REI workers filed 80 unfair labor complaints

[RainWalker]

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[2naSalit]

1. Just went to one yesterday.

I joined last year hoping to find some deals in the future, like hiking boots and a winter coat. They were having a sale on coats and I looked at every rack since I had to drive a while to get there and found nothing I would spend that much money on with no assurance that it was going to be warm enough to wear at 0 degrees F. Anything that was looking like it would do the job was $300, on sale. I didn't buy anything. Same as the last time I went there. The time before that I bought some hiking boots that I returned because they really weren't going to work out for me.

I think that REI relies on a lot of hype to charge super high prices and I am not thrilled with them after joining.

The workers on the sales floor were always nice, they just couldn't help me find something they don't have in the store. I was polite with my brief protest and assured them that I knew they were not personally to blame but I was not a satisfied customer and bid them "good day".

I wasn't angry just disappointed.

I went to the the other nearby big city in the other direction last week and was even more disappointed in the place I went to shop., and a little creeped out. It's a store where a mass shooting had taken place about seven years ago, the retailer went out of business but the property owner didn't knock down the building. I had held an event there during one of my last jobs before the shooting and had I not driven for 90 minutes to get there, I would not have gone in. Turns out the store I had shopped at for decades had been bought by a corporate entity and shopping there wasn't really pleasant at all but I did look around to see if anything I went there to buy was available. It wasn't, nothing I wanted was there on the shelves. I used to buy from a catalog and ordered on the phone but you used to be able to place a catalog order at the store if you could get to one. Not anymore. I had to come all the way home, buy one of their store credit card things and order online. At least they accepted it when I placed the order. I hate this online shopping business.

I hope the workers get what they seek, organizing is about the only way to protect yourself if you are a wage earner.

[RainWalker]

2. It's been ages since I've been in an REI

I really hope the workers change things for the better. The last time I was in a store everything was over priced and I basically swore off returning.

[2naSalit]

3. One of my friends...

Is always plugging for them because he remembers how they used to be when they were building their reputation. He doesn't go to them very often anymore so I think he's not seeing the change.

At least with what used to be Sierra Trading post (now just Sierra) I was able to order online and get what I wanted but not everything. Still need a med - heavy down coat. I have arctic level gear but nothing in between that and slightly above 0 temps. I'll find it, just takes time and effort.

REI is a coop so I am wondering how that will all work out. I don't know the legal parameters for what they company and the workers can and can't do with regard to labor issues.