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Employees at Bellingham REI store seek to unionize, be first in Washington

By Renata Geraldo, The Seattle Times
Published: May 5, 2023, 9:12am

SEATTLE — REI store employees in Bellingham are trying to join a union, saying they want a voice in company decisions that affect their lives and working conditions. They filed for union elections with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday. If successful, it will be the first REI store to unionize in Washington.

The Seattle-founded outdoor retailer, with 181 U.S. stores, said through a spokesperson that it fully supports the petition process and is working with the NLRB and the union, UFCW, to ensure all employees have the opportunity to vote.

Workers at REI stores in New York, Berkeley, Calif., and Cleveland have voted to unionize. Elections in Chicago, Boston, Durham, N.C., and Eugene, Ore., are still to take place.

There is no date set for the Bellingham store elections, according to Ben Reynolds, a spokesperson from UFCW Local 3000, the labor union that will represent the Bellingham workers if they decide to unionize. Reynolds described the unionization drive as a “movement to return the co-op to its founding values.”

“We would hope to see a progressive company like REI respect the rights of its workers to unionize and bargain together for the changes they’d like to see,” Reynolds said.

UFCW Local 3000 represents workers in retail, grocery, health care, cannabis, food processing and other industries in the Pacific Northwest and northern Idaho.

Sue Cottrell, a sales specialist from the Bellingham store, said she wants a workplace with equity and respect.

“We deserve dependable hours and consistent schedules, transparency around pay and scheduling decisions, and to be recognized for our varied strengths and skill sets,” Cottrell said in a statement.

Customer service associate Ian Schaefer Lorenz said the store lost more than a dozen employees during the holidays because workers “weren’t getting the hours the company promised them when they were hired.”

REI’s spokesperson said that the company’s business as an outdoor retailer is seasonal, which makes every store unique with staffing plans. The spokesperson also said REI employees have a seat at the table, and their feedback led to the introduction of employee resource groups and vocal support for groups such as the LGBTQ+ community. In 2021, the company announced a commitment to become an inclusive, anti-racist multicultural organization.

Since the first REI store employees voted to unionize in New York in March 2022, workers have joined a sweeping nationwide unionization drive. At least 295 Starbucks out of 9,000 U.S. stores have unionized since November 2022. At least three Trader Joe’s locations, out of nearly 560, have unionized.

On Thursday, workers from the Durham store walked out, arguing that a coworker was unlawfully put on administrative leave as a result of his involvement with the union. REI’s spokesperson confirmed an employee is on leave pending an investigation but said the leave is not related to any union activity.

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