An effort to organize unions at the outdoor equipment retail chain REI is part of a wave of unionization at big-name retail stores including Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, and Apple. REI is balancing its brand image as a progressive corporation with a general corporate wariness of union organizing. Hugh Murray, the head of the labor and employment group at McCarter & English, LLP, commented on the tension. “There are a few [unfair labor practice] charges out there but it doesn’t look like they’re being super aggressive,” Murray said. “Once the results of the elections are in, they seem to have sat down and started bargaining.”
4.24.2023