„Historisch“: Kanadische Lagerarbeiter unterzeichnen den allerersten Gewerkschaftsvertrag mit Walmart | Laut Union ist der Tarifvertrag nur der Anfang eines umfassenderen Kampfes zur gewerkschaftlichen Organisierung großer Arbeitgeber im ganzen Land

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/06/canada-walmart-first-union-deal

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    9 Kommentare

    1. Highlighted sections:

      >In May, workers in Mississauga, Ontario, signed a contract with Walmart, the world’s largest employer, that includes a pay bump, guarantees over working conditions and a lump sum payout to settle allegations of unfair labour practices.
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      >“These members were determined to have workplace democracy and they stuck with it,” said Lana Payne, president of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union. “Their courage and determination, their decision to be part of a collective bargaining table with one of the biggest corporations in the world, is why they made labour history.”
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      >Workers at the high-volume distribution warehouse – which serves one of the biggest markets for Walmart in Canada – first decided to unionize in 2024. It took two years before both sides agreed on a contract.
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      >Payne said the victory came amid a deliberate strategy by the union to target parts of the business workers that could exert the most influence. While retail locations have unionized in the past, the powerful distribution centres that supply more than 100 brick and mortar stores and oversee online orders have proven elusive.
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      >“We felt that we needed to put serious effort into targeting the entirety of the supply chain,” she said. “This victory will create momentum across the warehouse sector.”
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      >In the case of the Mississauga effort, Walmart raised wages for other workers in the region but not the distribution centre that had unionized. As part of the newly signed collective agreement, Walmart will pay a lump sum to settle an unfair labour practice complaint. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
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      >…
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      >Unifor has already opened a second front in its battle: an Amazon facility in British Columbia, a province where laws are friendlier to organized labour.
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      >Recently, British Columbia’s labour board found that Amazon unlawfully withheld scheduled wage increases from workers at the facility, despite giving raises to every other Amazon facility in the region. The company will probably have to pay back more than $1m in back wages.
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      >Amazon said it misunderstood the labour code and believed it “prevented us from making changes to pay for employees at t[he warehouse]”.
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      >But the labour board’s decision means that the employees previously left out will now get their “updated compensation as soon as possible”.
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      >“We’re glad to be able to do that,” an Amazon spokesperson, Eileen Hards, said of the pay updates. “Taking care of our people has always been our priority, and that remains true as we continue to follow the legal process and bargain with the union in good faith.”
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      >While two sides struggle to agree on a contract, the labour code in British Columbia gives the government the ability to impose a first contract if an agreement isn’t reached..
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      >…
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      >Stanford said that in recent years, there has been an “attitudinal shift” whereby workers understand their employers may take advantage of them, making their jobs more precarious and undermining their compensation. So despite the challenges, the recent success will probably lead to more union drives.

      Large companies like Amazon absolutely cannot be believed when they say that they „misunderstood the labour code“. They know exactly what they’re doing when they short change their workers, and are hoping that nobody calls them on it.

    2. Routine_Event_5039 on

      If large American retaliers feel Canada is not favorable to them due to our labour laws there are plenty, and I mean plenty, of very large European retaliers willing to come in and take their place.

      Do you think we are hostages? Look in the mirror, treat labour fairly like human beings, or head south

    3. mega job from them: a lot of people were probably terrified of (unlawfully) losing their job over this yet they were able to move forward ✊️

    4. Unfortunately, Amazon will likely shutter the entire provinces warehouses like they did in Québec (6 in all) as soon as one of them unionized. They claimed it was for „cost-cutting,“ but just subbed everything out to a third party (Intelcom). Pretty much a warning shot, though. That was the catalyst for me to cancel my account, never looked back.

    5. flappysack- on

      Higher interest rates incoming.

      So housing prices will fall as well, a double win.

    6. ahundreddollarbills on

      I am happy they didn’t sign up with those useless bags of dicks from UCFW

    7. AloneChapter on

      There is nothing that Corporate wouldn’t do , including destroying a company, to ensure the workers get the least but management get the most.
      Ask Sear, Starbucks or any private equity bought company.

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