REI Workers United

REI made an announcement yesterday morning that was supposed to elate us. What came to mind upon hearing the news was an expression that's been used at REI before; "Too little, too late". It's kind of on an ongoing repeat at our co-op.

If you're a newer employee, don't let this announcement fool you. Our CEO and BOD are scrambling to do anything they can to prevent a wave of unionization from taking hold across our co-op. The timing of it was no coincidence. It was made on the heels of the second REI store filing for a union election with the NLRB. A shout out to REI Union Berkeley! Keep your fire burning strong, because the benefits and wage increases you're all going to win in your union contract will make REI's small improvements pale in comparison.

Here's what REI is rolling out. A 3%-10% wage increase for hourly employees in Retail, DCs, Sales & Customer Support, and Experiences (starting at 3%...really REI??). Employees are also going to be eligible for healthcare benefits 90 days from their hire date, instead of one year. First off, how did one year ever happen? Second, there was a time not that many years ago, when all hourly store employees were eligible for health benefits after 30 days of getting hired, including seasonal workers. Just to make it clear, REI can do better! And what about scheduling? Zilch on that.

As for the Compass Group REI is forming, where 24 hourly employees across the co-op will be selected to represent the voice of thousands of employees -- whose gem of an idea was that? That idea is akin to REI's EVRGN outdoor rocker chair that had a tendency to tip over when people sat in it, and had to be recalled due to fall hazard. The whole line was eventually scrapped.

To bring it to a close, REI's announcement was timed to discourage more employees from unionizing. Why? Because union contracts guarantee benefits that can't be taken away or disappear, and they're always better than what your employer will give you. If unions didn't benefit workers, REI wouldn't have made this announcement. Unionizing = Worker Power. The Way Forward for hourly workers is unionization and we're happy to help you get there.

Our kind of campfire: When you're having a secret union meeting by the campfire and everyone sees the symbol of worker unity and strength rising up from a roasting marshmallow, it's a clear indicator that we are passionate about our union and organizing workers in solidarity across the co-op.

You might be asking; "How is our union different?" Well for one, we're a worker-led labor union that is unique to REI workers and the spirit of our work culture. “We're powered by current and former employees who want to guarantee the best for REI workers in a union contract, because we know that, for many of us, the REI experience has been struggling paycheck to paycheck, ineligible for benefits.

We're also different, because we're unlike most traditional, established unions in our country. We are a rank-and-file union, not a business union. How are rank-and-file unions different? They are fully democratic and all union members are equal. The governing officers of the union don't have more power than the union's membership (or its rank-and-file). We're powered from the ground up!

In business unions, the power comes from the top down. There's a managerial hierarchy in place, very similar to what you would expect to find in our REI workplaces. That's what we have grown used to at the REI Co-op, but that model doesn't appeal to us whatsoever. In our union, all workers have a voice and they are all equal.

That's just for starters! We're preparing a trail guide to welcome new union members into our community. If you're interested in joining our union, shoot us off a DM. We're very excited about what we're doing and especially meeting more like-minded folks. For us, it's all about REI employees and truly going further together in solidarity.

On May Day we began welcoming more REI employees into our union in celebration of International Workers Day and what a wild adventure it's been...so much so that we haven't had a chance to make an announcement here since our May Day blast off. The Co-op Way at its finest!