REI’s unionized workers are calling for a boycott of the retailer’s biggest sale of the year after contract negotiations faltered — a move their employer said will distract from bargaining efforts.

The workers recently approved a decision to call for a boycott of the retailer’s anniversary sale, which will run from May 15 to May 25. They’re asking the public not to shop at REI over that time period.

Employees will continue working as normal, and unionized stores will remain open, Rich Smith, spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 3000, said Friday. But about 70,000 REI members have pledged to heed the boycott during the sale, he added.

The co-op denounced the call to action.

“This is a disappointing move that targets the co‑op,” REI said in a statement this month. “It seems the union’s focus is on harming the financial wellbeing of the business, instead of advancing negotiations.”

The co-op, which was founded in Seattle almost 90 years ago, has around 26 million members.

The retailer has been in negotiations with two unions — the UFCW and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union — for several years.

In 2022, employees at a REI store in New York City were the first to unionize.

Ten other locations, including one in Bellingham, have joined in their efforts to push for wage bumps, increased staffing and job protections. There are about 200 REI stores in the U.S.

REI and the union have exchanged blame for the stalled bargaining.

Workers shot down a proposed contract in February, with the union calling it “inadequate.”

During a bargaining session last month, employees were ruffled when REI “didn’t show up in a serious way,” Smith said.

But REI said its team “came prepared to bargain in good faith and to discuss the topics and proposals on which the parties remain apart,” though they ultimately couldn’t reach an agreement.

The retailer said it is ready to continue bargaining, although the union has expressed disinterest in resuming negotiations.

“Every day spent escalating a public conflict is a day not spent at the bargaining table working to reach an agreement that supports our employees and protects the long‑term health of the co‑op,” REI said.

Sue Cottrell, a sales associate at the REI store in Bellingham, said she plans to hand out leaflets to passersby outside her workplace during the boycott.

“Calling for a boycott is kind of a big deal,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday. “We do not want REI to fail. We’re just trying to bring the attention to the general public.”

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