# Unifor wants to unionize Amazon's Ontario warehouses. Here's what it would take

> Unifor is targeting thousands of Amazon workers in the GTA. Only two Amazon warehouses anywhere are unionized, and Ontario's rules add an extra step.

- Published: 2026-11-05T16:55:00.000Z
- By: The Circuit Staff
- Type: News
- Topics: Policy
- URL: https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-11-05-unifor-amazon-ontario-union-drive/

Unifor has launched a drive to organize thousands of Amazon workers at warehouses across the Greater Toronto Area, with outreach at Amazon facilities across Ontario, [The Globe and Mail reports](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-unifor-union-drive-amazon-warehouses-toronto/).

"If there are workers in the world that need to be unionized right now, it is Amazon workers," Unifor national president Lana Payne told the Globe. "They are up against one of the biggest, richest, most powerful corporations in the world."

Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson said in a statement that the company sees "value in having direct relationships between teams and their managers, which means every person's voice is heard, not just a few."

## Why Unifor is pushing now

Payne pointed to working conditions. The Globe cites data from Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board showing injury rates at Amazon facilities in the province nearly tripled between 2020 and 2025. Organizers named in the Globe's story include workers from Amazon's YYZ9 warehouse in Scarborough and its Bolton, Ont., facility.

Unifor also has a recent win to point to. In September, it negotiated a first contract for more than 800 workers at a Walmart distribution centre in Mississauga, with raises of $5 an hour in the first year and 3 per cent in the second, the Globe reports.

## What it would take

Unionizing Amazon has been hard everywhere. Only two Amazon warehouses are unionized, on Staten Island in New York and in Delta, B.C., and neither has an enforceable collective agreement, according to the Globe.

Ontario's rules add a step. A union needs signed cards from at least 40 per cent of workers in a unit before a vote can be held, and then has to win that vote. B.C., by contrast, brought in single-step certification in 2022.

**Why it matters:** Amazon employs thousands of people in its GTA warehouses, and none of its Ontario sites is unionized. A win at even one would be a first for the company in the province, and a test of whether Unifor's Walmart result can be repeated at a company with only two unionized warehouses in the world.