Amazon Accused of Hiring Spree to Block Canadian Union Drive
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Amazon.com Inc. mounted a “lengthy and pervasive anti-union campaign” at a warehouse in western Canada and hired an excessive number of workers to dilute support for a union, according to a Canadian labor board.
The found that Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services ULC violated provincial labor laws by interfering in organization efforts at a facility in Delta, south of Vancouver. The board green-lit the union on Friday through remedial certification — a move reserved for situations where an employer’s actions make a fair vote unlikely.
“There is little doubt that Amazon was trying to control the messaging within its facility and it did so in a manner that was coercive and intimidating,” the board’s decision said. Amazon’s conduct made it “impossible for the board to determine the true wishes of the employees.”
Amazon “bombarded” employees with messages that were generally anti-union, the labor body said, though the company said it was “simply providing facts.”
Amazon ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America, and No. 1 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies.
In one series of Slack messages reviewed by the board, an Amazon manager noted that excessive hiring was taking place at “the site that is going thru vote,” adding, “generally we do not hire at such sites.”
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Another manager responded: “This coming from two levels above chuck,” referring to Chuck Cummings, an Amazon executive.
“While Amazon says the hiring from January to May 2024 was consistent with its labor planning, the union’s witnesses testified that there was a lack of work,” the labor relations board said.
“This decision is wrong on the facts and the law — it goes against what our employees have said they want, and deprives them of their right to make an informed decision,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. The company plans to appeal the decision.
“Workers at Amazon organized against very difficult odds, but they’ve slayed the giant,” Lana Payne, national president of the union known as Unifor, said in a statement.
Amazon has previously faced legal challenges over how it handles worker unionization efforts. In May, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board ruled the company had committed several unfair labor practices after employees unionized at a Staten Island warehouse. One violation involved suspending a worker for 10 weeks with pay because of his position as a union leader.
And in January, Amazon announced it would close a series of warehouses in the province of Quebec — a decision that came less than a year after workers at one of those facilities unionized. The Canadian government condemned the move and threatened to review its contracts with Amazon.
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