REI union announces boycott vote

Both union workers and Co-op members will vote next week on a boycott during the retailers’ largest sale in May

(March 19, 2026) — Sabotaging negotiations. Cutting wages and benefits. Hiring a notorious union-busting law firm. One year into the tenure of new REI CEO Mary Beth Laughton, workers have had enough. The REI union, made up of employees at about a dozen stores nationwide, has called a boycott vote for union workers and co-op members to decide if they will refuse to patronize REI during the 2026 Anniversary Sale.

The REI Union first formed at a store in New York City in 2022. Since then, workers have organized at ten more stores, from Durham, NC to Bellingham, WA. Workers are currently fighting to win their first union contract. In July of 2025, the company agreed to get serious in contract negotiations with a goal of reaching a tentative agreement within six months.

“In the end, the deal fell apart because the Co-op refused to offer REI Union workers wages on the same level as their co-workers at non-union stores,” wrote the union in their boycott vote announcement. “It wasn’t about money. They abandoned that progress because REI continues to be a fundamentally anti-union company. They wanted non-union workers to believe that things are worse with a union.”

Photo: REI Union

That anti-union posture is evidenced by the company’s representatives at the bargaining table. REI hired Morgan Lewis, the preferred anti-union law firm of Elon Musk that has argued cases to hamstring the NLRB. The company is paying over a thousand dollars an hour to lawyers while they claim REI is struggling financially, per the union.

“REI has falsely declared bargaining impasse to walk away from negotiations and impose benefit and wage cuts on workers at union stores,” said the union. “We’re facing drastic cuts to starting wages, retirement, sick pay, vacation, leaves, and more.”

CEO Laughton promised to return REI to it’s co-op roots when she took the helm. But the reality for workers and co-op members doesn’t track with C-suite promises. Last year, co-op members resoundingly rejected management’s hand-picked board candidates after the company prevented pro-worker candidates from running. In August, REI changed bylaws to allow the board to appoint new directors to a full term without a member vote.

While democracy may not be a core value for REI corporate, it remains a central tenant for union workers. They will vote March 23 and March 24 on an Anniversary Sale boycott. Co-op members will vote on March 25. For more info on the vote, the union’s reasons for proposing a boycott, and to get updates as the vote proceeds, check out the REI Union website.