Rei soho strike

We are unionizing at REI! Rei soho strike know that as workers at REI, we are at the center of what makes our stores great. Our shared passion for the outdoors and spirit of inclusiveness is what keeps o ur members coming into our stores. Our hard work and expertise have value and deserve respect.

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.

Rei soho strike

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. The play is being directed by Colm Summers, the artistic director of Working Theater, which focuses on theater by and about working people. She started writing the play that spring, but the story changed as managerial scheming and incompetence brought workplace problems to the forefront of her mind. The problems mounted: underscheduling, gas leaks, flooding. Shortly after the SoHo location unionized, REI had announced a nationwide raise for every store except SoHo: a strategy to deny benefits to unionized stores in hopes of dissuading further organizing Starbucks did the same thing. The SoHo workers walked out, prompting REI to offer a side-letter agreement, granting them the raise for six months in exchange for a no-strike pledge. But they allege that the company stalled at the bargaining table, dragging its feet and failing to offer counterproposals.

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, rei soho strike. REI, the outdoor equipment company, has long touted its progressive ideals.

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 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. The workers at REI are keeping that vision alive with our hard work, expertise, community service, and yes, by forming a union. Despite the onslaught of union-busting tactics, we will keep organizing and winning elections. When we stand together, we win. Make no mistake, we will not be intimidated or silenced: REI Union Cleveland will not stop fighting alongside our REI Union siblings for a strong union contract that reflects the value we bring to the Co-op.

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. That animus led them to be left out of a critical wage and benefits increase this fall. Workers fought back and won, and now REI is bringing in some of the most anti-union attorneys in the country to pull back on the wages many workers have had for the better part of seven months.

Haleiwa lodging

Schedule a call with a union organizer to learn how! What is a Union? Summers said that he is determined to make the company more involved in grassroots organizing efforts. In November, in the first coordinated effort among all the REI union employees, who are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, the workers filed 80 unfair labor practice charges against the company for bargaining in bad faith and engaging in anti-union behavior. Theater was a central part of that culture: Waiting for Lefty , a play about a taxi strike, became one of the most performed and most banned plays in the country. Even if a company starts great, which REI did. Leave a comment Your email address will not be published. Our hard work and expertise have value and deserve respect. Ready to start a union at your REI store? Have real job security and protection from unjust termination. What Is A Union? When REI changed its legal representation a year into negotiations, the unions said, the company rolled back an agreement to give workers there the same pay increases offered to non-union stores the day after the union election.

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.

After the performance concluded, Neill and Summers solicited feedback from the audience on the work in progress. Have a say in all company policies that affect working conditions. In addition to the February reading, the company plans to continue developing the play over the coming year. Follow Us On. 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. That feeling was precisely what had carried them through a yearslong organizing campaign, and now, into the theater. The play is being directed by Colm Summers, the artistic director of Working Theater, which focuses on theater by and about working people. Even if a company starts great, which REI did. The labor movement has gained quite a bit of momentum in the last several years, particularly among younger people. We are much the poorer for it. They also embraced her work in progress, a fact evidenced by how many members of the audience last Saturday were fellow union members, the crowd dotted with REI Union SoHo shirts.