Pledge to boycott REI

Union workers at REI are calling on community to support their rallying cry: No Contract, No Gear!

ISSAQUAH, WA (April 16, 2026) — Weighed down by heavy boxes, union REI workers stopped by the company’s corporate headquarters in the Puget Sound on Friday. Their mission? Deliver over 20,000 boycott pledges to the boss, signed by co-op members and customers who’ve pledged not to shop REI’s Anniversary sale.

Workers and co-op members voted in late March to boycott REI during the annual sale — which runs from May 15 to May 25 this year — making clear to REI management that continued refusal to bargain a fair contract was unacceptable.

Workers delivering boycott pledges to REI headquarters in Issaquah. Photo: REI Union

REI Union called the boycott vote in response to a pattern of anti-worker behavior from the company’s C suite. Per the union, REI corporate has refused to offer union workers wages on par with their co-workers at non-union stores during contract negotiations, falsely declared a bargaining impasse — walking away from the table and unilaterally imposing benefit and wage cuts on union workers — and has paid huge sums of money to bring in Morgan Lewis, the notoriously anti-worker law firm favored by union-busting billionaires. REI Union also reports that the company eliminated healthcare coverage for all part-time workers in 2025, then upped the needed number of hours to qualify for coverage to 23 hours per week — while simultaneously cutting available hours, effectively denying healthcare coverage to many workers.

Corporate actions undermining REI’s reputation as a socially conscious co-op go beyond the polished-yet-rugged concrete of the store floors. A University of Massachusetts Amherst study documented extensive human rights violations throughout REI’s supply chain, including forced labor and debt bondage at factories overseas.

In August, REI changed bylaws to allow its board to appoint new directors to a full term without a member vote after corporate’s handpicked candidates were resoundingly rejected by voting co-op members (two candidates who had vowed to advocate for workers were blocked from the ballot by the company).

Anti-worker actions targeting union workers, a supply chain tainted with human rights violations, and weakening of co-op democracy are far from the brand’s roots that built a loyal customer base over decades.

While company leaders may no longer value the voice and input of their customers, REI Union is betting the company will certainly notice the loss of customer dollars.

TAKE A STAND: Sign the pledge to boycott REI during the Anniversary Sale in May.