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Workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ontario are voting on whether to unionize this week after UNIFOR's nine-month campaign at the facility. Justin Gniposky, UNIFOR's Director for Organizing, told The North Star that workers at the warehouse are seeking union representation because of four main concerns: health and safety, job security, work-life balance and real wage increase.
Workers are "being asked to do things that are not safe"
Health and safety is a primary concern for workers at the warehouse who are being asked to do unsafe tasks, making them "fearful of the job."
While specific data about workplace injuries at the warehouse was unavailable, UNIFOR's campaign revealed that over 10 percent of the warehouse workers are on some sort of leave, indicating that workers are experiencing serious safety issues. Gniposky explained that 10 percent of workers being on leave is "significantly higher than the average industrial workplace."
While Walmart has its own binding health and safety committees as required by provincial law, Gniposky reports that these committees are "either not respected or are a facade" and that "when workers raise concerns, it's brushed under the table till the next meeting."
If the workers decide to unionize, they will be able to create an active health and safety committee that can address their concerns in a timely and effective manner.
Walmart views the workers as "disposable"
Gniposky told The North Star that despite health and safety concerns, workers are "afraid to push back against management because they need the hours and they don't want to be seen as causing disruptions." Many of the workers are hopeful that their job will give them access to citizenship.
Walmart is aware that many of its workers are vulnerable and dependent on the company to secure a future in Canada. UNIFOR found that Walmart takes advantage of newcomers and women particularly, especially if they are new hires.
"[Walmart's] view, in our opinion, is that the workers are disposable, and if they don't like the conditions, [Walmart] will show them where the door is," said Gniposky. Workers are aware that the employer can replace them at any time or transfer them to other warehouses without any input.
If the workers vote to form a union, they will be able push to have a say in their potential transfers to a new highly mechanized Walmart warehouse that is set to open in the region. They will also be able to secure real wage increases through a collective agreement, which "they can rely on year after year" and demand work schedules that are "predictable and reliable," explained Gniposky. Currently, the workers are facing forced overtime and other scheduling issues.
Walmart intimidated workers and told them to vote against unionization
In response to UNIFOR's unionization campaign, Walmart ran its own campaign to dissuade workers at the warehouse from forming a union.
"Walmart's response was to aggressively and consistently get in the face of workers day in and day out and tell them that they didn't need a union and that everything is fine."
Gniposky told The North Star that management held meetings with workers to tell them "how terrible unions are and mislead them, in some cases, deliberately." Walmart spread false information about unions in the warehouse. For example, workers were told that the union would have access to members' personal records, which is not true.
Gniposky reports that every time UNIFOR would distribute leaflets outside the warehouse, Walmart would place eight to ten security guards to intimidate the workers.
"I'm not blaming the security guards. They're just workers too. But this is what Walmart does. [The security guards] stand there with their arms crossed, and they stare down every worker who comes in to intimidate them."
According to Gniposky, these tactics are a form of "fear-mongering." Walmart is trying to "scare the workers," he said, "because they know that if [the workers] get a union, they will have a say in the workplace, and no employer wants to lose that kind of control and that kind of domination over workers."
Despite Walmart's attempts to intimidate and mislead workers, many in the warehouse have put their face on UNIFOR's campaign, which began in December 2023.
The result of the vote will be released in the coming days.