Dave Jamieson has been HuffPost's labor reporter since 2011. Before joining the D.C. bureau, he was a staff writer at Washington City Paper and a freelancer contributing to Slate, the New Republic, the Washington Post and Outside magazine, among other outlets.
The outdoor retailer REI wants you to know it isn’t a typical corporation — it’s a consumer-owned cooperative, with. Lest you forget, REI puts “co-op” on its store signs. It sells “co-op”-branded bikes, sleeping bags and bear cans. And it invites you, the cooperative member, to vote in its board of directors election every year to “
In other words, the REI board decides who can sit on the REI board. And that’s a big problem for workers like Sue Cottrell, who believes the company has strayed from its roots.
“We look for candidates with proven business acumen and relevant experience operating in organizations of similar size and scale to REI; a demonstrated history of innovation and disruption, particularly in the retail industry; and the skills to be an effective board member,” the REI spokesperson said in an email.Asked specifically about the pro-union candidates, the spokesperson said the board is considering Gebre but not Moreno.
Allegations that REI is no longer a co-op in spirit predate the union campaign by at least a couple of decades. Aportrayed a profit-driven and opaque corporation that wouldn’t divulge its then-chief executive’s compensation. “Who Owns REI?” the story asked. “It can’t be the members.
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