Unifor has filed an unfair labour practice complaint against Amazon amid a vote by workers at a Delta warehouse over whether they want to join the union.
The union claims Amazon beefed up its workforce as Unifor was in the midst of a union drive to try and weaken support.
Amazon denies the allegations and has said it plans to appeal the labour board’s decision to call a vote.
Earlier this week, Amazon employees in Delta won the right to vote on whether to join a union.
Unifor 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.”
The vote by the warehouse workers closes at noon B.C. time, but Unifor’s Western regional director Gavin McGarrigle says the results may be delayed until the challenges regarding voter composition and the unfair labour practice complaint are ironed out.
He says that Unifor is not intimidated by Amazon, and that the union will stand with workers “every step of the way.”
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.
The Board shared a document of their decision to deny one of Amazon’s appeals already, saying that the company is incorrect about what it asserts is an error.
“We find [Amazon] has not raised a serious question as to the seriousness or fairness of the orders or the process by which they were made,” the Board said.
The labour board claims it did follow protocol in granting the workers a vote, saying its legal code offers “wide discretion” for that decision.
Earlier this month, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Quebec voted to unionize.