{"id":143187,"date":"2026-02-23T21:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/143187\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T21:56:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:56:17","slug":"patagonias-manhattan-workers-file-for-union-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/143187\/","title":{"rendered":"Patagonia’s Manhattan Workers File for Union Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEmployees at a Patagonia<\/a> store in Manhattan filed for a union election on Friday with the aim of becoming the outdoor retailer\u2019s first unionized outlet in the eastern United States.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe filing at the SoHo shop asked the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election for 30 full- and part-time workers seeking representation from the Retail<\/a>, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which has been actively organizing and representing workers at nearly a dozen REI Co-op locations<\/a> nationwide, including one in the same neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe petitioners, the RWDSU said, join a \u201cpowerful streak of retailer organizing and contract wins in New York City<\/a> and beyond.\u201d Employees at a Patagonia store in Reno, Nev., voted to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 711 in 2024, becoming the first Patagonia store in the country to unionize.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRetail workers across New York are sending a clear message: essential workplace standards shouldn\u2019t be at the whim of management\u2014they must be guaranteed in writing by a contract,\u201d Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said in a statement. \u201cThe workers at SoHo Patagonia are leaders in the outdoor industry, and we are proud to stand with them as they fight for the dignity and respect they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the same statement, workers at the SoHo store said that while Patagonia is known for its \u201cprogressively public image,\u201d they want to ensure its values \u201ctranslate into a real voice on the job.\u201d They cited specific concerns over the elimination of longstanding paid-time-off policies\u2014such as the annual week-long winter break\u2014and the curtailment of certain healthcare benefits, tuition reimbursements and professional development opportunities, all of which they hope to address in a first union contract.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe employees also said that while Patagonia can voluntarily recognize the union at any time, it has yet to do so despite what they describe as \u201coverwhelming\u201d support for union representation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPatagonia tells the world we should \u2018save our home planet,\u2019 but we need to make sure our own workplace is sustainable for the people who run it,\u201d Jacob Hoschoer, a customer experience guide at the SoHo Patagonia store, is quoted in the statement as saying. \u201cWe are proud of the work we do, but we need the job security and the seat at the table that only a union contract can provide. We\u2019re asking Patagonia to live up to its mission by respecting our right to organize without interference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn response to the campaign, Corley Kenna, Patagonia\u2019s chief impact and communications officer, said the company respects its employees\u2019 right to make an informed decision about whether to form a union. The retailer, she said, supports their right to vote and wants \u201ceveryone in the store to have a voice in this important decision and to do so with all of the facts about what this means for them as we work toward an election in the coming weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKenna said Patagonia offers a starting hourly rate of more than $28.25 for all full- and part-time New York employees, plus an annual bonus. According to ZipRecruiter, the average retail wage in New York is $18.66 per hour. The company also provides healthcare coverage for full- and part-time employees with the monthly premium fully paid, along with the \u201csame core benefits\u201d for every worker \u201cfrom day one, regardless of level or location.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPatagonia\u2019s priority right now, she added, is \u201cto understand the concerns of our SoHo team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Ben Bonnema, a customer experience guide at the SoHo Patagonia store, job security is critical. He said that he\u2019s been asking for years for \u201cjust cause\u201d protections that require employers to provide a valid, documented reason, such as poor performance or misconduct, before firing a worker, but that \u201cthings have only gotten worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAll workers deserve to have a say in their working conditions,\u201d he said in the statement. \u201cAnd it\u2019s time we do, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLike REI, Patagonia has fostered a reputation for prioritizing people and the planet over profits. In 2022<\/a>, founder Yvon Chouinard and his family transferred the company\u2019s ownership to two entities dedicated to investing the retailer\u2019s profits in environmental causes worldwide, effectively making \u201cEarth\u201d the only shareholder.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Patagonia\u2019s website, under \u201cvaluing our people,\u201d it writes that it believes \u201ceveryone should be fairly compensated for their work and strive[s] to pay competitive, equitable wages.\u201d As an outdoor company, Patagonia also \u201cencourage[s] everyone to unplug and get outside as much as possible\u2014because sometimes the best thing we can do to thrive at work is take some time off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tREI announced last year that it plans to close its SoHo location\u2014its first shop to unionize in 2022\u2014by the end of 2026 due to \u201cevolving\u201d market and customer needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Employees at a Patagonia store in Manhattan filed for a union election on Friday with the aim of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63,49594,5943],"class_list":["post-143187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-patagonia","tag-retail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}