Hannah Finnie is a writer in Washington, D.C. interested in the intersections of work and culture. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
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.
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June 3
Federal judge blocks Trump's attack on TSA collective bargaining rights; NLRB argues that Grindr's Return-to-Office policy was union busting; International Trade Union Confederation report highlights global decline in workers' rights.
June 2
Proposed budgets for DOL and NLRB show cuts on the horizon; Oregon law requiring LPAs in cannabis dispensaries struck down.
June 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Ninth Circuit upholds a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration, a federal judge vacates parts of the EEOC’s pregnancy accommodation rules, and video game workers reach a tentative agreement with Microsoft. In a 2-1 decision issued on Friday, the Ninth Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration […]
May 30
Trump's tariffs temporarily reinstated after brief nationwide injunction; Louisiana Bill targets payroll deduction of union dues; Colorado Supreme Court to consider a self-defense exception to at-will employment
May 29
AFGE argues termination of collective bargaining agreement violates the union’s First Amendment rights; agricultural workers challenge card check laws; and the California Court of Appeal reaffirms San Francisco city workers’ right to strike.
May 28
A proposal to make the NLRB purely adjudicatory; a work stoppage among court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts; portable benefits laws gain ground