Workers at Walmart‘s Mississauga warehouse have voted to join Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.
It is Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada, said the union on Friday.
“This victory is the result of uniting around a belief in workplace democracy and better working conditions,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne in a news release. “Walmart workers in Mississauga stood up for their rights, and we are excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.”
In a statement, Walmart Canada said: “A vote occurred at one of our distribution centres in Mississauga. The Ontario Labour Relations Board shared that the majority of those who voted did so in favor of the union. We are reviewing next steps in this process. We’ve always believed that the best person to speak for our associates is the associate. Our culture is founded on an environment of transparency, honesty, and direct dialogue with our associates, without involving individuals outside of our organization who don’t know our culture or our business.”
The union said more than 40 per cent of the workers at the facility signed a union card this summer and the Ontario Labour Board awarded the workers a vote, which was held September 10–12.
It said the “notoriously anti-union company” did their best to “spread falsehoods about the protections of a union, but workers saw through the thinly veiled intimidation and chose unity over fear and division.”
“Unions are the most effective way to have a say in your conditions at work,” said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi. “These Walmart workers are showing warehouse workers across Canada what’s possible when we stand together.”
Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy.
Related:
Walmart Canada Faces Union Push at Mississauga Warehouse
Walmart Canada Raising Store Associate Wages, Investing in Technology
