REI union boycott targets Anniversary Sale

REI union workers began a boycott of the retailer’s Anniversary Sale on Friday, turning the co-op’s biggest annual promotion into the latest flashpoint in a four-year contract fight. The sale runs from May 15 through May 25, according to REI’s newsroom and promotions pages. The union says none of REI’s 11 unionized stores has reached a first contract. REI has said it remains committed to bargaining in good faith. ### Why are workers targeting this sale in particular? May 15 marked the start of REI’s Anniversary Sale, which the company described on May 8 as its “biggest sale of the year” with deals on more than 6,000 products. That timing matters because the boycott is aimed at a high-traffic event that draws both members and nonmembers into stores and onto REI’s website. (shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com) The United Food and Commercial Workers said on May 4 that REI Union was calling for customers to skip the sale after negotiations ended without what workers called a fair contract offer. The union said 70,000 REI co-op members had already pledged not to shop the sale if bargaining continued in bad faith. ### How broad is the labor dispute? (rei.com) Eleven REI stores are unionized, according to a joint bargaining update posted on the REI Union site after talks in late February. That update said REI declared impasse and moved to implement the economic terms of its “last, best, and final offer” at the 11 certified stores, while the union disputed that position and said it had filed claims. Shop Eat Surf Outdoor reported on May 14 that the boycott escalated a contract dispute that remains unresolved at all 11 unionized stores. (ufcw.org) The publication said workers and allies planned to show up outside REI stores beginning Friday to urge customers to skip the sale. (ourrei.com) ### What are workers saying happened in the latest bargaining round? Chicago was the site of the latest bargaining session that ended April 30, according to the union’s account cited by UFCW and Shop Eat Surf Outdoor. The union said REI did not put forward a proposal until the final day and that key decision-makers were not at the table. (shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com) Alex Pollitt, a worker at REI’s Bellingham, Washington, store, said in the UFCW statement that REI had “refused to offer us a fair contract” and left workers with “no choice but to boycott.” The union also said REI proposed terms including limits on support for organizing at other stores and a non-disparagement provision restricting public criticism, though REI had not responded to those latest claims in the Shop Eat Surf Outdoor report. (ufcw.org) ### How has the broader labor movement responded? The AFL-CIO’s boycott list, updated May 1, includes Recreational Equipment Inc. under apparel and sporting goods. That listing means the national labor federation is formally backing the boycott call as part of its endorsed boycott program. The REI boycott also sits inside a wider organizing push at the company. The REI Union site said on April 27 that workers at the San Diego store had filed for a union election and that voting there was scheduled for May 27 and 28. (ufcw.org) ### What is REI doing while the boycott is underway? REI launched the sale as planned on May 15 and is promoting discounts across camping, hiking, cycling and apparel categories on its website. (aflcio.org) The company’s newsroom said shoppers can save on REI Co-op products and national brands during the 11-day event. May 25 is the next fixed date in the dispute because that is when the Anniversary Sale ends. (ourrei.com) May 27 and 28 are the next labor milestones on the union side, when REI workers in San Diego are scheduled to vote on whether to join the union, according to the REI Union site. (rei.com 1) (rei.com 2)