The United Food and Commercial Workers is Steadily Becoming America’s Outdoor Industry Union
Reno, Nev. – Workers at the Patagonia store in Reno, Nevada voted to join United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 711, becoming the first Patagonia store in the country to unionize. These workers are joining a wave of outdoor industry professionals who have recently unionized with the UFCW and Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
UFCW International President Marc Perrone said the following:
“America’s love of the outdoors deserves to be met with an appreciation for the workers who make our adventures possible. Whether in retail, rock climbing, or beyond, all workers deserve to have representation on the job.
“We are excited to welcome Patagonia workers to the UFCW and look forward to reaching a strong union contract that reflects their hard work and experience.
“This is a great moment for those who work in the outdoor space and any worker who wants to make their workplace, and life, better.”
The UFCW has been steadily growing its representation of workers in the outdoor adventure space, having organized nine REI locations across the U.S. with the RWDSU and five Vertical Endeavors climbing gyms in Minnesota.
Nick Helmreich, a retail team lead at the Reno Patagonia store, said the following:
“My fellow co-workers and I are now standing together with the protections of union representation and about to negotiate a contract, all thanks to our union siblings over at REI whose progress inspired us to continue the hard work of unionizing this industry.
“We are ready to fight for a contract that protects our rights and provides the wages and benefits we’ve earned making Patagonia the success that it is in Reno.”
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UFCW Local 711 is part of the UFCW International, the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in retail, grocery, meatpacking, food processing, cannabis, healthcare and other essential industries in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at ufcw.org.