After 4-day strike, Durham REI workers will take union vote

The story was updated Monday to clarify that organizers ended the strike shortly after an election date was agreed upon.

After going on strike for four days, the employees of Durham’s REI co-op will vote on whether to form a union.

“Walking out of those doors together, standing out in front, talking to customers — it’s brought us even closer together,” said Alice Bennett, an employee of the outdoor clothing and gear store. “We really feel the power of our voices right now.”

If successful, the workers’ contracts will be collectively negotiated by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

Bennett said they want guaranteed scheduling and guaranteed minimum hours, plus better wages and expanded access to benefits. They also want the HVAC system in the store repaired.

“Benefits are decent, but they are tied to hours and when hour cuts come in, people have a fear of losing those benefits,” Bennett said.

The Durham store has 38 workers, a representative told The News & Observer. It’s located across from The Streets at Southpoint.

REI, a co-op headquartered in Washington state, has 181 locations across the country, employing more than 16,000 people.

A co-op is a member-owned collective. REI claims 23 million lifetime members today.

UFCW organizer Hannah Smith said four stores have won union elections and three more are actively campaigning.

• Unionized: SoHo, New York; Berkeley, California; Cleveland, Ohio; and Chicago, Illinois.

• Working on it: Boston, Massachusetts; Eugene, Oregon; and Bellingham, Washington.

A union vote

The National Labor Relations Board set the Durham store’s union election for May 25, a Thursday.

“We are fully supporting the process and vote — including the right of every eligible employee to vote for or against union representation,” the company said in an email signed REI Communications.

Smith said they could voluntarily recognize the union, but REI told the N&O that wasn’t their plan.

“If you are asking whether REI would voluntarily recognize a union and unilaterally impose representation on employees without giving them the opportunity to vote, the answer is no,” the company email stated.

Organizers say REI has actively worked against the union effort, by holding up employees’ pending transfers and sharing anti-union literature and sentiments.

The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company for allegedly putting on leave and firing an employee involved in the organizing effort.

The company denies holding up transfers and says it didn’t discipline any employees for organizing or taking interest in the union.

“In the spirit of employee privacy, we do not share details of employee disciplinary matters,” the company email stated. “However, I can tell you that when we do take significant disciplinary action, it is only after a comprehensive investigation confirms that there have been clear violations of company policies.”

Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam said it was disappointing to hear the reports of “union-busting behavior,” but uplifting to witness the solidarity among workers.

“We’re such a progressive community that advocates for workers rights vocally,” she said. “It takes a lot of courage, especially to go on strike.”

The strike

Bennett worked at the store for about a year before getting involved in the organizing efforts.

She said workers at the store began to seriously consider organizing during a group outing at a climbing gym. REI was initially founded nearly a century ago by a group of climbing friends.

“We started off just like complaining about stuff that was bugging us at work,” Bennett said. “And as we talked, we realized that the stuff that was bothering us was, first of all, not minor stuff. It was important. And we realized that we were also having a lot of same sort of issues.”

One of the biggest complaints was inconsistent scheduling.

“I had a friend who normally gets around like 15 or 20 (hours of work per week), who got like, zero hours one week,” she said.

They filed for a union election on April 13 and say the REI held up four employees transfers in retaliation.

“About half the store showed up to deliver a letter to the management team asking them to do the right thing and honor those transfers,” Bennett recalled.

After that, Bennett said one of their colleagues was put on administrative leave.

They rallied and went on strike last weekend, putting up a tent, firing up a camp stove and playing music outside the store entrance. The store remained open during the strike.

“I was so nervous driving there the first day of the strike. Everybody walked out on Thursday, and I wasn’t scheduled that day, but I showed up to support my friend,” Bennett said. “I just, the whole drive, had crazy jitters.”

Allam joined the strikers outside the store on May 4, the first day of the strike.

“Honestly, all they talked about was how much they loved REI,” Allam said. “The fact that they were organizing is because they love the company and they want to keep being able to work there, but also earn living wages and take care of themselves.”

On Monday, May 8, shortly after REI agreed to the election date, the organizers announced they were ending the strike

That day, they said the on-leave employee was fired. UFCW declined to make him available for an interview as he seeks legal advice.

The company said there were no negotiations to end the strike.

“Employees voluntarily returned to work. We did not engage with the group outside of asking them to be respectful of customers of the shopping center and our store,” the email stated.

Bennett said the workers feel confident heading into the election.

“There are a lot of folks at the store, who have been in these talks that we’ve been having, that have been with the company for over a decade and really seen how how the business has changed over time. And they want a seat at the table,” she said.

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