REI Retail Employees for Real Change
1,000 signatures reached
To: Jerry Stritzke, President & CEO of REI
Boycott REI: Wages & Hours Matter, We Matter!
We work at REI stores all over the country and for eighty years we have immensely enjoyed helping millions of outdoor lovers get outside and live a life well lived. Indeed, many of our amazing customer care experiences are shared by campfire when we get together. We love working at the Co-op, but many of us are struggling to make ends meet. We are asking that REI stand by the values our Co-op was founded on: Integrity, Authenticity, Respect — and honor us with a $15/hour living wage increase and hours that we can survive on.
Why is this important?
REI’s CEO, Jerry Stritzke, and the Board of Directors are well aware of our hardships, which we have voiced as loud as we can. Collectively, we have faced: homelessness, medical debt, having to rely on food stamps to feed ourselves, even selling our plasma so we can pay the rent, and living off of credit cards. REI’s leadership has known about our struggles for years, and yet they have no plans to make any meaningful investments in their dedicated retail workforce, also known as REI’s Green Vests.
Amazon, Whole Foods, and Target have committed to a $15/hour starting wage and the retail workers of #OptOutside are asking our co-op to do the same. On average we start at a little over $10/hour and in some regions under $10/hour. Help us hold REI accountable to the values it was founded on. BOYCOTT our beloved co-op until our leadership announces a $15/hour store-wide wage increase, more full-time opportunities for regular sales associates, and more hours for every retail worker, so we can all make ends meet.
We would like to stress that a living wage increase alone is not sufficient. Payroll cutbacks have plagued our work culture and they would become more drastic. It is essential that our leadership commit to a scheduling policy that offers us more full-time opportunity, which would ensure that a broader number of store employees receive guaranteed health benefits and a retirement plan. It is also imperative that REI commits to giving its green vests more hours overall, because too many of us are scheduled so few hours that we are struggling to survive our jobs.
Stand by REI’s extraordinary retail workforce. If thousands of REI members and outdoors lovers sign in support of this petition, it will make a difference. Your voices will be heard! REI will do right by us if this petition amasses thousands of supporters. Help us to continue doing what we love doing best — educating and outfitting you all for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship. Gift us a campfire story like no other.
Wages matter, hours matter, we matter!
