CSN calls on Montrealers to protest Amazon layoffs Saturday

The CSN (Confédération des syndicats nationaux) is rallying the public to take part in a demonstration in Montreal on Saturday, as part of its growing campaign to boycott Amazon.

The protest is a response to Amazon’s decision to close seven warehouses in Quebec, resulting in the total layoff of 4,700 workers across the province –  roughly 1,700 regular employees, 300 temporary seasonal workers, and the rest being smaller carriers subcontracted by the company. They previously warned that the number could continue to grow.

“Quebecers know how to stand up for themselves!” says CSN President Caroline Senneville. “We’re not going to let a multinational come here, take our money, flout our laws and threaten the viability of our local businesses and shops without fighting back.”

The demonstration will kick off outside the Mont-Royal metro station at 1 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a short march that will culminate at Parc des Compagnons-de-Saint-Laurent on Mont-Royal Avenue.

“No one is fooled,” Senneville continued. “No one believes Amazon when it says its decision to close seven warehouses, leading to the lay-off of 4,700 workers, has nothing to do with the fact that there’s a union and that an arbitrator could impose a first collective agreement this year. But these tactics are illegal in Québec. And the least we can do when a company breaks our laws so blatantly is to stop doing business with them. The federal, provincial and municipal governments and our public institutions must all cut their ties with Amazon.”

The protest is part of a wider campaign launched by the CSN last week in response to Amazon’s decision to close its warehouses in Quebec. The CSN is calling for a boycott of Amazon, urging consumers to stop shopping on the platform and cancel their Amazon Prime subscriptions.

“Many local businesses have been hard hit by the upheaval in the retail sector caused by Amazon’s arrival in Québec,” said Senneville. “While we realize that a boycott in Québec may not rock Jeff Bezos’s empire, every dollar that is no longer spent at Amazon could go to benefit our businesses, shops and jobs. In these uncertain times, with an American president working directly for the interests of the Jeff Bezoses of the world, consumers must make buying local a priority.”

Amazon previously dismissed claims that the layoffs are linked to a recent unionization push in the province, saying instead that it was about increasing efficiency.

“We respect people’s right to peacefully protest. The decision to revert back to a third-party delivery model in Quebec supported by local small businesses, similar to what we had until 2020, will allow us to provide the same great service and even more savings to our customers over the long run,” Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait said to CityNews in previous email. “In making this decision, we’ve complied and will continue to comply with all applicable federal and provincial laws.”

Amazon’s DXT4 warehouse in Laval

The CSN’s actions against Amazon date back to earlier this year. On April 19, 2024, the CSN filed an application with the Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT) to represent the 230 employees at Amazon’s DXT4 warehouse on Ernest-Cormier St. in Laval. In the weeks leading up to the filing, many workers at the site had signed union cards, and on May 10, the ALT officially certified the union, confirming that a majority of employees had joined. Bargaining for a first collective agreement began in July.

The ALT has already found Amazon guilty of anti-union interference and obstruction at its YUL2 warehouse in Lachine and is currently hearing a similar case related to Amazon’s actions at the DXT4 warehouse in Laval.

On Wednesday, a rally was held outside the Quebec Labour Ministry’s Montreal office, where a few dozen laid-off workers and supporters gathered to demand immediate government intervention. The protesters denounced the layoffs as “a direct attack on the rights and dignity of all workers.”

At the rally, unionized and non-unionized Amazon workers participated in a press conference, shedding light on the ongoing struggle for workers’ rights and fairness in the wake of Amazon’s controversial decisions.

For more information on the boycott campaign, the CSN has provided details on its website.