Employees working at REI’s Berkeley, CA store have asked the outdoor retailer to recognize their intent to form a union, according to Berkleyside.org; this comes after employees working at REI’s Manhattan store in March voted to create the first union at the co-op.
According to the report, employees working at the Berkeley store submitted a formal letter to REI management asking the retailer to voluntarily recognize that they have enlisted representation through Hayward’s United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5. The employees also filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a union election this week.
Employees of the Berkeley store’s organizing committee wrote in the letter that their intent had the support of a “strong majority” of the location’s 120 employees.
The NLRB is expected to hold a hearing in July on the store’s union election.
Photo courtesy Berkeley REI
