After the largest Co-op member uprising in REI’s history, REI’s new CEO, Mary Beth Laughton, “promised to return the Co-op to its roots.”
She lied.
That’s why REI Union workers and Co-op members are voting to boycott REI during their 2026 Anniversary Sale. Union workers voted overwhelmingly to approve this boycott.
The blurb in the post is doing the union dirty because it cuts off one sentence too soon.
After the largest Co-op member uprising in REI’s history, REI’s new CEO, Mary Beth Laughton, “promised to return the Co-op to its roots.”
She lied.
I was thinking the context of the boycott in the title implied an issue with her promise. I added more from the announcement to the post.
REI continues to confuse me, they had such a good thing going and they seem intent on ruining it. I really don’t understand it. What could possibly be the benefit of running a co-op this way? Do they think they’re going be able to un co-op it and people are still going to shop there?
Old post but yes, exactly. It’s a classic strat and exactly what happened to the farmer’s coop where I grew up. Greasy executive types just see community built infrastructure as free for the taking and they aren’t wrong in a strictly practical sense. Without vigilance and widespread participation (not just shopping) there’s huge potential for abuse and REI hasn’t been a strong coop for a long time. Have you ever put in hours there? Ours is still going, now as a very successful farm supply/fuel depot. A director just kinda slowly stopped organizing members, kept the fee the same so long it became irrelevant, raised prices, you know. Ran it like a business until it became one
Customer co-op memberships are probably the least likely to organize or collectively do anything unless it means cheaper prices. The union is doing the right thing here it seems.
So… Would employees less likely care if people were pocketing items? The only thing better than a boycott is peaceful looting.
