Amazon warehouses closures in Quebec: CSN wants them reopened

The CSN and its Fédération du commerce are asking the Tribunal administratif du travail to order Amazon to rescind its decision to close its warehouses in Quebec, to call its employees back to work and to pay them damages.

The central labour body and its federation are also asking the tribunal to order Amazon Canada to cease obstructing union activities, cease all threats and intimidation, and cease all reprisals against these workers.

On Jan. 22, Amazon announced the closure of its seven warehouses in Quebec, saying it wanted to change its business model and return to a more efficient and economical mode of operation.

These closures resulted in the loss of 1,900 direct jobs in Quebec, as well as 2,600 indirect jobs with subcontracted suppliers.

In its petition, the CSN and its federation maintain that the main aim of these closures is “to prevent the unionization of other warehouses in Quebec, but above all to eradicate any union presence in Quebec”. It sees them as “a warning shot aimed at North America.”

Workers at just one warehouse, in Laval, had managed to obtain union certification, but the CSN unionization campaign, launched in May 2022, was continuing in other warehouses.

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.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews