The union representing Amazon workers at a warehouse that was shut down last month is preparing a legal challenge against the company.
Caroline Senneville, head of the CSN union, held a news conference this morning, flanked by workers, to denounce the actions of the retail giant.
She said the company’s closures in Quebec were a clear attempt to avoid having to sign a collective agreement for the first time in North America.
“For us, it’s clear that the move by Amazon is profoundly, essentially, anti-union,” Senneville said.
“This is not the way we do business in Quebec. This is not the way we do business in Canada.”
On Jan. 22, Amazon announced it would shut all seven of its facilities in Quebec, lay off 1,700 permanent employees and outsource its work to third-party companies.
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Laval, Que., successfully unionized last May. It was billed as a historic first in Canada at the retail giant. The union was poised to sign a collective agreement as soon as this summer.
Amazon has only one other unionized workforce in North America, in Staten Island, N.Y. It was certified in 2022 but still doesn’t have a contract.
Experts say Quebec’s stronger labour laws would have soon forced the two parties to negotiate a collective agreement or could have imposed arbitration on them if they didn’t reach a deal.
Legal challenge within the month
On Tuesday, Senneville said the union is preparing to launch a legal challenge in the coming weeks, noting it has 30 days to do so following the closures.
The union’s lawyers will point to an earlier decision against Walmart, which shut down a store in Jonquière, Que., in 2004, shortly after it unionized, she said.
After a lengthy court battle, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2014 the company had defied Quebec labour law.
Senneville also called on all levels of government to cancel contracts with Amazon, including its cloud services, and for the public to boycott the company to show its support for workers.
Buying local has already become a priority for some Quebecers after U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat.
“If it makes people think more about what they do when they buy things, I think that’s a good thing,” Senneville said of the buy-local sentiment.
Amazon has maintained the decision to close its seven facilities was about reducing costs.
“This decision is about offering the best service we can to customers in a way that’s efficient and cost effective,” spokesperson Steve Kelly said in an email last month.
“We’ve been using third-party carriers in Quebec for many years. Returning to a well-tested third-party only model will allow us to provide the same great service and even more savings to our customers over the long run.”
Amazon did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
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