Are you an REI customer concerned about Trump’s cuts to national parks? Then the co-op has a message for you: We messed up.
In an extraordinary announcement posted to REI’s social media accounts on Wednesday, April 9, REI’s new president spoke directly to the retailer’s millions of customers. Mary Beth Laughton, a longtime board member who officially took the reins of the company on March 31, said REI had “made a mistake” by signing a January letter in support of Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
REI joined dozens of other outdoor groups in the letter, including the nonprofit PeopleForBikes, the Outdoor Industry Association, and many other advocacy organizations.
The co-op signed the letter because it “wanted a seat at the table,” Laughton said in her video message. But in the months since then, Laughton acknowledged that Burgum and Trump have made decisions that endanger access to public lands, causing REI members to “share their disappointment” with the co-op.
As a result, she officially retracted REI’s endorsement of Burgum, who oversees the National Park Service as part of his job as Interior Secretary.
“Signing that letter was a mistake,” Laughton said in a video posted to Instagram. “The actions that the administration has taken in regards to public lands are completely at odds with the values of REI.”
Public Lands Under Attack
Over the last few months, Trump and Burgum have implemented a series of measures that could lead to “catastrophe” for the nation’s park system, according to former parks officials.
They have fired thousands of parks workers, implemented across-the-board spending freezes, and delayed seasonal hiring. More recently, Burgum co-wrote a Wall Street Journal column advocating for the sale of public lands to create affordable housing.
For all these reasons, REI Co-op has joined a newly formed coalition called Brands for Public Lands. Led by The Conservation Alliance, the new group includes other outdoor retail heavyweights like Patagonia and Black Diamond. Their goals, Laughton explained, will be to fight back against Burgum and Trump’s attacks on the National Park Service and public land access.
She outlined the group’s first two efforts: asking the Department of the Interior to consult the public about how to manage public lands, and lobbying Congress to not sell off public lands. In addition to Burgum’s op-ed, Republicans have begun conversations about selling federal lands to fund Trump’s planned tax cuts.
“Our public lands are under attack,” Laughton said. “The future of life outdoors has never felt so uncertain.”
Other Controversies Remain
While some outdoor advocates applauded Laughton’s announcement, many others pointed to other still-unacknowledged controversies surrounding the longtime co-op.
In March, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed an official complaint against REI for its actions against unionized employees. Several REI stores have unionized in recent years to demand better pay and working conditions. But when REI implemented across-the-board raises for its workforce, it illegally left out unionized employees, according to the NLRB complaint.
REI Union applauded that decision, and included statements from unionized employees talking about their experiences.
“After working for REI for about nine years now, I still make less than people who were just hired,” Ace Hainley, an employee at the REI SoHo flagship store, said in a release. “I also just had major surgery and had to scrounge for money while REI illegally withheld my summit pay, which would have covered many of my medical expenses. I’m so happy that the NLRB agrees with the union and hope that this can be resolved quickly and with full cooperation on REI’s part.”
Stories like Hainley’s have galvanized many outdoor advocates and REI customers to demand the company take additional steps. Influencer Pattie Gonia, for example, made a video covering an ongoing boycott of REI, and explaining the various issues around it — including the endorsement of Burgum and the treatment of unionized workers.
The social media star also commented on Laughton’s video with the following statement:
“This is a great first step,” Pattie Gonia wrote. “We appreciate taking your accountability, but until you stop union busting and until you put co-op employees on the board and have your ex-exxon and ex-starbucks board member step down this is all pretty null.”
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