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 sewed products at home to make them affordable. Others organized stewardship events to protect the environment,” says the story on REI’s website.
“Over time, the people who the co-op brought together pioneered many firsts of what we love so much about the outdoors. From those early stewardship events to the labs we created to push gear to its limits, when “me” became “we,” it radically changed how we all access and experience outside.
And that’s what a co-op is: The people it brings together. The we.”
Today, REI’s ‘we’ includes 24 million consumer members and the co-op’s 16,000 employees, most of whom work in one of REI’s 193 stores across the country.
But REI workers’ efforts to unionise in recent years have revealed conflicts between the co-op’s management and workers, with REI accused of union busting and betraying its co-op values.
Workers at REI’s SoHo store voted to unionise with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) in 2022, citing unsafe working conditions during Covid, changes in work culture, and unsatisfactory hours and pay as reasons for the vote. At the time, REI stated that it supported the rights of employees to choose or refuse union representation, but did “not believe placing a union between the co-op and its employees is needed or beneficial.”
To date, 11 REI stores have unionised, and contracts are being negotiated around guaranteed minimum hours and pay, improved safety standards, and job protections. No contracts have yet been agreed, as negotiations “slowed to a crawl” in early 2023, according to the union, when REI hired Morgan Lewis, a firm with a documented history of anti-union activity, and stopped sending company representatives to bargaining sessions.
Zoe has been a worker at REI’s Soho store throughout this time. Originally drawn by the co-op’s sense of community and ethos, she also talks of the challenges faced working at the store.
“It’s really hard to see people that give everything to this job be treated so poorly – underpaid, overworked, scrutinised over the littlest things,” she says. “I think it’s very important to have a contract to make sure that we are treated the way that we deserve to be, as well as compensated fairly. In New York City, one of the hardest things is just scraping by, even with full time hours, at a company like this.”
Related: Workers at REI Coop march on Seattle HQ with contract demands
When first approached by colleagues about the idea of unionising she was hesitant, adds Zoe. “I feel like I didn’t really know anything about unions. I grew up on Long Island in Suffolk County, and we didn’t really talk about it in history class.”
After looking into the possible consequences and benefits of unionisation, Zoe said “something clicked, and it just made so much sense. Unions are painted in a bad light, because this country is surrounded by corporations who don’t want unionised workers because it’s cheaper for them. And so ever since that moment, everything has just been making sure that myself and my co-workers get what we deserve.”
Since working at REI, Zoe has also learned more about the co-op movement.
“I have learned a lot more about co-ops and how they operate and how they run, or how they should run I should say, and it’s just furthered my need to get this company back to the roots of where they started and the ideas that they started with.”
Workers at REI are currently spearheading a campaign to ‘Vote No’ against REI’s “corporate board”, at the co-operative’s elections which run until 1 May.
The REI union put forward two candidates for this year’s board election, Tefere Gebre and Shemona Moreno, neither of whom were included on the ballot.
Decisions around who to accept as a candidate for election are made by a nominating committee that is itself appointed by the existing board of directors.
No reason has been given for Gebre’s rejection, while REI maintains that Moreno missed the nomination deadline, despite her sharing evidence that her submission was submitted ahead of the deadline – a screenshot that has been viewed by Co-op News.
Commenting on the situation, Shemona Moreno said: “I emailed my application before the deadline. The best case scenario is someone didn’t check their spam folder. The worst case scenario is REI is afraid of a pro-staff candidate for board.
“This is not the REI I know and love. I applied to run for the board to be a voice for the people in green vests who make REI great but who are not allowed a voice on the co-op’s board of directors. More than 3,000 REI members and customers signed a petition in support of my candidacy for the board to bring REI back to its roots, and ensure the company walks their talk on sustainability and worker rights. REI must listen to its member-owners.”
At the time of writing, REI has not responded to requests for comments on the above.
The ‘Vote No’ campaign is a direct appeal to REI members for support, but, says Zoe, there has always been a strong relationship between REI’s workers and its members.
“We knew that our members joined the co-op and keep coming back because of us the employees, because of how friendly and knowledgeable we are and how helpful we are when they’re coming in to do things like bike packing for the first time and they need help.
When asked about how helpful REI’s co-op structure has been for its workers while unionising and campaigning for change, Zoe said it has been mixed.
“The members who have been members of REI for 10, 20 years, they’re really on our side. They truly hold the same beliefs in the co-op that the workers do – that we’re here to help, we want to provide information, goods and services that help our communities get outside … so in that sense, it’s been helpful.
On the other hand, says Zoe, REI’s recent push towards doubling its membership figures has put undue pressure on workers to sell as many memberships as possible, with less of a focus on co-operative values.
“A good amount of the people who have become members in the last couple of years, because it’s a good deal, they don’t care so much – or it seems like they don’t have the same beliefs as those members who have been with the company, with the co-op, for decades.”
This mix can be seen in comments left by members of the public on REI’s social media posts – some are, as expected, neutral or supportive customer messages commenting on the co-op’s recent campaigns or products, but many are using the platform to share their criticisms and concerns about REI’s behaviour and values.
On top of accusations of union busting, REI also received criticism from environmental groups this year for its endorsement of president Trump’s nominee for secretary of the interior Doug Burgum, which was later retracted. This has also been a topic of discussion in REI’s online comments section, with one stating, “I think you are underestimating the amount of damage control you need to be doing right now”.
The REI union and its ‘Vote No’ campaign have taken to social media as a way of connecting with REI members, since they have no access to a contact list of members. Using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook to communicate differently with different demographics of the membership has been a useful way of sharing their message, says Zoe.
“We’re trying to say, these posts are coming from us, the workers. Listen to us. Don’t listen to the company. We know what we’re doing, we know what we deserve, and the company doesn’t care.”
The campaign has also been endorsed by the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC), who organised with REI workers for a national day of action on 5 April, encouraging fellow co-operators to flyer at their local REI store, speak with members and promote the ‘Vote No’ campaign.
Michael Brennan, project coordinator at USFWC, was part of the day of action.
“It was pretty universally landing as a positive message,” he says. “People were very receptive to it and willing to take a quick action to vote.”
Many people they spoke to that day were unaware that the board election was even taking place, says Brennan. “It’s not something that REI is publicising at all, in terms of organising their members to engage in whatever process that would make them an actual co-op.
“We were the ones actually telling them there’s a board election happening right now – here’s the stakes” adds Brennan, who explains that for USFWC, the co-operative principles indicate a need to be in solidarity with workers inside of co-operatives, worker owned or not.
“The principle of concern for community and the co-operative principles generally would say that, when people are union busting, especially as a co-operative, it’s pretty antithetical to what we expect from this community, that I think has a lot of ambition and vision about the kind of world that we want to see.
“And especially right now, where unions and workers generally are under attack from capitalists and right wingers, I think it’s especially important that within our community we’re addressing this and showing up.”
Support for the REI workers is part of a broader analysis USFWC is making around the relationship between co-ops and unions, which can be seen in the work of its Union Co-ops Council, a space focused on building worker power in coordination with organised labour.
In 2021, the council noted that “the co-operative movement and the trade union movement both have deep roots in liberation struggles for economic independence. Labour unions and co-operatives are not an “either /or” option of organisation but work together in solidarity to achieve similar goals. Worker power and self-determination, be it through worker co-ops, labour unions, or both together, are key to the better world we hope to build.”
What happens between REI’s workers, management and members is still unfolding, with its board election result in May a crucial stop along the road. More widely, says Brennan, it is an opportunity for old and new members of the co-operative movement to continue examining and taking action on its values.
“When people [in the US] hear ‘co-op’ right now, the first thing they might hear about is REI. And so it’s especially important that we show up for this.”
