Amazon attacks workers’ right to unionize!
Defend Canadian workers by boycotting Amazon!

Background

In the summer of 2024, workers at the DXT4 warehouse in Laval formed the first Amazon facility

union in Canada. Though Amazon was unwilling to bargain with the union, Quebec labour law would

have called for binding arbitration and imposed a first contract between the union and the employer.

Amazon, however, decided to pull all warehousing operations out of Quebec, resulting in the loss of

over 4,500 Canadian jobs.

This attack on Quebec workers is a blow to all working people and the Canadian labour movement as

a whole. Amazon has previously used anti-union tactics against union drives from Quebec to British

Columbia. It has also tried to have card check certification recognized as unconstitutional. Now,

Amazon is telling Canadian workers to either accept unsafe working conditions, starvation wages,

and no benefits, or to lose their jobs if they form a union.

The labour movement must defend the right to form unions as a key way for workers to have a say in

their working conditions for attaining dignity in their workplaces. To do so, we are calling on unions

and labour organizations to:

1. Publicly support the campaign “Here, We Boycott Amazon”;

2. Stop using Amazon, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and all services related to or

belonging to the company;

3. Put pressure on employers to stop using Amazon, AWS, and all services related to or

belonging to the company;

4. Encourage union members to stop using these same services;

5. Encourage members to participate in the mobilization actions initiated by “Here, We

Boycott Amazon”.

Now that the warehouses have closed, the campaign is demanding the expropriation of Amazon’s

land, buildings, and other assets in Quebec; the repayment of all government subsidies received by

Amazon; one year’s salary and insurance for all laid-off workers; and full training support, free of

charge, for laid-off workers.

Amazon has one non-union warehouse in Manitoba and employs over 4,000 people across the

prairie provinces. Supporting this boycott is a way of showing Amazon workers in Manitoba that the

labour movement is on their side. It could help them overcome the fear Amazon is trying to sow in

their hearts, and give them the courage to form their own unions.

“Here, We Boycott Amazon” is already supported by unions across Canada such as:

• Laval Amazon Workers Union-CSN,

• CUPE-5454, 

• Syndicat national des employés-es du CHU Sainte-Justine—CSN, 

• Syndicat de l’enseignement de l’Ouest de Montréal (SEOM-FAE), 

• Conseil Central du Montréal-Métropolitain—CSN, 

• CSQ, 

• Concordia Research and Education Workers Union (CREW-CSN)

• As well as various other labour and community organizations.

Here is a template motion we recommend for adoption in your union/organization:

Whereas Amazon is an American multinational owned by the second richest man in the world,

who would prefer to fire over 4,500 workers during a serious inflation and housing crisis rather

than recognize a union showing good faith during negotiations;

Whereas even before the Quebec warehouses were closed, Amazon was paying its employees

poverty wages, had one of the highest work-related accident rates in the province, and was

conducting illegal anti-union campaigns in its warehouses;

Whereas Amazon has attempted to overturn the Quebec Labour Code to take away the rights

Quebec workers have fought for;

Whereas Amazon exploits the precarious status of migrant workers with a system of piecemeal

employment contracts renewed arbitrarily and without notice.

Be it resolved that [organization] publicly supports the “Here, we boycott Amazon” campaign;

Be it resolved that [organization] completely stops using Amazon, AWS, and all services related

to or owned by the multinational;

Be it resolved that [organization] put pressure on [employer] to also completely stop using

Amazon, AWS, and all services related to or owned by the multinational;

Be it resolved that [organization] encourages its members to stop using these services

altogether;

Be it resolved that [organization] encourages its members to participate in mobilizations

initiated by the “Here, we boycott Amazon” and other affiliated groups;

Be it resolved that [organization] encourages all other organizations linked to it to adopt a

resolution supporting the boycott Amazon campaign.

Link to the Original PDF