According to conversations with union leaders, the Teamsters workers’ union has initiated campaigns to organize employees at least nine Canadian locations of US e-commerce giant Amazon.com (AMZN.O).
The powerful union took the initial step to organize employees at one of Amazon’s Canadian locations earlier this week, and the interviews show it is expanding its operations across the country, where the e-commerce giant employs some 25,000 people and expects to hire another 15,000.
The Teamsters’ campaigns could be interpreted as a wager that early success in organising employees in a more labour-friendly country like Canada will inspire similar outcomes south of the border, where Amazon has so far resisted unionisation attempts.
Late Monday, Edmonton, Alberta’s Teamsters Local 362 filed for a vote on union representation at an Amazon fulfilment centre in neighbouring Nisku, in the latest challenge to the company’s anti-union position.
Interviews with Teamsters units in various cities and provinces reveal that the union’s activities extend from British Columbia’s Pacific coast to southern Ontario’s economic heartland.
Edmonton’s Teamsters unit claims it has enough signed cards calling for a union to reach the 40% level that requires a vote. Two union units in Ontario and one in Alberta have confirmed that Amazon employees are signing membership cards.
Two of the five units that confirmed they are organising said they are running campaigns at various locations, increasing the total number of Amazon facilities engaging in some form of organisation to at least nine.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier in the week, Amazon Canada spokesperson Dave Bauer said in an emailed statement: “As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees.”
Unions would prevent the company from changing quickly to meet employees’ needs and represent “the voices of a select few,” he added. The Teamsters claim that they can assist the workers in obtaining higher wages and benefits, such as full payoff.
Teamsters Local 31 President Stan Hennessy said potential members in British Columbia have been receptive.
“Where we see there is a lot of support, we’re going to go full steam ahead,” said Christopher Monette, spokesperson for Teamsters Canada.
Jason Sweet, president of Teamsters Local 419 in Ontario, said his unit has begun signing cards with workers in the greater Toronto area and has formed WhatsApp groups with Amazon workers to keep them abreast of the union’s efforts, delivering updates every 48 hours or so. “We are trying to build relationships from the inside,” he said.
