REI Union workers and allies to alert customers to the boycott outside REI stores and online
“All REI has to do to put an end to this boycott is come back to the table and offer a fair agreement. It is really that simple.” – REI Union worker
Follow along @REIUnion
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, workers and customers, led by the REI Union, are beginning a 10-day boycott of the REI Co-op’s Anniversary Sale, which takes place through May 25. Workers at REI’s 11 unionized stores are asking shoppers not to shop the sale as a show of solidarity with green vests in the face of four years of bad faith contract negotiations and REI’s scorched-earth union-busting campaign.
“For the last four years, REI workers have been committed to reaching an agreement with the co-op, only to be met with ludicrous proposals like bans on speaking out against the company and organizing additional stores,” said Jacob Lish, a REI worker at the co-op’s Maple Grove store. “We are asking REI customers to make their voices heard and show support for the REI Union over the next 10 days. Since REI won’t listen to us workers at the bargaining table, we think they’ll hear us loud and clear with the support of thousands of REI members and shoppers. REI cannot afford to ignore all of us.”
“REI would rather spend thousands on Morgan Lewis’ anti-union lawyers to defeat our union than offer a fair contract,” said Ashley Hamilton, a REI worker at the co-op’s Greensboro store. “Our shoppers know that REI is losing its soul, and with their support in this boycott, we can start to repair the Co-op. Rather than hear us out, the company has tried to silence workers and members, leaving us with no other choice but to boycott A-Sale.”
“I have been a member of REI for 25 years, and I stand with the REI Union,” said Evan Sutton, a REI Co-op member in Seattle. “Co-op members are tired of the company ignoring its own workers, and our calls for fairness have been ignored by a supposedly ‘democratic’ business. I was planning to resupply during the Anniversary Sale, but instead I’m boycotting in solidarity with the REI Union.”
“Co-op members shop at REI because they believe their values align with those of the company. When REI fails to uphold those values, shoppers have the power to hold them accountable by withholding their business,” said Justina Roberts, a REI worker at the co-op’s Cleveland store. “All REI has to do to put an end to this boycott is come back to the table and offer a fair agreement. It is really that simple.”
REI’s Anniversary Sale occurs every May and is the retailer’s largest event of the year. Contact press@ufcw.org to arrange interviews with REI Union workers.
BACKGROUND
- At the most recent bargaining session, which concluded on April 30, REI proposed unacceptable terms, proving their unwillingness to reach a contract. REI’s offer included a moratorium on the REI Union’s organizing activity, which means the REI Union could not support workers at other REI stores hoping to unionize for the duration of the contract.
- REI’s offer, which didn’t come until the final day of bargaining, also included a non-disparagement agreement, which would prevent REI Union members from speaking up about working conditions or saying anything that could be perceived as negative about the Co-op, effectively silencing them.
- In addition to the moratorium and non-disclosure proposals, the offer would make the union pay a mandatory $1 million annual donation to REI’s charitable organization of choice. The offer was also a six-year contract term, double the length of previous contract terms that had been discussed.
- The REI Union has a broad coalition of support for the boycott, which is unsurprising given the overwhelming solidarity displayed by members over the last several years, especially during the “Vote No” board campaign last year. After two union-backed candidates were prohibited candidacy in REI’s 2025 Board of Directors elections, the REI Union sent over 115,000 members to the company’s website to vote down the candidates.
- Since the first REI store unionized in SoHo, N.Y., in 2022, the REI Co-op has engaged in a scorched-earth union-busting campaign both in-store and at the bargaining table, complete with the intimidation of workers, lies about unionization, and the termination of many vocal union supporters. In response, workers have held several multi-day walkouts, community and co-op member actions, garnered support from elected officials from across the country, and more.
- In July 2025, REI and the union agreed to establish a national bargaining structure to reach collective bargaining agreements for the 11 unionized REI stores. As part of the agreement, REI provided wage increases and bonuses for the years 2022-2025 that the company previously withheld from workers at represented stores.
- As negotiations were taking place, REI unilaterally changed the bylaws of its board to allow the co-op to appoint unelected directors for a period of three years, whereas previously, directors had to be elected by co-op members. This was a clear attempt to stifle the voices of co-op members and stakeholders.
- REI workers unionized for fair pay, sustainable scheduling practices, and better working conditions. The company is now unilaterally implementing cuts to benefits, starting wages, and raises for REI Union workers.
- Since 2022, 11 REI stores have voted to unionize: SoHo, N.Y., Berkeley, Calif., Cleveland, Ohio, Chicago, Ill., Boston, Mass., Durham, N.C., Maple Grove, Minn., Bellingham, Wash., Castleton, Ind., Santa Cruz, Calif., and Greensboro, N.C., with a 12th store recently filing to unionize in San Diego, Calif.
- REI union members are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 5, 663, 700, 1208, 1445, 3000, and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
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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 atwww.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW Twitter:@RWDSU.
CONTACTS: Finn Storer – UFCW fstorer@ufcw.org, Chelsea Connor – RWDSU cconnor@rwdsu.org