the SoHo (Manhattan, New York) Store: RWDSU and REI agreed to provide wage rates and benefits under The Way Forward plan introduced by REI in 2022 to SoHo workers. The agreement expired June 1, 2023, and, unfortunately, REI reduced wages for SoHo workers. Prior to the June 1 date, however, SoHo workers engaged in protected, concerted activity to protest REI’s non-payment of Summit Pay to the SoHo workers as well as engaging in concerted activity on other important issues. It was REI’s prerogative to reduce workers’ pay under the agreement, and it was motivated to do so in retaliation for workers engaging in protected, concerted activity, as alleged by RWDSU.
Further, after the expiration of an agreement between RWDSU and REI to provide The Way Forward wage rates to SoHo workers, REI unilaterally determined the amount of the wage reduction for certain employees once the agreement expired on June 1. The law required REI to bargain with the Union over the reduced wage rate for these employees. REI failed to do so and therefore violated the law as alleged in the unfair labor practice charge.
Phase out of in-store order fulfillment at the SoHo (Manhattan, New York) Store: in January 2023, REI “turned off” in-store order fulfillment at the SoHo store, which the Union alleges is a violation of the status quo. REI did so without providing advance notice to the Union and an opportunity to bargain. This also constitutes, according to the Union, diversion of bargaining unit work away from the SoHo bargaining unit without advance notice and an opportunity to bargain. The Union alleges that this also constitutes a status quo violation. By diverting bargaining unit work, the Union also alleges that this reduced hours for workers to work. Preserving bargaining unit work is a paramount importance to the Union. Finally, even if the law permitted REI to do this without notifying the Union, REI failed to engage in bargaining over the effects of this change, according to the charge.
NLRB Regional Offices are currently already investigating 26 unfair labor practice (ULP) charges filed against REI, today’s filings would be in addition to the current pending cases: Eugene, OR: 10; Berkeley, CA: 6; Beachwood, OH: 3; Durham, NC: 3; Portland, OR: 2; Boston, MA: 1; Manhattan, NY: 1; Chicago, IL: 1.
# # #
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.