Bellingham REI employees announce plans to unionize, file paperwork seeking an election

Rachel Showalter
·2 min read

Employees of the Bellingham REI retail co-op at 400 36th St., announced Monday that a majority of the staff has voted to form a union.

The workers filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), according to a news release from the employees. The workers plan to join UFCW Local 3000, which represents more than 50,000 employees working in retail, grocery, healthcare, cannabis, food processing and other industries across Washington, Northeast Oregon, and Northern Idaho.

UFCW Local 3000 is a member of UFCW International, representing more than 1 million workers in North America.

In the announcement, Bellingham REI employees cited the need for reliable scheduling and fair treatment as the main reasons for unionization.

“I’ve worked for REI for three years and I started organizing after our store lost more than a dozen good employees during the holidays because they weren’t getting the hours the company promised them when they were hired,” Bellingham REI Customer Service Associate Ian Schaefer Lorenz said in a news release.

The REI Co-op is located at 400 36th St. in Bellingham, Washington. Its employees announced May 1, 2023, that they filed with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union.
The REI Co-op is located at 400 36th St. in Bellingham, Washington. Its employees announced May 1, 2023, that they filed with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union.

“We had folks going to the food bank, selling their gear, asking family for support and getting second jobs to pay their rent, put food on their table and buy gifts for their loved ones. I had people coming to me crying because they weren’t sure how they were gonna make ends meet and now I can proudly say that we are taking action together to set things right.”

In an email to The Bellingham Herald, REI Co-op said it had not heard from the NLRB but would fully support the petition process and vote in Bellingham — including the right of every employee to vote for or against union representation.

The Bellingham REI is the first REI store in Washington to vote to unionize and will be the eighth REI store nationally to do so in more than a year, the release states.

REI workers in New York City, Berkeley, California, and Cleveland have all voted to unionize. Union elections in Chicago, Boston, Durham, North Carolina and Eugene, Oregon, are planned, according to the release.

“I want to create a workplace where we are treated equally and respectfully regardless of our race, gender, age and physical capabilities,” said Bellingham REI Sales Specialist Sue Cottrell in the release. “We deserve dependable hours and consistent schedules, transparency around pay and scheduling decisions and to be recognized for our varied strengths and skill sets.”

To form or join a union, an election petition must be filed with the NLRB. Documents must be filed showing that at least 30% of employees are supportive of unionization, according to the NLRB.