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The contract fight between Seattle-based outdoor retailer REI Co-op and its workers has taken place at the negotiating table and also in public.

Cascade PBS and KNKX reporter Nate Sanford has more.

SANFORD (VO): The four years of negotiations for a first contract between outdoor retailer REI and workers at 11 stores has been contentious.

After the company said it reached an impasse last month, the union has threatened to organize a boycott during its annual sale in May.

The boycott is just another signal that we are really serious about getting a contract and we're not going to give up on our union, being a union store.

REI differs from other outdoor retailers in that it's a co-op owned by members rather than shareholders.

Theoretically, that means members have a say on who sits on the board and how the company is run.

(VO): The union last year disrupted REI's board election with a successful campaign to reject the company's chosen slate of board members.

Contract negotiations restarted after that campaign.

But last month, REI cited declining profits and said it had reached an impasse, which the union disputes.

The company also started cutting worker benefits.

Cottrell says the company's moves undermine the outdoor expertise that makes REI special to its members.

I haven't lost all faith in REI.

That's why I'm still there after 11.5 years, and I'm hoping to kind of bring it back to its roots.

REI declined to comment for this story, but in an earlier statement they said, "After extensive good faith bargaining and prolonged discussions on both sides, REI presented its last, best and final offer, which is designed to support our employees while protecting the future strength of the co-op.

In Seattle, I'm Nate Sanford, Cascade PBS Tomorrow we'll talk to nurses about the importance of workplace safety.

I'm Paris Jackson.

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