Union supporters delivered a powerful message to REI this week when the cooperative’s members rejected a batch of candidates for its board of directors.
The existing board had hand-picked three nominees for the ballot, passing over a pair of union-backed challengers who called for pro-worker voices on the board. The union responded with a “vote no” campaign that urged members to shoot down the board’s preferred candidates as too “corporate” and lacking a commitment to union rights.
That campaign succeeded, with REI announcing at its annual meeting Thursday that none of the candidates had garnered enough support to secure a seat. The failed trio included two incumbents who were up for reelection to the board.
“We are disappointed with the outcome, especially because we are losing two incumbent directors who have been valuable contributors to the co-op for a number of years and one promising new director,” the board’s chair, Chris Carr, said in a statement.
“We are all feeling pretty elated that the results have shown members are engaged and they do care what happens to employees here.”
– Megan Shan, REI worker
An REI spokesperson told HuffPost the company does not release the full voting results, since the outcome “is the primary issue.” But the union claimed it prompted more than 100,000 members to vote against the candidates, which could have led to a resounding rejection.
Megan Shan, a union member and employee at REI’s Durham, North Carolia, store, said her co-workers were “psyched” about the outcome.
“We are all feeling pretty elated that the results have shown members are engaged and they do care what happens to employees here,” said Shan. “This is a good sign that people are watching what REI is doing with regard to our union effort and contract negotiations.”
REI is structured as a member-owned cooperative rather than a traditional corporation. But for years, members and workers have alleged REI has lost its way as a co-op and now operates like any profit-hungry retailer. They often point to the fact that the current board gets to choose who ends up on the ballot for board elections, a gatekeeping feature that can stifle dissenting voices.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images
But the union campaign has tried to challenge the board’s grip on REI’s direction.
The United Food and Commercial Workers and their sister union, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, have organized 11 of REI’s roughly 180 stores since 2022. The company has pushed back against the unionization effort, prompting a slew of unfair labor practice allegations and tainting REI’s reputation as a progressive retailer.
As HuffPost reported in January, union supporters were stumping for two pro-labor candidates to get on the board: Shemona Moreno, a Seattle-based climate activist, and Tefere Gebre, a former AFL-CIO executive-turned-Greenpeace USA official. The current board rejected both for the ballot, opting for candidates who weren’t open union supporters.
The union campaign took a victory lap on Thursday, saying all of REI’s “unopposed, corporate-backed candidates” had been shot down by members. It said in a statement that the turnout was “likely” the highest REI had ever seen for a board vote.
REI board members typically serve three-year terms. According to the co-op’s by-laws, the board will get to choose board members to serve in the three vacant seats, though only until next year’s election.
“Moving forward, REI should stop union busting, negotiate a fair contract with organized workers, and fill the vacancies on the board with the candidates that members backed initially,” the union said.