REI Faces Criticism by the National Labor Relations Board for Unfair Practices

March 24, 2025

On March 20, 2025, the REI Union announced that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had filed a complaint that REI has violated federal labor laws by withholding merit raises and summit pay from employees at unionized stores across the United States. These benefits have been a significant component of REI’s employee benefits package for over a decade and have been unlawfully withheld from unionized employees since they initiated bargaining.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) emphasizes that REI’s choice to withhold raises and bonuses from workers at union stores is unfair retaliation against the union employees and continues the company’s unwillingness to engage with these stores during negotiations. To address these concerns, the NLRB is looking to secure an agreement to ensure REI retroactively grants these due wage increases and bonuses comparable to those in non-union stores. This complaint marks a big step in correcting REI’s efforts to undermine union activity. yahoo!