Teamsters union organizers are sleeping in cars to connect with Amazon workers after graveyard shifts and ask them to sign union cards as part of a cross-Canada union drive that so far includes 9 warehouses.
Workers at Alberta's Edmonton warehouse have already met the 40% union card threshold and are ready to hold a vote. The date has yet to be confirmed. If successful, the warehouse could be the first Amazon facility to
unionize in North America.
Success will not come easy. A high profile Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Amazon drive in Bessemer, Alabama was ultimately unsuccessful last April. Amazon literally pulled out all the stops to bust the union attempt, including changing the timing of traffic lights outside the warehouse so organizers had less time to speak with workers in vehicles.
Labour laws are different in Canada, however, as employer interference in a union drive is illegal. Teamsters organizers hope this will even the playing field -- although labour law enforcement is weak and Amazon has powerful legal team.
Amazon also announced it
would add 15,000 jobs across Canada and give an immediate wage hike for front line workers, perhaps hoping to deter workers with a carrot instead of a stick.
The Teamsters Amazon drive marks a historic moment for the Canadian labour movement - and Shift Work will be here every week to keep you updated.
Participants share stories at CBC's The Current healthcare townhall in Nova Scotia, via CBC.
CBC’s The Current hosted a heart-wrenching town hall in Nova Scotia about the state of Canadian healthcare in rural areas. "This is our state of emergency right now," one nurse said. "It’s not the pandemic anymore, it's our healthcare."
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe used emergency powers to reallocate health care workers to respond to skyrocketing COVID cases. Unions denounced Moe's "heavy hand" for disrupting health care bargaining.
250 Globe and Mail workers and Unifor members narrowly avoided a strike on Wednesday, obtaining a tentative agreement hours before the midnight deadline.
The federal government must close the loophole that allowed Laurentian University to use private-sector restructuring laws to eliminate 60 programs and 100 jobs, argues Trent University proffesroe Sue Wurtele.
After 18 months of protest, BC hospitality workers with Unite Here Local 40 have secured a new contract with Hospitality Industrial Relations extending recall rights. However, Hilton Metrotown and Pacific Gateway hotels have not budged and their workers remain
locked out.
11,000 Quebec child care workers announced they will strike September 24, seeking wage increases and resources for children with special needs.
New Organizing
Maggie's Toronto Sex Workers Action Project workers recently unionized. Photo via Maggie's Toronto.
Ontario's Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library workers unionized with CUPE.
Maggie's Toronto Sex Workers Action Projectunionized with CUPE last week. The workers spoke to NowToronto about the importance of including sex workers in the labour movement.
BC hotel workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 40, remain locked out of Pacific Gateway and Hilton Metrotown hotel chains, fighting for extended recall rights.
BC construction workers with IBEW 213 have
been on strike for two years fightingunion-buster Ledcor.
Photo of a New York delivery worker by Philip Montgomery for The Verge,
New York app-based delivery workers fight their "phantom boss," deter bike thieves and form support networks in this gripping feature by Josh Dzieza for The Verge.
September 18, 4:30 PM ET: Canada Goose workers will protest their employer's union busting at the Toronto International Film Festival. Sign up to support here.
September 21, 12 AM- 12 PM: Harbinger Media
Network's Twitch telethon fundraiser will showcase progressive Canadian podcasts and journalism. Stephen and I will represent PressProgress at 4 PM CT - join us!
September 21, 7 PM ET: Justice for Workers Decent Work organizing meeting.
September 22, 10 AM MT: Public Interest Alberta AGM & Keynote with Yanis Varoufakis. AGM begins at 1 PM MT.
The 2021 Canadian Labour International Film Festival lineup and coordinator packages have been released for groups or individuals interested in hosting their own virtual screenings.
