CSN asks Tribunal to order the reopening of Amazon warehouses

MONTRÉAL, Feb. 21, 2025 /CNW/ - Amazon's plan to close its Québec warehouses is a "massive subterfuge" aimed at evading its legal obligations and eliminating any union presence within the company, the CSN argues in a complaint filed yesterday afternoon with the Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT).

"Amazon isn't ceasing its online sales activities in Québec. It is reorganizing its operations to escape its obligations as an employer under the Labour Code," reads the complaint, filed pursuant to sections 12, 13, 14 and 53 of the Labour Code.

On behalf of numerous complainants, the CSN is asking the ALT to overturn Amazon's decision, which is "unlawful in several respects."

Since "Amazon's actions are an attack on Québec's legal system [and] because this employer does not hesitate to lay off thousands of people to set an example," the CSN is asking the ALT to order the resumption of operations at the seven warehouses covered by the complaint and to pay each employee more than a year's salary in compensation, in addition to moral and punitive damages.

Amazon's decision defies logic

The complaint contends that Amazon's decision to close its Québec warehouses is in direct contradiction with the business plan it has been applying in recent years. The CSN points out that Amazon's four newest facilities in Québec, including the unionized DXT4 warehouse in Laval, were opened just three years ago as part of the company's massive investment in its "last mile" strategy.

These local warehouses, which are necessary for same-day delivery, are "not only the fastest way to get products to customers but also one of our lowest-cost ways to deliver," said Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy in October 2024, a year after announcing plans to double the number of same-day delivery facilities.

"There was no reason to think that Amazon would decide to return to a third-party delivery model barely three months later," the CSN states in its complaint. "Amazon is prepared to take the most extreme measures and sacrifice profitability in order to avoid the imposition of a real first collective agreement." That is clearly the true purpose of its draconian decision, the complaint alleges.

The CSN's complaint describes Amazon's union-busting tactics since a unionization campaign began, in the spring of 2022, at its Lachine, Laval and Saint-Hubert warehouses. It notes that the ALT condemned Amazon in July 2024 for its scare campaigns to prevent employees from signing union cards and that Amazon has refused to bargain in any way.

Amazon used the post-unionization freeze on working conditions required by the Labour Code as a pretext for not paying the unionized employees in Laval the $1.50 per hour annual wage increase granted to non-unionized warehouse employees last fall. Its offer of a 0% wage increase for unionized employees in Laval, tabled on January 16, 2025, "demonstrates a rare and arrogant rejection of the bargaining process that a union is entitled to expect as a constitutional right," contends the CSN.

According to CSN president Caroline Senneville, "the closure of Amazon's warehouses serves only one purpose: to avoid signing a collective agreement and eradicate any union presence in North America. There is no other explanation for this decision. It is a blatant violation of our laws and the fundamental rights enshrined in our Charters. The Tribunal must overturn this decision and order the reinstatement of the 1,900 illegally dismissed Amazon employees."

For more information on the Boycott Amazon campaign, visit www.csn.qc.ca/amazon-en 

Background

On April 19, 2024, the CSN filed an application with the ALT to represent the 230 employees at Amazon's DXT4 warehouse on Ernest-Cormier St. in Laval. In the preceding weeks, many workers had signed union cards. On May 10, the ALT officially certified the union, recognizing that a majority of employees had joined.

Bargaining for a first collective agreement began in July 2024. On January 22, 2025, Amazon announced it is closing its seven warehouses in Québec and outsourcing its operations. 

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

About the CSN

Founded in 1921, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) represents 330,000 workers in the public and private sectors in all regions of Québec and across Canada.

SOURCE CSN - Confédération des syndicats nationaux

Information : François L'Écuyer, CSN Communications Office, Cell: 514-949-8973, [email protected]