The union that represents Amazon workers in a warehouse that closed last month is asking for a boycott and preparing a legal challenge against the company.
Caroline Senneville, director of the CSN Union, held a press conference this morning, flanked by workers, to denounce the actions of the retail giant.
She said that the closures of the company in Quebec were a clear attempt to avoid having to sign a collective agreement for the first time in North America.
“For us, it is clear that the Amazon movement is deeply, essentially, anti-union,” said Senneville.
“This is not the way we do business in Quebec. This is not the way we do business in Canada.”
The Confection des Syndes Nationalux (CSN) is accusing Amazon to close its Quebec facilities because workers in their Laval warehouse, which. The union is now planning legal actions against Amazon and asking Quebers to boycott the company.
On January 22, Amazon announced that it would close the seven facilities in Quebec, dismissed 1,700 permanent employees and subcontract their work to third -party companies.
The workers of a Amazon warehouse in Laval, which., Were successful last May. It was announced as a first historic in Canada in the retail giant. The union was ready to sign a collective agreement as soon as this summer.
Amazon only has Another unionized workforce In North America, in Staten Island, New York, it was certified in 2022 but still does not have a contract.
Experts say that the strongest labor laws of Quebec would have soon obliged the two parties to negotiate a collective agreement or have imposed arbitration to them if they did not reach an agreement.
Amazon has maintained the decision to close its seven facilities, it was about reducing costs.
“We make this decision because we have seen that returning to a third -party delivery model in Quebec backed by small local businesses, similar to what we had until 2020, will allow us to provide the same great service and even more savings to our savings. Customers to Long term, “said Amazon Barbara Agrit spokeswoman in an email on Tuesday night.
“By making this decision, we have fulfilled and we will continue to comply with all applicable federal and provincial laws.”
Union indicates the Walmart failure
Michael Cordova, who worked as a “collector”, helping to gather orders in a Amazon warehouse in Lachine, was at the Tuesday event.
He said that his work was physically demanding and expected a union to help protect him already his co -workers.
“In any society you need a counterweight. We didn’t have that,” he said.
“Without a union, it is difficult to negotiate with an employer.”
Senneville said the union is preparing to launch a legal challenge in the coming weeks, noting that he has 30 days to do it after the closures. She said that the closures violate the articles of the Provincial Labor Code that deals with the obstruction of trade union activities, and the union will seek compensation for affected workers.
The union’s lawyers will also point out an earlier decision against Walmart, which closed a store in Jonquière, which., In 2004, shortly after he was unionized, he said. He Supreme Court of Canada ruled The company had challenged Quebec’s labor law in that case.
Senneville also asked all levels of government to cancel contracts with Amazon, including their cloud services, and that the public boycott the company to show their support for workers.
Buying premises has already become a priority for some cheeses after the tariff threat of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
“If people think more about what they do when they buy things, I think it’s a good thing,” Senneville said about the local purchase feeling.
After Amazon’s decision to close their Quebec facilities, some have promised to stop buying with the company in protest, return recent purchases and cancel their accounts.
