REI’s worker-led boycott highlights for HR the importance of fulfilling employer values

If you’re thinking of hiking to any natural hot springs this summer, just make sure their temps aren’t nearly as hot as the water REI is in right now.

The national retail chain has seemingly ticked off a portion of the roughly 25 million members who make up its co-op, thousands of whom pledged to boycott the store during its largest sale of the year, from May 15–25. The reason why might surprise some HR leaders: The REI workers’ union asked members to do so, in protest of alleged union busting and implementing unpopular benefits changes after contract negotiations stalled. (REI has denied these allegations.) For HR practitioners, the boycott highlights the risks companies could face when they fail to live by their proclaimed values as an employer—especially when customers take note.

The TL;DR. REI has been engaged in various negotiations with its unionized stores since 2022. The union’s demands have included predictable scheduling, guaranteed minimum hours and living wages, and safe working conditions.

In recent months, they’ve seemingly reached a deadlock, prompting the retailer to declare an impasse (legalese for two sides exhausting all good-faith negotiations) and subsequently implement the changes outlined in its last contract offer. Those included lowering vacation accruals, replacing a company-wide sick leave policy with what’s legally required in workers’ respective states, and cutting compensation for new employees, according to an internal memo obtained by Seattle-based NPR station KNKX.

CEO Mary Beth Laughton told employees in another internal memo that the changes were necessary, as the company’s “financial position remains challenging,” KNKX reported. The co-op is in the midst of an attempted turnaround, following a multi-year string of net losses beginning in 2022.

Employers are legally allowed to implement the changes in their last contract offer after declaring an impasse. However, unions are also allowed to challenge such moves as illegal, which the REI union has done. (REI claimed in a May 15 press release that the changes were “lawfully implemented” and “allowed” by the union.)

The union then called for a boycott, with backing from elected officials in King County, to protest the failed bargaining negotiations and pressure REI to reach a contract. (REI denounced the boycott.)

Boycott appeal. Unions have historically turned to consumer boycotts as a last resort, and few have been considered successful. This boycott has seemingly resonated with some co-op members: More than 70,000 REI co-op members pledged to boycott the sale, according to the REI union website. Some 300 members also participated in solidarity events, including handing out leaflets, and staging a sit-in at the co-op’s flagship Seattle store (for which one member was arrested.)

In a statement to HR Brew, REI spokesperson Ben Famous said that this year’s sale delivered the co-op’s second strongest margins in the past nine years, second to 2021.

Customers may have been willing to protest REI’s alleged treatment of workers because of its proclaimed values and practices, including a commitment to sustainability, community, and promoting a work environment that values respect, belonging, and collaboration, experts told HR Brew.

“The call to boycott REI during its upcoming anniversary sale is a powerful reminder that consumers are not just customers. We are stakeholders in the labor practices of the brands we support,” Yeruwelle de Rouen, a workplace culture consultant and founder of DEI consulting firm Intersectional Innovations, wrote on LinkedIn.

In an interview with HR Brew, de Rouen said the boycott was reminiscent of Starbucks’ union woes: The coffee chain, which promotes company values including belonging and social impact, has faced increased public scrutiny over its labor practices (including alleged union busting), prompting consumers to rethink their patronage.

“I think REI is exactly now in that place where we [customers] have to question the fodder that came out of either value statements, mission statements, or DEI statements,” she told HR Brew.

Looking ahead. Taking a more collaborative approach to identify solutions that can benefit the bottom line could help keep employers from landing in hot water.

Javier Ramirez, executive manager of the National Conflict Resolution Service at Cornell’s ILR School, said that the next steps for REI and the union will likely be to hire a third-party mediator, who can facilitate the negotiation process and help reach a resolution.

Compensation and benefits that affect employees’ finances, such as wages, insurance, retirement, and PTO, tend to be the biggest points of contention during negotiations, Ramirez said.

While employers may feel pressure to make quick decisions about these offerings, particularly if their bottom line is at stake, taking the time to work with employees on a solution can be more beneficial in the long run, according to Ramirez. It may be difficult to sell employees on changes to total rewards, especially if tensions are high.

“There’s usually multiple solutions to it, but if the parties are not having effective communications at the table, it’s harder to find those alternative solutions,” Ramirez said. A mediator may be able to help identify those solutions, he noted.

But there’s often a gap between those making the decisions, and those feeling the impact of said decisions, de Rouen said.

“If these leadership groups, instead of coming with their own needs and bottom line, would come with curiosity to find solutions with those that they work with, they will come out with a lot different outcomes,” de Rouen said. HR leaders, she later noted, can help bridge that gap. “We see this over and over again with organizations that do that. They end up making policy changes and removing maybe what they thought were great benefits that really were low priorities that equal savings for the company, where they can put money into the things that matter, like healthcare and retirement and pay structures.”

HR Brew reached out to REI and the REI union for comment. The union directed HR Brew to a statement marking the conclusion of the boycott and declaring the union will continue to push for a “fair contract” ahead of the employee benefits cuts, which go into effect on July 1.

“REI remains ready to negotiate in good faith at the bargaining table—not on social media and not in response to public attacks or pressure campaigns,” Famous wrote in an emailed statement to HR Brew. “Every day spent escalating a public conflict is a day not spent at the bargaining table working to reach an agreement that supports our employees and protects the long‑term health of the co‑op. We’re ready to continue bargaining when the union is willing to return to the bargaining table, as they have said they have no current interest in continuing to meet.”