The National Employment Law Project also found that 64% of workers believe the outdoor retailer is becoming a worse place to work

This story was originally published in English at Prism.

By Eddie Velazquez, Prism

Almost half of workers at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) said they have experienced or witnessed racial discrimination at work, according to a new survey report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP).

Independent researchers from NELP also found instances of workplace discrimination based on age and gender, a lack of upward mobility for workers of color, and widespread discontent among workers for what employees said are inconsistent scheduling practices. About 64% of workers surveyed said REI is becoming a worse place to work.

“This is a company that talks about how it’s striving to become an inclusive, anti-racist, multicultural organization,” said Amy Traub, a co-author of the report and a senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP, “and we did not find many signs of that striving in this report.”

The report, released on May 13, comes after workers formed REI’s first union at the New York City store in SoHo, one of the company’s flagships, three years ago with the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Workers have since unionized at several other stores and remain without a contract. Workers at the unionized stores in New York and Cleveland have told Prism that REI has not attempted to bargain in good faith. The company also laid off 428 workers in January.

The RWDSU and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union have taken legal action in the past year, filing unfair labor practice claims with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against REI in seven different instances at six of the company’s stores. Both unions represent 11 REI locations in total.

Those legal filings—all of which accuse the company of refusing to bargain or bargaining in bad faith and in some cases, attempting to bargain directly with individual workers—came after July last year, when Prism reported on workers’ allegations of bad-faith bargaining, unfair and inconsistent scheduling practices, and rampant union busting. Five of those legal complaints with the NLRB remain open, including 34 unfair labor practice charges.

REI told Prism in an emailed statement that the company is committed to negotiating in good faith.

“First contracts take time, and that’s not unique to REI,” the statement reads. “REI’s goal is to reach agreements that support the long-term health of the co-op—for our employees, our members, and our business.”

The outdoor retailer also responded to the new report’s findings and conclusions, writing that it takes the concerns raised by surveyed workers seriously and wants to prioritize the safety, well-being, and inclusion of its 15,000 employees.

“Our business cannot function without a highly engaged and dedicated workforce, and it’s our responsibility to ensure REI remains a rewarding, competitive and fulfilling place to work for everyone,” the statement reads. “Diversity, equity and inclusion are foundational to who we are as a co-op, and we recognize that building a truly inclusive business is an ongoing journey. We remain committed to learning, improving, and driving meaningful progress.”

For Elio Alexander, a sales specialist and unionized worker at the SoHo REI location, the company’s values are a product of a bygone era.

“I think those values for REI as a company are extremely performative,” Alexander told Prism. “I think they’re making money off of a company that maybe existed a long time ago. As a trans worker in that store, we don’t even have pronouns on our name tags. There’s no way that they’re a progressive company.”

Key findings
The researchers at NELP surveyed 219 workers out of 10 REI locations. One in five workers of color reported personally experiencing some form of racial discrimination in the workplace, the report found, with 47% of respondents noting that they had either witnessed or been the subject of these incidents.

Those instances of discrimination included disciplinary action, layoffs, discharges, and promotions. Researchers found that a higher percentage of workers of color reported witnessing or experiencing nearly every type of discrimination at work compared to white workers. For instance, 42% of workers of color reported that they had experienced or witnessed racial discrimination in discipline, compared to 26% of white workers.

There were also discrepancies reported in how the company takes action against incidents of discrimination and discriminatory practices.

“Fewer than 1 in 10 workers in our survey felt REI took appropriate action when discrimination occurred and was reported,” Traub said. “So some workers who had filed formal complaints about racism, sexual harassment, transphobic harassment described being ignored. One worker told us that their harasser stayed in power while they themselves were moved to a different department.”

“REI has strong policies, procedures and resources in place to help prevent bias and foster a workplace where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect,” the company said in its statement. One of the measures the company highlighted was a third-party reporting system that employees can access by email, phone, or online 24 hours a day.

“Discrimination has no place at REI,” the statement reads. “Our goal is to ensure that every employee feels valued, respected, and able to bring their whole self to work—every single day.”

The researchers wrote in the report that the discrepancies they found in the treatment of workers of color also stem from a lack of diversity in REI’s workforce. In REI’s 2023 impact report, the company recognized that it is not as diverse as the communities it serves. The company’s workforce is less diverse than the national retail workforce, the researchers wrote.

Surveyed workers also reported that the company’s scheduling practices are too inconsistent. Traub and co-author and NELP senior researcher Hannah Chimowitz called it “inequitable” in the report and found discrepancies based on race.

About 64% of workers of color reported working 20 hours or less in a typical week compared to 38% of white workers, even though they wanted to work more hours.

For Alexander, who has been working for REI for the past two and a half years, the uncertainty in the hours they work every week complicates any other appointment or scheduled event in their lives.

“I do not know how much money I’m going to have week to week, month to month,” Alexander said. “In New York, of all places.”

Workers also told researchers that they are not optimistic about the company’s future, with 64% of employees saying it is becoming a worse place to work. Less than 4% said it is becoming a better place to work.

“It just feels like nobody’s happy,” Iris Miller, a sales specialist at the Chicago store, also unionized by RWDSU, told Prism. Miller pointed to the company’s restructuring in 2023 as a key turning point, when about 275 workers lost their jobs. “We’re having to scrounge and scramble to keep up with the demand, which is still there.”

Part of the solution to some of these issues, researchers and workers say, is clear: REI needs to come to the bargaining table with unionized workers.

“They’re creating a path forward with their organizing efforts, and it’s time for REI to come to the table and bargain in good faith,” said Chimowitz. “That’s how it can begin to align its workplace practices with the values it publicly claims to uphold.”

Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Rashmee Kumar, Copy Editor

Prism is an independent and nonprofit newsroom led by journalists of color. We report from the ground up and at the intersections of injustice.