Wage increase: a union victory over Amazon

Dear Unifor members,

Your union held a press conference today to share the news that Amazon was found to be illegally withholding your September 2025 wage increase. See some of the media coverage.

(Background: read last week’s announcement and read the correspondence from the Labour Board. This is the conclusion of a campaign started by Unifor last year.)

This ruling is another clear sign that, in British Columbia, Amazon is not above the law.

Not only will you receive the wage increase going forward, but you will also receive the wage increase retroactive to the date that other Amazon workers in B.C. received their wage increase.

Unifor has also filed for “damages” to be paid to you in recognition of the harm done to you by Amazon’s illegal wage freeze. This would be a financial award beyond the wage increase. We expect a ruling on damages in the coming weeks.

Don’t let Amazon mislead you about wages

For months, there has been misinformation circulated by the company and managers about your wage increases.

Despite what they say, the company was never legally prevented from awarding you a wage increase.

In fact, there is an easy mechanism under B.C. law (section 45[3] of the labour code) for employers to apply for a wage increase during the period of union contract negotiations. Amazon never applied.

Instead, Amazon sought to have the union’s case for your wage increase thrown out of court. If that happened, you would have never received your fall 2025 wage increase.

Since day 1, the company has used lawyers and intimidation to threaten your rights. Your coming wage increase is another example of how a powerful union can stand up to the company and win.

What’s next?

Your bargaining committee has been very disappointed with Amazon’s efforts at the bargaining table, so we are seeking to speed things up. This will help ensure that we can finalize a collective agreement sooner and limit the ability of Amazon to continue harming workers at YVR2.

This week we applied to the B.C. Labour Board for a mediator. A mediator is a neutral third party who will assist with bargaining and, if a collective agreement is not reached before a deadline, make recommendations for a first contract.

This process can take several paths, so we will keep you updated as it unfolds.

Stay in touch!

We understand that legal rulings (and there have been many) are not easy reading nor easy to sort out, especially when managers and the company are saying things that contradict the union. Many of you have been hired after the workplace was certified with a union, and you might have questions about how that happened.

I’m happy to personally answer any questions you have about the process. Please get in touch!

Amazon benefits when workers are overwhelmed with information, confused, or vulnerable. Your union is fighting to hold the employer accountable and win greater fairness on the job.

Solidarity wins—stay united! ✊

Mario Santos
Unifor National Representative