An Amazon warehouse and distribution centre in an industrial park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022.
Graham Hughes | Bloomberg | Getty Photos
Amazon is about to face authorized motion from a Canadian union after the corporate’s determination to wind down warehouse operations in Quebec.
The Federation of Nationwide Commerce Unions, often known as CSN, mentioned Tuesday it plans to petition a courtroom to order Amazon to reopen seven warehouses and restore the 1,700 jobs misplaced because of the closures.
Amazon introduced late final month it could part out seven websites in Quebec “following a latest evaluation” of its operations within the province, which is the one location in Canada with unionized Amazon staff. The corporate mentioned it could return to a third-party supply mannequin, enlisting subcontractors to deal with deliveries.
The CSN estimated that roughly 4,500 jobs have been reduce by Amazon and its subcontractors because of the closures.
“Amazon thinks it could simply shift the work to different company entities and outsource some warehousing and supply operations,” CSN president Caroline Senneville mentioned in an announcement. “What it calls the ‘new enterprise mannequin’ is simply an try to bypass its obligations underneath the Labour Code. The courtroom ought to acknowledge that this scheme violates the regulation and it could then order the reinstatement of Amazon’s employees.”
Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait mentioned reverting to a third-party supply mannequin, which it utilized in Quebec earlier than 2020, will enable the corporate to “present the identical nice service and much more financial savings to our clients over the long term.”
“In making this determination, we have complied and can proceed to adjust to all of the relevant federal and provincial legal guidelines,” Agrait mentioned in an announcement.
The CSN represents roughly 240 Amazon employees at a warehouse close to the Montreal suburb of Laval. Employees on the web site unionized final Could, changing into the primary Amazon warehouse in Canada to take action.
Following the closures, Canada’s business minister Francoise-Philippe Champagne wrote to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy expressing his “disappointment” over the choice, saying it “raises questions on your dedication to Canada and your Canadian companions.”
Champagne mentioned the federal government would contemplate conducting a evaluation of its present offers with Amazon.
Amazon mentioned the vice chairman of its Canada enterprise spoke with Champagne after the corporate introduced the closures.
The corporate additionally faces rising labor stress within the U.S. Employees at an Amazon warehouse in North Carolina are slated to vote subsequent week on whether or not to affix a union, whereas Complete Meals employees in Philadelphia voted final month to affix the United Meals and Business Employees union.
Amazon staff at a facility in Staten Island, New York, in 2022 fashioned the corporate’s first union at a U.S. warehouse, although they’ve but to safe a contract. The group voted to affiliate with the Teamsters final June.
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