Amazon Workers in GTA Launch Union Drive with Unifor
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Employees seek improved safety and job security as Canada's largest private sector union expands its organizing efforts into Ontario.
Amazon employees in the Greater Toronto Area have partnered with Unifor to launch an organizing drive across regional fulfillment centres, as CBC Toronto first reported. The workers, identifying as United Canadian Amazon Workers, held a launch event Wednesday at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto in Scarborough.
Representing the union, Unifor National President Lana Payne and Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi stated that workers are seeking dignity, respect, fairer pay, and safer working conditions. Hashi specifically claimed that employees are being injured at "alarming rates" and may fear retaliation for speaking up. In a social media post, the United Canadian Amazon Workers listed several demands, including an end to favoritism, better job security, respect for breaks, and the prioritization of health and safety over productivity.
Amazon spokesperson Amy Diaz disputed these claims in an email to CBC Toronto, asserting that the company's health and safety record is a top priority and that serious injuries have decreased by 70 percent over the last six years. Diaz stated that Amazon's average base wage in Canada is more than $26 per hour and argued that a direct relationship between managers and staff is more effective than union representation. Diaz further suggested that Unifor is attempting to fund its organization through union dues.
This drive follows previous organizing efforts at the YVR2 warehouse in Delta, B.C. According to Unifor, Ontario is home to the majority of Amazon's Canadian fulfillment centres and more than half of its total Canadian workforce.