New ownership can lead to change in workplaces, and so workers concerned about their future have been reaching out to the union, said Christopher Monette, director of public affairs at Teamsters Canada.
Videotron declined to comment on the unionization efforts, though it confirmed it’s aware that the union has been approaching Freedom Mobile employees. Quebecor did not respond to requests for comment. “This is another example of how workers in any industry in Canada understand that they’re vulnerable to inflation, to restructuring, to job loss, if they don’t have a collective voice and some bargaining power,” said Stanford.
Federal labour law has used card-check certification since 2017, meaning that for federally regulated workers, if more than 50 per cent sign a union card, the labour relations board will consider them unionized – as opposed to a secret ballot system, where a certain percentage of signed cards triggers the additional step of a vote. Such a two-step system gives employers an opportunity to union-bust, said Monette.
Whether they can unionize the workers on a federal level depends on the nature of the employment relationship, said Supriya Routh, an associate professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. If the workers are direct employees of Freedom then they should be considered federally regulated workers, but any independent contractors or workers who otherwise aren’t direct employees of Freedom likely wouldn’t be, he said.
Routh said COVID-19 showed how unstable many employment relationships could be, and workers are seeking more stability, especially amid high-profile layoffs by large companies in Canada and the U.S.