Amazon employees in Delta have won the right to vote this week on whether to join a union.
Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada, says it helped certify a unit of Amazon workers from Delta with the B.C. Labour Relations Board.
“Hundreds of workers at the facility signed confidential union cards,” Unifor said in a press release Tuesday. “Following a hearing yesterday, the Board has issued an order for a confidential vote.”
In a statement to CityNews, Amazon representative Barbara M. Agrait claimed the Board acted too hastily.
“This ruling is confusing and wrong on the law,” said Agrait. “After an official report confirming that there weren’t enough signed cards to require a vote, the Labour official then decided to force a vote anyway — a decision that undermines the rights of the majority of our employees in Vancouver who chose not to sign cards.”
Agrait said the company plans to appeal the vote, should it go through.
Voting will reportedly take place between Tuesday at 3 p.m. and Wednesday at noon. Unifor says a simple majority will make its union the workers’ official bargaining representative.
“Thousands of warehouse workers across Canada are already represented by Unifor and enjoy the higher wages, extended benefits, and job security of a union,” said Unifor Western regional director Gavin McGarrigle. “Workers at Amazon deserve a union.”
Earlier this month, employees at a warehouse in Laval, Que., became the first Amazon workers to unionize in Canada.