Unions face uphill battle organizing Amazon warehouses in Canada: experts

Quebec's labour tribunal has directed Amazon to stop interfering in union affairs, and to pay the union a total of $30,000 in moral and punitive damages. The Amazon DXT4 warehouse is seen in Laval, Que., Monday, April 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Unions trying to organize at Amazon workplaces across Canada are facing a series of hurdles, including legal challenges and alleged anti-union tactics from the e-commerce giant. 

Labour laws in Canada are generally stronger than those south of the border, where unions also face an uphill battle, experts say.

But Adam King, an assistant professor in the labour studies department at the University of Manitoba, says that isn't enough to guarantee successful unionization efforts here.

"When you have an employer who's as committed to remaining union-free as Amazon is, even those relatively better labour laws are not sufficient," he said.

Amazon has challenged multiple steps of the certification process at several warehouses in Canada.

It has been accused by unions of employing tactics to prevent workers from organizing, such as workplace messages and hiring sprees, which the company denies.

"Our employees have the right to choose to join a union or not to do so. They always have," Amazon spokeswoman Barbara Agrait said in a statement, responding to characterizations of Amazon as anti-union.

She added that Amazon doesn't think unions are the best option for its employees. 

"We favour opportunities for each person to be respected and valued as an individual, and to have their unique voice heard by working directly with our team," Agrait said.

In Canada, just one Amazon warehouse is unionized — a location in Laval, Que., certified in May with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN). 

The limited progress in Canada comes after a historic unionization in the U.S. in 2022, when workers in the New York borough of Staten Island certified with the Amazon Labor Union.

Amazon's challenge of the unionization was rejected last week by the National Labor Relations Board.

That location is the only unionized Amazon warehouse in the U.S., and it doesn't have a contract yet. 

Experts say Canada's labour laws prevent similar delays from happening here since most jurisdictions have what's known as first-contract arbitration, where parties can request arbitration for a first collective agreement. 

Because of first-contract arbitration, in the Laval case Amazon is "basically facing a choice of negotiating an agreement or having one imposed on them," said Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University. 

Negotiations for a first contract at the Laval warehouse are underway, but Amazon has challenged the unionization, arguing the process violated workers' freedom of association because a secret vote was not held. 

In Quebec and British Columbia, workers can be automatically certified without a vote if a certain proportion of the workforce signs union cards, a law known as card-check certification.

The Laval warehouse was certified through this process. 

"The Quebec labour laws ... make a real difference," said Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN.

She said card-check certification is one of several provisions that help strengthen a union's position leading up to certification and during the bargaining process. 

Eidlin called Amazon's challenge of the Laval union certification "mind-blowing."

"They're basically saying that they know Canadian labour law better than the Canadian Supreme Court," he said.

The Laval location isn't the only one where the CSN is working to represent Amazon employees. 

At a warehouse in the Montreal borough of Lachine, the province's labour tribunal recently ordered Amazon to cease interfering in union affairs and pay the union $30,000, ruling it communicated anti-union messages to workers, though the tribunal also rejected a claim that the company had threatened and intimidated employees.

In the decision, the judge said many of the workers are immigrants with precarious status who may be unsure of labour laws, making them potentially susceptible to misunderstanding certain messages from their employer about unionization. 

Agrait said Amazon strongly disagrees with "the limited finding that our factual communications with employees about the process were somehow improper," and said the company is challenging that part of the decision. 

"We believe it's important to share facts and information with employees so they can make free and educated decisions about representation," she said. 

The judge's characterization of the Amazon workforce is accurate, said Mostafa Henaway, an organizer with the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal who researches Amazon workers at Concordia University and who previously wrote about his own experience working at the Laval warehouse.

Workers may be wary of unions because they don't want to "rock the boat," he said. 

'Running out of options'

On the other side of the country, another union is embroiled in an unfair labour practice complaint against Amazon.

Unifor applied to certify an Amazon warehouse in Delta, B.C., and a confidential vote was held at the end of May.

The results of that vote are sealed due to Unifor's complaint, which alleges Amazon ramped up hiring to try to dilute union support. 

The union also alleges Amazon engaged in anti-union efforts similar to those addressed by Quebec's labour tribunal, in particular anti-union messaging. 

The company has denied the allegations. 

Justin Gniposky, Unifor's director of organizing, said Amazon initially sought to prevent the vote from going ahead unsuccessfully. 

The company then asked for the current complaint to be dismissed, also unsuccessfully, he said.

"They're running out of options on this," he said.

Amazon's Agrait said the company believes the decision to call a vote at the Delta warehouse "undermines the rights of the majority of our employees in Vancouver who chose not to sign cards." 

The alleged anti-union tactics described by Unifor and CSN are "straight out of the Amazon playbook," said Eidlin. 

"We've known for years that this is a viciously anti-union company, and they basically are going to try every trick in the book." 

First contract could be 'litmus test'

Achieving a contract in Laval would show workers at other warehouses that "it can be done," Senneville said, adding the main bargaining priorities are health and safety, and pay. 

Amazon offers competitive pay and benefits, Agrait says, and it provides comprehensive health and safety training and resources. 

Experts say getting a first contract at the Laval warehouse could be a breakthrough for organizing efforts across the country. 

"Quebec is going to be really a litmus test," said Henaway, adding he's hopeful Amazon will be pressured into negotiating. 

But King believes unions will need to work together in order to have success on a wider scale. 

"To really bring Amazon to the table might require a level of co-ordination that unions in North America are not necessarily accustomed to," he said. 

— With files from The Associated Press

— This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2024.