Press Release: Under HB 1635, REI Co-Op Would Have To Allow Staff Back On The Co-Op’s Board
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Contact: Kristin Hyde, 206-491-0773
Olympia, WA – Tens of thousands of Washingtonians pay a membership fee to companies that claim to be democratic, member-owned co-ops. But Washington state has no laws holding co-ops accountable to their promises of democracy for all members.
Some co-ops, like REI, currently ban members who are also employees from serving as elected board members. Now lawmakers are considering a new bill, HB 1635, to allow co-op staff a voice in their co-op’s democracy. State Representative Cindy Ryu’s bill, HB 1635, requires large Washington businesses designated as consumer cooperatives, also known as co-ops, to include spaces for employees on their boards of directors.
The bill was considered at a hearing this morning in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary. More than 2,000 people signed in support of HB 1635 at today’s hearing.
Washington state is home to many cooperative businesses, including the largest consumer co-op in the country, REI, with 24 million members. REI markets itself as a “progressive” co-op, but members and employees are raising concerns that the company has strayed far from its mountaineer founders’ co-op roots since REI’s board banned employees from decision-making in 2005. They point to:
REI joined other industries to lobby in support of big oil ally and billionaire Doug Burgum for Interior Secretary, giving him power over national parks, wilderness lands, coastal areas, endangered species, and national forests. He has already started implementing Trump’s “drill baby, drill” agenda.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts found REI’s supply chain is rife with labor and human rights abuses.
Instead of reaching agreement on a contract with unionized workers at 11 stores - including Bellingham REI - the co-op is paying a union-busting law firm, Morgan Lewis, which has represented Trump and Amazon. Currently, Morgan Lewis is representing Elon Musk’s SpaceX in a case that would declare the National Labor Relations Act unconstitutional, taking away workers’ legal rights to organize unions. One of REI’s Morgan Lewis attorneys across the table from REI workers, Chris Murphy, is directly involved in the SpaceX case.
In comparison, members of another large local co-op, PCC Community Markets, elected two workers to their board in 2021, and in 2024 PCC workers say they won their “largest wage increase ever.”
Representative Cindy Ryu, the prime sponsor of the measure, said: “Corporations that do business in our state and benefit financially from being seen as ‘consumer owned’ co-ops should live up to the ideals of democracy and participation, and that means ensuring employees have a voice in company operations.”
Shemona Moreno, an REI member and executive director of 350 Seattle, explained why she wants to see this legislation enacted: “As a lifelong lover of adventures in the wild, and a climate justice advocate, it’s personally disappointing to see that even one of our own Northwest icons, REI, has become far more corporate than co-op. REI’s endorsement of big oil accomplice Doug Burgum as Trump Administration’s Interior Secretary is the latest drift away from the co-ops' stated commitment to environmental sustainability. This is not the REI I know and love. Allowing workers to have a seat at the table will help co-ops put their values into action.”
Tini Alexander, who works at REI’s Bellingham store as a shop supervisor, testified: “The REI Board sets their own compensation, hand-picks who gets to be on our ballots, and bans employees from running for the Board. It’s the people in green vests who have the expertise about products and our customers that are important to making smart business decisions. We should have a voice.”
Sue Cottrell, a ten year veteran REI employee in Bellingham, testified: “REI members and workers are the reason REI has become a global outdoor recreation leader. We have a stake in this company. We can and should have a greater say in its operations.”
HB 1635:
ensures corporate responsibility for cooperative associations and consumer cooperatives by protecting the right of workers to participate in the management of the co-ops by which they are employed.
amends RCW 23.86 and 24.06 to require cooperative associations and consumer cooperatives with 2,500 or more employees worldwide to allow up to two workers to serve on the board of directors.
specifically precludes board members who are employees from influencing labor management relations pertaining to non-supervisory, non-managerial employees.
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