On the picket line

REI SoHo workers strike

Health care workers aren’t the only ones who have demanded proper personal protective equipment to make sure they are safe from contaminants and disease. The REI ski shop workers at the SoHo store in New York City began an Unfair Labor Practice strike on Dec. 4 to protest a corporate decision that puts their general health and especially respiratory health at risk. In October, REI national headquarters changed policy, making the use of PPE voluntary, rather than mandatory.

The REI workers are members of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

Without any evidence to back up the company policy, REI states that PPE is not necessary for workers doing ski reconditioning. These workers need to melt plastic and wax to recondition up to 15 pairs of skis per day in the busy winter season. Workers went on strike when Soho REI bosses removed all respirators, filters and N95 masks from the ski workshops.

More than a dozen REI bike and ski shop workers picketed in front of the store and handed informational flyers to passersby. They are demanding Soho REI bosses negotiate with workers over policy changes, return respirators to them and guarantee all PPE will be properly maintained and available. Also, they want an industrial hygienist to inspect the store for proof that ventilation is adequate.

Asheville restaurant workers organize

Asheville, North Carolina, was hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September, devastating the town during the trendy restaurant and tourist scene. Restaurant workers with the Asheville Food and Beverage Union, many who lost their jobs because of the destruction, were on the frontlines of the disaster relief organizing. They provided meals and water to the community and other aid projects in association with the Union of Southern Service Workers.

AFBU, Local 828 of the national Restaurant Workers United, was founded in 2023 by a worker-led coalition. It is dedicated to improving the lives of all workers and is committed to social justice.

One of the union’s first victories was to secure free parking passes from the county board for restaurant workers, who had been paying up to $300 per month to park in town near their workplaces. ABFU has also protested and won in cases of wage theft.

Union leaders said the hurricane, coupled with the poor response from government agencies, galvanized the organizers and increased union membership. For example, the Asheville Public Housing Authority posted “ Rent Due” flyers on properties even though many of them remained unliveable, and a local judge ordered that evictions could resume only two weeks after the storm.

Miranda Escalante, co-chair of AFBU, commented that workers were being asked to pay rent “for a house they can’t stay in, with a tree through the roof.” (Portside.org, Dec. 9)

The union is organizing to demand a rent moratorium, with support from tenant unions across the state. AFBU is also targeting the city’s $41 million tourism budget for worker relief funds. Restaurant workers are crucial to the tourism industry and say that the money should be used to provide economic relief to the 75% of restaurant workers who are out of work because of the disaster.

The campaign has already forced the city council to earmark $3.5 million for low-income tenants and homeowners. It appears momentum is strong and the union leadership is determined to make workers, not wealthy developers, the focus of the plans for Asheville’s rebirth.