REI Workers in SoHo Schedule First Union Vote for March 2

More than 100 retail workers at the national outdoor gear chain Recreational Equipment, Inc. will decide whether to form a union during an in-person vote on March 2, paving the way for what could become the company’s first unionized store.

The workers are campaigning to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union in order to help workers address issues related to wages, paid-time off scheduling, training and workplace safety concerns. The election will be held throughout the day in the breakroom of the SoHo REI store with the results expected later that evening.

The Seattle-based outdoor equipment and apparel store, with around 15,000 employees across the country, bills itself as a cooperative model, where membership is encouraged and members receive company dividends each year in the form of discounts. Despite that, the company is opposed to the workers forming a collective of their own. Read more in Gothamist.