Nevada Patagonia location first store in company's history to vote for union representation

A number of Patagonia employees at a Nevada store voted to unionize, making this the retailer's first U.S. location to elect union representation.

A total of 15 employees were eligible to vote from the Reno store and of those, nine voted in favor of joining United Food & Commercial Workers Local 711, a labor union that represents over 1.3 million workers in North America, according to the National Labor Relations Board. 

Nick Helmreich, a retail team lead at the store, said in a statement that he and his coworkers were inspired by the organizing progress made by REI workers in recent years, according to the Reno Gazette Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. 

“We are ready to fight for a contract that protects our rights and provides the wages and benefits we’ve earned making Patagonia the success that it is in Reno,” he said. 

Here’s what we know.

What happens next? 

Once a union, in this case, the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 711, has been certified or recognized as the representation of choice then Patagonia must began to “bargain” with workers in good faith, the National Labor Relations Board writes. 

The “terms and conditions of your employment” are negotiated with your employer through your union representative, according to the NLRB. 

The Patagonia store in Reno isn’t the first “organizing victory” UFCW International has had in recent years, finding similar success with other employees in outdoors adventure industry, the Reno Gazette Journal reported. 

Five climbing gyms in Minnesota and nine REI locations across the country were “successfully organized” with help from UFCW International.

“America’s love of the outdoors deserves to be met with an appreciation for the workers who make our adventures possible,” Marc Perrone, president of UFCW International said in a statement. 

“Whether in retail, rock climbing, or beyond, all workers deserve to have representation on the job,” according to the statement obtained by the Nevada Current.

How was Patagonia responded?

Patagonia has responded to news of the Reno team’s move to unionize, saying that company “respects the Reno Outlet team’s choice,” Corley Kenna, vice president of communications and public policy shared with USA TODAY Thursday. 

“We are committed to working with the local union representatives on what comes next. It was important to us that our approach to this process reflected Patagonia’s values,” Kenna said.  

Kenna goes on to say that the company “have long used our brand and business to encourage participation in the democratic process, and in the same spirit, we wanted the Reno team to have a voice in this important decision.” 

While this might be new territory for Patagonia, the company reaffirmed its commitment to “doing everything we can to help all team members feel supported and connected.”

Contributing: April Corbin Girnus; Nevada Current