The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) is urging the public to protest in Montreal this Saturday against Amazon’s decision to close seven warehouses in Quebec, a move that will eliminate 4,700 jobs.
The demonstration, set to begin at 1 p.m. outside Mont-Royal metro station, will end at Parc des Compagnons-de-Saint-Laurent. The CSN, which has been advocating for unionized Amazon workers, argues the closures are linked to labour disputes, despite Amazon’s claims to the contrary.
“No one believes Amazon when it says its decision has nothing to do with the fact that there’s a union and that an arbitrator could impose a first collective agreement this year,” said CSN President Caroline Senneville. “But these tactics are illegal in Quebec.”
The closures come after the CSN successfully unionized workers at Amazon’s DXT4 warehouse in Laval last year. The Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT) certified the union in May 2024, and bargaining began in July. The tribunal has also ruled that Amazon engaged in anti-union interference at its YUL2 warehouse in Lachine and is reviewing a similar case in Laval.
The CSN launched a boycott of Amazon last week, calling on consumers to stop shopping on the platform and cancel their Prime memberships. Senneville argued that supporting local businesses is a way to push back against Amazon’s impact on the retail sector.
“Every dollar that is no longer spent at Amazon could go to benefit our businesses, shops, and jobs,” she said. “Consumers must make buying local a priority.”
The union is also calling on all levels of government to cut ties with Amazon in response to what it describes as a blatant disregard for Quebec’s labour laws.
