Hannah Finnie is a student at Harvard Law School and a member of the Labor and Employment Lab.
Retail workers at an REI location in New York announced their plans to unionize earlier this month. REI, an outdoor adventure company, has generally cast itself as a progressive company. It uses a co-op model where customers can become co-op members and then share in the profits of the company, and frequently took stands against the Trump administration on public lands issues. However, workers at the New York store moved to organize a union in light of what they described as low wages, poor benefits, poor COVID-19 safety protocols, and more. REI management responded by releasing a recorded conversation between its CEO and its chief diversity and social impact manager that was generally anti-union. Many have criticized the conversation for co-opting progressive language while taking a regressive stance against the unionization efforts.
The organization has also said it will not voluntarily recognize the union because “it would be unfair to those employees to recognize the union immediately, and take away their right to a secret vote to express their true wishes on something that will impact their jobs and lives.”
REI has around 15,000 employees across the United States. Should the New York store’s efforts succeed, it would be the first unionized REI location in the country.
In other union news, Starbucks workers across the country continue an impressive organizing sweep. Eighty-two locations are waiting on a vote to unionize, though some have said the number is up to 93 locations.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 2
University of California strikes end while legal dispute continues; Disneyland workers raise awareness with park visitors; bus workers in Alabama set example for labor policy
July 1
Labor law impacts of Loper Bright and Jarkesy rulings; Unions push for workforce board represntation.
June 30
Explaining the turnaround in Starbucks-union negotiations; overtime rule implementation against Texas enjoined; California reforms PAGA
June 28
Gig driver classification deal reached in Massachusetts; Amazon drivers in Illinois strike over ULP; CEO pay accelerates.
June 27
The economy and immigration expected to play a central role in the upcoming presidential debate and Washington gets involved in AI regulation of the entertainment industry.
June 26
California judge fines companies for child labor violations; IATSE reaches tentative deal with studios; Texas judge likely to block Biden Administration's overtime rule