What the REI-Union was saying on May 8th 2025. The question is where do they stand now, on January 2026?

 Source: https://www.ourrei.com/2025-rei-board-elections

8 months later, on January 2026, where does the REI Union stand? A troubling silence.

May 8th, 2025 - via the REI Union: Today, REI confirmed that thousands of Co-op members voted to reject the company’s corporate candidates in the 2025 board of directors election. 115,000 Co-op members went to REI’s website to vote “withhold” on all three of REI’s proposed candidates - to take a stand against years of union busting, bad-faith bargaining, and REI’s track record of abandoning its founding values. 

 

Now, REI members are demanding the company instate Tefere Gebre and Shemona Moreno on the board of directors. Co-op members had previously voiced their firm support for these two pro-worker and pro-climate candidates, but REI refused to include them on the original election ballot. 

 

Check out the full recording of REI’s annual member meeting here.

Also this excellent report  by Nate Sanford for KNKX public radio.

May 8th, 2025 UPDATE: We won REI’s Board Election

We’re thrilled to share that we WON REI’s board election and rejected their entire slate of corporate, hand-picked candidates! Turnout in this year’s election was likely the highest it’s ever been, with over 115,000 REI members across the country visiting REI’s website to submit their ballots. 

 

This is a tremendous victory and a huge milestone moment for our campaign. With this win, we’re sending a decisive message to REI’s leadership that we won’t stand for any more corporate board members unilaterally calling the shots at our Co-op. We’re demanding better democracy and a real path for workers and members to bring meaningful changes that will guide the future of our cooperative - returning to the values that brought us to REI in the first place.

 

THANK YOU to every single member who voted to help us bring home this victory, and we’ll keep you posted on how you can continue to support us as we transition into this exciting new chapter for our movement!