Tell REI's leadership to bring back democratic Board Elections to the REI Co-Op!
This year's Board of Directors Election is a sham! The four nominees that REI has "carefully vetted" for members to vote on, already serve on REI's Board. No matter how members vote this year, the election is rigged so that these nominees will be re-elected. In addition, only "active members" are eligible to vote, disqualifying millions of members and thousands of REI employees from a privilege that should be extended to all of these folks. If you're a member or employee who has not used their "membership" to make purchases in 2017 you are not eligible to vote. Furthermore, REI's leadership has changed the bylaws of the cooperative, taking away the "write-in" option from the ballot — eliminating all but REI's BOD from nominating candidates. In fact, there is nothing about this election that is democratic.
Interestingly, there is a group of REI employees who are taking a stand against the way REI's leadership has co-opted the Board Elections. They have written in-depth bios for each of this year's nominees as an informative voting guide for REI's membership. They're also proposing something unprecedented — they're asking members to cast a "withhold vote" for all candidates but one, STEVE LOCKHART. Should members unite in solidarity with REI employees, REI's Board will have no alternative but to listen to the voices of its membership. Imagine that! This year's election would be extended to fill three "withheld" Board seats, all members would become eligible to vote, and a "write-in" option would be added back onto the ballot.
As a member of REI, I'm urging that members take this great idea a step further — demand that REI's leadership create a committee to oversee its Board Elections in the future. I propose that this committee be comprised of REI members who sign this petition, with Steve Lockhart as the presiding Committee Chair. Steve Lockhart will listen to REI members concerns and he will respect their wishes (read employees' bio for this nominee). It is paramount that such a committee be established, to ensure that elections will be democratic.
Send a loud and clear message to REI's leadership —"We demand that our member-owned cooperative hold democratic elections, because our Co-Op was founded on these very principals!" Sign and share my petition and tell REI's leadership to stand by its core values. Restore democracy to REI!
Visit REI employees' Facebook Community Page. Read the bios they painstakingly provided as an invaluable voting tool for REI members, and "like" their page. It's quite impressive! *And finally, please note if you are an REI member in the comment section.
