United in Struggle

MAY DAY 2025: Stand with Amazon workers in Quebec!

On this International Workers’ Day, United in Struggle stands with Amazon workers in Quebec who formed a union and took on a giant multinational. 

In January 2025 Amazon responded to the unionization of its DXT4 warehouse in Laval, Quebec, by announcing it was shutting down all its operations in the province, putting some 1800 directly employed workers out of a job. Despite posting US$60 billion in profits in 2024, and amassing owner Jeff Bezos a US$200 billion fortune, Amazon refuses to deal with the demands of its workers, who face unsafe working conditions – especially during peak season speed-ups – for below industry-standard wages – an entry level wage of just $19/hour at the Quebec facilities. Despite the attack, Amazon workers in Quebec and their allies in the workers’s movement continue to struggle against Amazon, disrupting and shutting down their proxies and partners with direct actions, embarrassing government ministers and bureaucrats for their complicity, and organizing a popular boycott endorsed by dozens of unions and community organizations. 

Amazon’s attack on Quebec workers is just the latest and worst example of the company’s anti-worker, anti-union, anti-people history.  Amazon has used dirty tricks like ‘captive audience’ meetings, anti-union lies and propaganda, and loosely veiled threats to try to deter unionization.  At their BHX4 warehouse in Coventry, England, and more recently here in B.C., Amazon hired hundreds of temporary and part time workers to try to dilute the vote on strong union drives seeking certification. And at their JFK8 warehouse in New York, where workers did successfully unionize in 2022, Amazon has used legal tricks to try to bully the workers, and has refused to negotiate a contract with the union. 

Amazon wants to treat its workers – people in our working class communities – like cheap labour that they can use up to make their billions of dollars of profit, and then cast off when we get hurt or sick, or when we form a union to defend ourselves and assert our power as workers.  

Amazon is also part of the imperialist war machine. They have a US$1.2 billion contract with Israel in which they provide technology and cloud computing like facial recognition, biometrics and demographic information used in the occupation of Palestine and the genocide in Gaza. And they have lucrative contracts to provide similar ‘technology services’ to the U.S. military and its 750 overseas military bases.  

On May Day 2025 we stand with Amazon workers in Quebec seeking justice, with Amazon workers fighting for unions, with Amazon workers who took a stand against the company’s relationship with the war criminal Israeli state and with Amazon workers everywhere who want dignity and power in their workplace. Worker power is the only way we can end the  everyday violence and exploitation of capitalism!

Boycott Amazon!

We’re not cheap labour!

All power to the workers!