A brief one today: efforts by workers at REI to unionize continue, as an eighth store is seeking to form a union. This one, in Bellingham, WA, announced its intent to unionize yesterday; approximately 70 workers at the store will be covered should the effort succeed. The previous month saw unions sprout at the store in Durham, NC; Chicago, IL; Eugene, OR; and Boston, MA.
Earlier this morning, the REI store in Durham saw its workers engage in a flash strike following one of their union members, Steven, being put on "administrative leave":
The union states that:
Steven was put on administrative leave just hours after we delivered a letter to management asking them to stop union-busting and illegally blocking our coworkers’ transfer requests. Steven is a member of our organizing committee and a long-time leader of our union.
Our manager told Steven that he was being put on leave so they could investigate whether or not how he let our vendors in was a safety risk. As a shipping and receiving clerk, this is a frequent part of his job and his actions on Wednesday were no different than every other day.
They are asking supporters to call, tweet, and petition REI in support of Steven. The information to do that is provided above, and transcribed below:
Regional Director Jackie Harp: jharp@rei.com | (425) 278-8680
VP of Labor Relations Dan Rodriguez: prrequests@rei.com | (425) 275-8423
Tag @REI on social media (Twitter especially) with #reiunion #letdurhamvote