Edmonton maintenance workers file for unionization

Last week, the Alberta Labour Relations Board released their final New Applications Report for May 2023. In the report is a new application for union certification in Alberta.

The application was filed on 25 May 2023 by Local 445 of Unifor.

This union is applying on behalf of all maintenance workers, employed with Saputo Dairy Products, at their Edmonton location.

The Montréal-based company produces a comprehensive array of dairy products under multiple brands.

According to the application, if the union certification is approved, it would apply to 29 workers.

This isn’t the first time Unifor has organized Saputo workers. For example, in 2021, they organized workers in the Toronto area and helped them negotiate their first contract over a 6-month period, which the workers ratified this past December.

Unifor also represents other Saputo workers elsewhere in Ontario, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, and Alberta, including roughly 300 production workers in Edmonton.

The ALRB has scheduled a hearing for this application for 8 June 2023. The employer will have an opportunity then to present arguments for why certification shouldn’t occur at that location.

Since the ALRB doesn’t archive their new application reports, here’s a copy of the most recent one.

Update (23 June 2023): A majority of these workers voted two days ago in favour of joining local 445, according to a media release published by Unifor today.