FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A union is an organization that, if certified, will act as the representative for employees in the group covered by the union application for the purposes of collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Representatives from a union may ask you to sign a union authorization card/union card.

A union authorization card is a legally binding document that shows support for a union.

Signing one tells the BC Labour relations Board that you want the union to represent you, speak on your behalf, and make decisions about employment terms.

Visit the BC Labour Relations Board for more information: https://www.lrb.bc.ca/membership-evidence

Sometimes, but more often, it’s an electronic online form or accessed through a QR code.

Visit the BC Labour Relations Board for more information: https://www.lrb.bc.ca/.  

No, signing a union card is a personal choice.  

It is your choice whether to sign or not.

Visit the BC Labour Relations Board for more information: https://www.lrb.bc.ca/

If you no longer wish to have signed a card you have a right to request your card back.  

Visit the BC Labour Relations Board for more information: https://www.lrb.bc.ca/certification-process

After an application is filed, the BCLRB will conduct a review to determine if there’s sufficient interest from eligible employees or if the third-party organization meets certain criteria. The BCLRB will either approve or deny the application.  

If the BCLRB approves an application, they may order an election for the site and determine the timing. Elections will be held via email. The BCLRB will email ballots to eligible voters.

No. In British Columbia, if a union can demonstrate it has 55% of employee support through signed union cards, it can ask the BCLRB to automatically certify the union as the representative for all employees eligible to be part of the union – without a vote. If a union is automatically certified, your conditions of employment would be collectively bargained between the union and Amazon. 

By law, all employees in the group unionized will be represented by the union and covered by the collective agreement. Whether or not you must become a union member depends on what is negotiated in the collective agreement.

Your rights and obligations will be set by the collective agreement reached by Amazon and the union, whether or not you are a union member.

Under a collective agreement, all employees must pay union dues, whether or not they are a union member, or whether or not they wanted the union.

If the union were to be elected to represent employees, your pay and benefits would be bound by whatever is negotiated in the collective agreement. The terms of a collective agreement generally have to be agreed to by both the union and Amazon.

There is no guarantee you will receive higher wages than you would without a union. Negotiations can be a process of “give and take,” and the outcome is not possible to predict.

Yes, that is possible. Depending on the circumstances, if Amazon and the union cannot agree on a first collective agreement, it might be settled by an arbitrator, or there could be a strike or lockout.

If the union is certified as the bargaining agent, all employees in the bargaining unit will be required to be represented by the union.

Individual employees cannot quit being part of the union or opt out.

Our preference is to continue working together as one team and maintaining direct engagement with you—it's an effective way to make Amazon a great place to work. But the decision of whether or not to join a union is yours to make. We work hard to continuously improve. We're committed to continuing to listen and learn from you so we can act quickly to improve. Our focus remains on your safety, supporting our team, and delivering our best for customers.

If a union is recognized through certification, a contract is typically negotiated to determine what conditions of employment will apply to the group covered.

To reach an agreement, the terms of a collective agreement generally have to be agreed to by both the union and Amazon.

If the parties cannot agree, any items not agreed to might be settled by an independent arbitrator, or there could be a strike or lockout.

Yes. Once a union contract is reached – all employees must pay union dues that are deducted directly from their paycheque. Everyone must pay them, whether they support the union or not.