First Amazon union contract in North America imposed in B.C.

A union representing about 800 Amazon workers in Delta, B.C., says an independent arbitrator imposed a three-year collective agreement on Friday, the first binding union contract for Amazon workers in North America, The Canadian Press reported.

Unifor and Amazon both confirmed the arbitrator set the terms. The union said the deal raises hourly wages to $29 by its end, strengthens severance protections and adds a week of vacation for workers with 10 years of service.

“Amazon told everyone a union contract would never happen, but workers proved them wrong,” Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a statement. She said the company had “fought every decision and tried to rewrite reality at every step.”

Amazon said workers were not given a vote. Vice-president J. Ofori Agboka wrote in an online post that the process was “improper, unfair and defies common sense,” and that the company would take its concerns to court if necessary. He said union dues meant workers “could actually take home less money than they did before.”

Agboka also said the lack of a ratification vote “has become an unfortunate pattern” with the British Columbia Labour Relations Board. The board ruled in August that binding arbitration should be used to settle the dispute, despite the company fighting that approach.

The agreement covers the Delta fulfilment centre, known as YVR2, where workers were certified to unionize in July 2025.

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