KNOW BEFORE YOU SHOP
Learn how REI is failing our green vests — and how you can speak out against it.
REI’s 2025 Anniversary Sale starts on May 16th this year, running through May 26th. But this year, more and more Co-op members have come out raising concern with the path REI is headed down. This year’s sale comes just weeks after over a hundred thousand Co-op members came out to vote against their corporate slate of candidates for our Board of Directors.
Our Co-op base is continuing to speak out against REI’s anti-worker streak by sending letters directly to our new CEO, Mary Beth Laughton. They are demanding that REI put an end to the union busting and discriminatory behavior that has been uncovered in a recent report by the National Employment Law Project.
Click the link below to send your own letter to Mary Beth calling on REI to return to our Co-op roots — or read on to learn more about the ways REI is continuing to fail the green vests that make our Co-op what it is.
How REI Has Lost the Trail
New Report Finds Widespread Racial Discrimination at REI
Despite touting their commitment to our REDI program and the values that once made REI a great place to work, a recent report by the National Employment Law Project reveals widespread, scathing issues with the experiences of our coworkers who are people of color at REI. Some top lines from the report include:
-
Nearly half (47%) of REI workers report witnessing or experiencing some type of racial discrimination at work.
-
Fewer than 1 in 10 workers in the survey said that REI took appropriate action in response to racial and other forms of discrimination.
-
A significantly larger percentage of workers of color (64%) report working 20 hours or less in a typical week compared to white workers (38%).
-
64 percent of REI workers surveyed said it is becoming a worse place to work, and less than 4 percent reported that it’s becoming a better place to work.
Our REDI Program exists to fight these issues — but without the proper accountability, this entire initiative is falling short of its goals. This is just one of the many reasons REI green vests have unionized at stores across the country: to bring back the mantra that the outdoors is for all!​​
Despite Widespread Backlash, REI Digs into Union Busting Strategy
In their annual board meeting, REI leadership lied to Co-op members and claimed they are doing everything they can to settle first contracts with their union workers. The reality is that REI has been fighting tooth-and-nail against the green vests trying to reform our Co-op, wasting years of time and countless dollars on union busting efforts, including:
-
Hiring the same union busting law firm that has represented Trump and Elon Musk
-
Engaging in rampant union busting, including illegally intimidating & retaliating against union workers, bad faith bargaining, and wage theft
REI also recently endorsed Doug Burgum, Donald Trump’s Secretary of the Interior — who plans to use our public lands to drill for oil. However, after months of public outrage, REI’s new CEO, Mary Beth Laughton, came out to publicly retract the endorsement, signaling what can be a turning point for REI’s willingness to listen to its customer base.
Mary Beth has stated that she wants to keep hearing from you, our Co-op members, for insight on how to return our Co-op to its roots. Join us in telling her to start by treating our workers fairly, stopping the union busting, and living up to our motto that the outdoors is for all, by pushing for improved standards in our REDI program.
REI Members Speak Out Against The Co-op’s Trajectory by Voting Down Board Candidates
This spring, over a hundred thousand REI members took a decisive stand against REI’s union busting and problematic decision making by rejecting the company’s slate of corporate Board candidates.
Turnout in this year’s board election was higher than it’s ever been - signalling that REI’s member base starting to feel the impact of REI’s corporate track record. This monumental victory shows us that members value REI’s unique mission and don’t want to see us lose sight of what brought us to the Co-op in the first place!
Read more about how this victory can help us return REI to its Co-op roots.