On Thursday, a group of REI workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) took credit for a campaign that successfully blocked efforts to elect a new director and re-elect two incumbents to the REI Board of Directors. According to a release, the group’s “Vote No” campaign resulted in over 115,000 REI members voting against the candidates, which they claim is the largest turnout for an REI Board of Directors election.
In the release, Scott Ekin, a Sales Specialist at REI in Santa Cruz, said, “It is my hope that this vote will stand as the foundation for change and build atop it an REI that supports its workers with fair wages, safe workspaces, and can once again take its place as a haven for the lovers of outdoors and those that would fight for them.”
Prior to the vote, the union, representing REI workers at 11 stores, campaigned to add two candidates, though neither made it onto the official ballot. The union nominees — Tefere Gebre of Greenpeace and the AFL-CIO and Shemona Moreno of 350.org — were selected for their environmental leadership, according to the group.
Singletracks asked a union press representative about the process for getting a board nominee on the member ballot.
“REI’s Nominations and Governance Committee selects candidates for the board of directors,” they said. “In theory, members can self-nominate (as Tefere Gebre and Shemona Moreno did last fall). In practice, the board has absolute control over who is put on the ballot, and the board seats are never contested. REI puts forth as many candidates as there are seats, and those candidates are identified by an executive search consultancy.”
Singletracks has confirmed that nominees may self-nominate for REI Board positions and that this is essentially how the process works.
An REI statement following the vote reads in part, “We are disappointed with the outcome, especially because we are losing two incumbent directors who have been valuable contributors to the co-op for a number of years and one promising new director.”
The statement continues, “these nominees will not be appointed to the open seats. Per our bylaws, these three seats will remain vacant until filled by the board of directors. “
Given the board’s control over the ballot, the union group doesn’t seem optimistic that they will be able to get their preferred candidates on the ballot, let alone elected. At the very least, the hope is that the recent member vote against the corporate-backed slate of nominees sends a message to the board.
“Going forward, the union is focused on bargaining a strong first contract for the eleven unionized stores and using the collective voice of workers and members to return REI to its democratic, Co-op roots,” the representative said.
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The union is asking for more labor-friendly and, in their words, environmentally friendly candidates. We'll have to wait and see if the new board nominees are acceptable to the union and co-op members.