Last May, Quebec’s Administrative Labour Tribunal certified a union of roughly 230 workers at an Amazon warehouse in Laval, a suburb just outside Montreal, Quebec. Following an inspiring campaign involving the Immigrant Workers Centre, workers joined the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and became the first to unionize an Amazon facility in Canada.
In an act of clear retaliation, on January 22 Amazon announced its intention to shutter all of its Quebec operations, displacing nearly two thousand workers, union and nonunion alike. The move has left many grappling with its causes and implications for workers.
Closing warehouses in Quebec is intended as both a punishment for the unionized workers in Laval and a warning to others across Canada who might consider organizing. But the company’s bluster shouldn’t be mistaken for invincibility. Its restructuring in Quebec is as much a sign of vulnerability as it is strength. Now is the time for workers and unions to take stock of the structural opportunities for organizing at Amazon.
It’s no surprise that the first Canadian Amazon facility to unionize was in Quebec. Quebec is a unique jurisdiction, both in terms of its labor law and its labor movement.
Quebec has the second-highest union density among Canadian provinces, with just under 40 percent of workers covered by a collective agreement. Its private sector union density stands at 23 percent — well above the national average of 15 percent. As a result, workers in Quebec are not only more likely to be union members but also more likely…
Auteur: Adam D. K. King
