Summary
REI apologized for endorsing Trump interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum, citing backlash over his support for fossil fuel drilling and deregulation.
CEO Mary Beth Laughton, who took over March 31, called the endorsement “a mistake” and pledged to refocus REI on protecting public lands.
The co-op will lead a new coalition, Brands for Public Lands, to lobby for conservation.
The REI Union, which had criticized the endorsement, praised the retraction. The company also faces legal challenges over alleged anti-union practices and benefits withholding.
Oh no. Anyways, still on my list of places not to buy.
Right? They cant have it both ways. Dine with a nazi and you’re a nazi. Simple as that.
Maybe once they recognize the union and give them everything they ask for. 'Til then they get none of my money.
On that note, the Union requests that all REI members (if you have an REI account, this means you) vote in the board election.
The union was backing two candidates for the board. The current board, however, has intentionally left the pro-union candidates off the ballot.
REI’s union would like you to log in and vote “Withhold” for all three current candidates. It takes only a few minutes!
A “Withhold” majority vote would result in the candidates not joining the board.
Here are details on how to vote: https://www.ourrei.com/2025-rei-board-elections
To be able to vote, you must have made a purchase at REI in 2024 tied to your account.
So odd that REI put themselves with this group. They look very out of place in this group.
Here are the other signatories on that letter from January supporting Burgum:
- American Bus Association
- American Horse Council
- American Prairie
- American Sportfishing Association
- Archery Trade Association
- Association of Marina Industries
- Boat U.S.
- CHM Government Services
- Diving Equipment & Marketing Association
- Eddyline Kayaks
- International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association
- Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
- Motorcycle Industry Council
- National Forest Recreation Association
- National Marine Manufacturers Association
- National Park Hospitality Association
- National Ski Areas Association
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Outdoor Hospitality Industry
- Outdoor Industry Association
- Paddlesports Trade Coalition
- PeopleForBikes
- Professional TrailBuilders Association
- Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association
- REI Co-op
- RV Dealers Association
- RV Industry Association
- Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals
- Specialty Equipment Market Association
- Specialty Vehicle Institute of America
- Sports & Fitness Industry Association
- The Corps Network
REI turned corporate or at least pro-corporate shortly after the pandemic. This all went down probably not coincidentally right after they hired an ex-Amazon exec, Cameron Janes, to be their “Chief Commercial Officer.”
They’re turning into another profit motivated shitshow and have become explicitly anti-union, hostile to their own labor, and also hostile to their own customers. They did this in the name of making more money, but given that it pissed off swath of their core customer base who are probably more vocal, left leaning, and activist than the average bunch of consumers who all quit buying from them, I’m pretty sure this wasn’t a net gain.
REI was already fully transitioned from a co-op to another big box store well before that.
REI has consistently hired executives and board members with backgrounds in traditional retail and other for-profit ventures since 2010.
They have chosen to run REI like their prior companies, focusing on margins and profitability rather than its primary responsibility, the members.
They have continued to open new stores and over extend themselves because profit must go up, though the main revenue generator for them is the membership fee. And because it is a one time fee, rather than recurring, they have to continue to open new stores to stay profitable.
On top of no longer acting like a co-op, REI has decided to fight its employees unionization efforts. Numerous REI stores have voted to unionize, and REI has refused to recognize the unions, in some cases for years at this point. REI has also hired notorious union- busting lawyers, removed PPE from repair shops, and illegally laid off dozens of individuals.
REI is now clearing house; laying off long term staff and replacing them with new, less expensive, and less knowledgeable employees. In 2010 the average camping department employee got 15+ hours of training; whereas by 2018 it was less than 4 hours.
REI is following exactly in the footsteps of Mountain Equipment Co-Op in Canada. Once on par with REI, MEC is just another shell of a company raped by private equity. And unfortunately for a lot of good people, I think REI will suffer a similar fate.
I’d argue it already has. I no longer shop there and haven’t done so for years, nor does anyone else I know in any of my hiking/backpacking/rock climbing/riding circles.
Knowing full well that they measure their “success” via their membership count, I also bullied them into cancelling my membership several years ago. That was an interesting experience.
Damn, even REI. The disappointments won’t stop coming.
Don’t care. REI is dead to me.
Shop at Academy instead, they don’t give to any political parties & their employees mostly give to non-Fascist groups.
Academy is iwned by the same Private Equity firm that tanked Toys-R-Us. They are also the only national retailer that sells AR-15’s. Corporations are not your friends. You should not idolize them
Picking and choosing which retailer you buy your goods from based on their business practices is HARDLY idolizing them.
Yes, it’s true. Check OpenSecrets.org.
There’s no apology that can correct any of this lol, good luck.
