REI: Bring Back Our Summit Pay!
REI CEO Eric Artz and VP of Labor Relations Dan Rodriguez
In January 2023, four months after REI Berkeley unionized, the company announced they would be taking away our store’s annual bonus we earned for 2022. We came together to create our union because we want to work with the company to build a better REI for all of us. Instead of sharing that vision, REI has chosen to claim they cannot provide us with our annual bonus, even as all non-union employees have received theirs.
This money matters for our co-workers: many of us count on it each year to contribute to our retirement fund, put it forward to help pay rent in the coming months, pay for basic needs, etc.
On March 21, we delivered a petition signed by Berkeley co-workers demanding our 2022 Summit Pay be restored, but that petition has been ignored. That’s why we’re asking our co-op members to tell REI to pay our 2022 Summit Pay.
We need your help. Please add your name alongside ours and tell the company to respect our union in Berkeley and give us the bonuses we earned!
I _________________, a member of REI Co-op since _______, stand with REI Berkeley employees and demand that REI provide them with their 2022 Summit Pay under the modified formula used in the rest of the country.
Background
“Summit Pay” is REI’s annual bonus program for its workforce. Employees receive a payout each March that is determined by an annual formula that includes revenue, profit, hours worked, and membership sales. It is usually distributed around March when members receive their rewards.
In 2022, the Co-op was not profitable, so the original Summit Pay formula output a $0 payout.
On August 25, 2022, the employees of REI Berkeley voted to unionize!
A few days later, REI emailed all Co-op employees explaining that REI would be modifying the 2022 Summit Pay formula so that employees could still receive a bonus. In the end, it amounted to 87.5% of the original Summit Pay.
Upon announcing the change, REI’s lawyers emailed our Berkeley union’s attorney alerting us to the change and committing to bargain with us about it. Our lawyer responded that the 2022 Summit Pay formula change was acceptable for the Berkeley store.
In January 2023, REI told Berkeley employees they would not receive Summit Pay due to our unionization.
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To:
REI CEO Eric Artz and VP of Labor Relations Dan Rodriguez
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Eric Artz and Dan Rodriguez,
As a member of REI, I am disappointed to learn that REI has chosen to take away the Berkeley employees' 2022 Summit Pay. I was surprised to learn that REI, a different kind of retailer, chose to withhold employees' annual bonuses in the two unionized stores while providing Summit Pay to every other employee in the Co-op.
That is not the behavior of the REI Co-op I believe in.
Respect your Berkeley employees and the petition they provided to you in bargaining in March. I stand with the employees of the REI Berkeley store and demand that you promptly provide them with their 2022 Summit Pay.