Rei soho strike

We are unionizing at REI!

New issue out now. Subscribe to our print edition today. On the afternoon of February 24, in the basement of the Hudson Park Library in lower Manhattan, a crowd of workers gathered to see a play. Laura Neill, the playwright, greeted attendees, and friends excitedly exchanged hellos as they waited for the performance to begin. There was something unusual about this read-through.

Rei soho strike

REI, the outdoor equipment company, has long touted its progressive ideals. In fact, the story of progressive companies turning on their workers when they try to organize has become commonplace. Actors , nurses , baristas , delivery drivers , and teachers have also unionized in recent years for better pay and fair treatment. This year-long contract had guaranteed employees the same wages as other locations — solely on the condition that they would withhold their right to strike. The afternoon the contract expired, their wages were once again cut. In response, the union held its second walkout to protest for fair treatment and wages on September 9. REI had been deemed an essential store due to its bike shop, which was crucial for delivery service, and therefore stayed open indefinitely throughout the majority of quarantine and onward. Progressively branded companies have been criticized for marketing tactics like greenwashing, where they intentionally market an inclusive, environmentally friendly image to bolster sales. However, companies like REI have struggled to maintain this image in the face of labor disputes. I think REI and our interests are basically, diametrically opposed right now. The labor movement has gained quite a bit of momentum in the last several years, particularly among younger people.

She said she was welcomed with open arms, with her coworkers explaining Weingarten rights, unfair labor practice ULP charges, bargaining, and what constitutes protected concerted action.

The protest represents the latest escalation in an on-going legal fight between REI and employees at the SoHo location, which became the first REI store to unionize in March Since then, at least seven other REI locations voted to form unions. In an official statement on Friday, REI said organizers could have their increased pay if they agreed to not strike. Instead, unionized workers have taken to the streets, demanding that REI reinstate their wages and return to the bargaining table. The newly unionized employees would not go on strike in exchange for receiving the same pay increase as the rest of the company. On June 1, the same day the temporary agreement ended, REI hired new legal counsel Morgan Lewis — the same firm that fought against unions for Amazon.

July 6, AM. A pedestrian walks by REI's flagship store in New York, where last year workers formed the company's first union. A shopping mecca for outdoor enthusiasts, the retailer had cultivated a progressive reputation: promoting sustainability, famously closing on Black Friday to encourage people to play outside, giving workers a paid four-week sabbatical after 15 years and running as a co-op co-owned by its shoppers. Now, she and hundreds of other REI workers find themselves at odds with their employer over their efforts to unionize. Since the SoHo store's vote, seven more stores across the U.

Rei soho strike

Workers were able to win back the pay raise and improved benefits after they engaged in a walk-out in November, in exchange for an agreement not to strike through June 1, Just a few weeks ago, nearly a year into contract negotiations, REI announced it was changing its legal representation to Morgan Lewis, a notoriously, vehemently anti-union law firm. This led REI to cancel all bargaining sessions in the later half of May. When negotiations resume later this month, the move will also force the worker-led bargaining committee to waste time recapitulating proposals that have been on the table for months, derailing and delaying bargaining. But, just as workers were getting down to pay and other economics, the company pulled the rug out from under them," said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. But, workers at REI have faced aggressive union busting from the very start.

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The store has been bargaining since June , yet workers say that company misconduct has not let up. REI had been deemed an essential store due to its bike shop, which was crucial for delivery service, and therefore stayed open indefinitely throughout the majority of quarantine and onward. When you have a union, you…. There was something unusual about this read-through. This year-long contract had guaranteed employees the same wages as other locations — solely on the condition that they would withhold their right to strike. The workers push past their fears and dire financial needs. Since then, at least seven other REI locations voted to form unions. More Perfect Union. What Is A Union? Bargaining for a first contract has been dragging on for as long as two years at the Soho location in New York, the first store to organize. REI, the outdoor equipment company, has long touted its progressive ideals.

REI said the following:. We will not sit by as management systematically spreads misinformation, subjects employees to emotional manipulation, and commits clear violations of federal labor law.

That feeling was precisely what had carried them through a yearslong organizing campaign, and now, into the theater. But a growing union campaign that has so far organized nine stores and counting is testing the progressive reputation that REI built through its environmental and conservation advocacy over the years. Foot Wears House takes place in the footwear department of a popular outdoor goods store in SoHo that has recently unionized. The labor movement has gained quite a bit of momentum in the last several years, particularly among younger people. GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. By signing up for email newsletters, you agree to GearJunkie's Privacy Policy. Having a union contract gives you and your coworkers a voice in the policies that affect your daily work lives and the ability to secure the benefits you deserve. We all deserve better. On the afternoon of February 24, in the basement of the Hudson Park Library in lower Manhattan, a crowd of workers gathered to see a play. Gear Top Stories Deals. Are you going to just job-hop forever? They decided not to sign, so the company rescinded the pay raise on June 1, However, companies like REI have struggled to maintain this image in the face of labor disputes. Read more….