By Isaac Phan Nay | The Tyee
Workers at the only unionized Amazon warehouse in Canada are calling for a mediator to help negotiate a first contract.
Since last October, Amazon and Unifor Local 114 have been negotiating a collective agreement for 800 workers at a company warehouse in Delta, B.C., called “YVR2.”
But talks have been difficult amid accusations and legal challenges that both sides are abusing the unionization process.
On Friday, the union won a case at the BC Labour Relations Board. Unifor had alleged that Amazon continued to violate labour laws by withholding a pay increase offered to workers at non-unionized warehouses.
Now, Unifor is calling for the BC Labour Relations Board to appoint a mediator.
“The talks have been slow,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor’s western regional director.
“They haven’t been progressing at a speed that we expect to see, and we don’t think they’re serious about trying to conclude an agreement.”
Eileen Hards, a spokesperson for Amazon, said in an email the company respects the union’s right to apply for mediation.
If the union can get a contract, the Delta warehouse workers will be the first Amazon employees in Canada to negotiate a collective agreement.
The union drive started last year. In July, the BC Labour Relations Board found that the Seattle, Washington-based tech giant abused the unionization process and certified Unifor as the bargaining agent for what was then 700 workers at YVR2.
Amazon previously told The Tyee the labour board ruling was wrong. It’s currently fighting the certification at the B.C. Supreme Court.
It’s not the first time the company has brought down the hammer on unionized workers. Last year, Amazon closed all seven of its Quebec facilities and laid off more than 4,500 workers after 230 workers in Laval, Quebec, certified with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux.
In that province, Amazon switched to third-party parcel delivery companies to fulfil its orders.
The $2.5-trillion company has also faced allegations of dirty tricks and union-busting in the United States.
Here in B.C., Amazon is up against Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union representing more than 300,000 workers across its locals.
The union says that since it organized workers at YVR2, the company has stalled bargaining and continues to interfere with unionization.
Unifor’s McGarrigle said that since bargaining started last fall, Amazon has not been willing to discuss wages.
“We just don’t feel they’re serious about concluding a first contract in a reasonable time frame,” he said. “These workers deserve a contract.”
The union has launched several unfair labour practice complaints at the BC Labour Relations Board — including one accusation that Amazon did not give workers at YVR2 a wage increase given to other Metro Vancouver employees last September.
On Feb. 13, the board ruled that violated Section 45 of the B.C. Labour Relations Code, which says that when a certified bargaining unit does not have a collective agreement, the employer must not alter affected employees’ pay for at least one year or until they get a contract.
The board ordered Amazon to retroactively give the YVR2 workers the wage increase. It continues to consider Unifor’s other complaints.
Amazon’s Hards said the company understood the law prevented it from issuing the raise to YVR2 employees, and that it will comply with the decisions.
“We’re glad to be able to do that,” Hards said. “Taking care of our people has always been our priority, and that remains true as we continue to follow the legal process and bargain with the union in good faith.”
McGarrigle said the raise was more than $2 per hour — and that six months of back pay could add up to thousands of dollars for some workers.
“The workers are feeling pretty pumped,” he said. “They deserve these wage increases.”
He said the union has applied for first contract mediation — in which both parties meet with a mediator for 20 days before the mediator recommends terms of an agreement.
The mediation would not be binding, according to McGarrigle, but the union is open to the idea if necessary.
“We’re gonna put our best foot forward,” he said. “Either way, this process will result in the first collective agreement.”
