An REI Co-op store in Berkeley, Calif., has filed a request with the National Labor Relations Board to conduct a union election. The group looks for the company to voluntarily recognize it through the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 Union.
The action follows the recent New York City REI store that voted in March to unionize.
REI said it was notified of the petition filing for the election and vowed to “fully support the petition.” The company’s prepared statement said, “Our responsibility as leaders is to put employees at the center of everything we do, and we are working to co-create — and maintain — a best-in-class experience for our hourly employees.”
A wave of unionization efforts has become common in the retail sector in recent months. Since December, three corporate-owned Starbucks stores have unionized, with more conducting votes and expressing interest.
In April, employees at an Amazon warehouse on New York’s Staten Island voted to form the first Amazon union. Then, last month, employees at a Target store in Christiansburg, Va., filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. Finally, employees at an Apple store in Baltimore, voted to unionize, becoming the first Apple store to do so.
