Inside the Amazon Decertification Campaign

As Amazon and Unifor approach a first collective agreement for employees in Delta, B.C., the union says the company has been supporting a decertification campaign.

For nearly a year, the two sides have been negotiating a first contract for 800 employees at the only unionized Amazon warehouse in Canada, often called YVR2.

Negotiations have been marred by accusations and legal challenges that both sides have abused the unionization process.

On Aug. 4, the British Columbia Labour Relations Board ordered both sides to head to binding arbitration for a first collective agreement. If arbitration is successful, Unifor says, YVR2 will become the first Amazon location in North America to reach a collective agreement.

Meanwhile, a decertification campaign has been stewing in the background. In June, an Instagram account called amazonianyvr2 started making posts about decertification and urging employees to vote against the union.

“B.C. Labour didn't hear our voice,” said Priyanka Sharma, one of the Amazon employees behind the account. “It should be the employees' voice that matters, not an employer, not Unifor, and not B.C. Labour.”

Sharma said she has worked at Amazon for nine years and is now a process assistant at YVR2 — what the union calls a “supervisory” role. According to Sharma, the employees who support the Instagram account are a group of about 10 to 15 people.

In July, workers voted on decertification. And on Monday, Sharma emailed The Tyee a press release from that same group calling for the original ballots on unionization to be counted.

Sharma said the group is neither for nor against unionization, although she herself does not want a union. Sharma told The Tyee she is a current union member because of the certification decision made by the Labour Relations Board.

“While the Board acted within its legal authority, many employees were left feeling that their own votes no longer mattered,” the press release said. “That feeling did not disappear.”

Unifor says the campaign is part of management’s push for decertification and alleges the employers’ support for the campaign violates labour law.

“They are doubling down on their behaviour and, unfortunately, trying to use employees as pawns,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor’s western regional director. “Continuing to break the law while calling themselves champions of workplace democracy is a bit of a stretch.”

The union has launched a legal challenge against Amazon’s alleged involvement in decertification, arguing the company or its representatives are interfering with union administration, inducing or compelling employees to refrain from being members and refusing to bargain in good faith. The claims have not yet been tested by the board.

Back in 2024, Unifor Local 114 believed the majority of the employees at YVR2 had signed union cards. In B.C., if at least 55 per cent of a possible bargaining unit signs union cards, the board will certify the union without a vote. If at least 45 per cent sign cards, the board will order a vote on unionizing.