Canadian Walmart workers make history with Unifor: A first collective bargaining agreement after a 2-year fight against union busting

“800 workers at a Walmart distribution center in Mississauga, Ont., have done what others couldn't: They're now working under a two-year contract with North America's largest logistics giant. The landmark collective bargaining agreement took effect July 1, nearly two years after workers sought union representation through Unifor Local 252 amid low wages and unsafe working conditions. As a punitive measure, Walmart two years ago raised the wages of all logistics employees in Canada - except those who had unionized. This was an effective maneuver to discourage further union initiatives…” EnglishArticle by Kari Thompson from September 17, 2026 in LaborNotes (machine translated) and more from it:

• Canadian Walmart Workers Make History: A Union Contract
  Further from the EnglishArticle by Kari Thompson from September 17, 2026 in LaborNotes (machine translated): “… “Walmart gave raises to all non-union employees and everything collapsed,” said Angela Drew Kimelman, a Unifor organizer who has worked on organizing campaigns in several camps, including one in Cornwall, near Montreal.
  But now the new collective agreement prevents Walmart from raising wages in other warehouses without also doing so in this warehouse. The unionized workers received a corresponding wage increase and back pay for the months in which other warehouse workers received wage increases that were withheld from them.
  Unifor has resumed its organizing efforts in other camps in Ontario.
  “A REAL EYE OPENER”
  In previous union initiatives, Walmart has closed locations rather than deal with a union. So far there has been no such threat to this camp.
  Instead, two months after the conclusion of the contract, the members promote information about the contract and its implementation - both for the employees and for the company management.
  For the first time, employees enjoy the protection of a contractual disciplinary procedure. “If you work at another distribution center and you're just thrown out, you're pretty much on your own and at the mercy of your employer,” said Rodolfo Pilozo, who has worked at Walmart for 30 years and is a member of Unifor's organizing and negotiating committees.
  Kathryn Cespite, who has worked at the warehouse for eight years, acted as an interim confidant along with a colleague in the first week after the contract came into effect. “That was a real eye-opener,” she said. A supervisor attempted to discipline an employee without giving him the opportunity to express his side of the matter. (…)
  Ontario’s labor laws have helped. The law provides for an arbitration procedure for initial contracts. Mediation takes place first, and disputes can then be resolved through arbitration. Unifor's chief negotiator, Fields, filed the paperwork to start that process, putting an external deadline in place that put pressure on Walmart to reach an agreement.
  Geographical location also played a role. Labor law expert Benjamin Fong argues it would be "a huge burden on Walmart" to move this regional distribution center, which serves most of Ontario and Quebec, given the area's constraints on the Great Lakes and Toronto's location. Walmart has already closed its distribution centers in Quebec, where even stricter labor laws apply.
  Walmart employee Simon Hayford believes the company agreed to a settlement because executives feared more warehouses would join the union and didn't want to draw more attention to the unionized warehouse. He and Pilozo are participating in Unifor's efforts to organize more Walmart warehouses.
  “I talked to some of the other warehouse workers and they say, ‘We make the same amount, so why would we do that?’” Hayford said. However, he expects that the other benefits offered by the collective agreement - such as an improved safety board and protection against unfair dismissal - will demonstrate the value of the union over time.”
• See also thisReport from Unifor 

The photo accompanying the article shows the poster for Black Friday Walmart 2014 in the USA

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