FedEx workers join the Teamsters Union!

For the first time in the history of organized labour in North America, FedEx workers have decided to unionize and have chosen the Teamsters Union to represent them...

TORONTO, Feb. 15 /CNW Telbec/ - Thanks to the relentless efforts of its organizers, the Teamsters Union announces that it now represents FedEx's administrative workers in Mississauga, Ontario.

"This is a historical event for FedEx workers and the entire labour movement," claims Robert Bouvier, president of Teamsters Canada. "This company is well known for its anti-union attitude, but this development demonstrates beyond all doubt that these workers had had enough of their employer's arbitrary decisions."

This large-scale campaign began in 2009 and mobilizes dozens of organizers, members of several Local Unions throughout the country as well as Teamsters Canada representatives.

The application for certification was filed on Friday February 12 with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). An application for certification is a formal document that confirms that a union represents a group of workers.

The employer may attempt to object to its workers' decision. The president of Teamsters Canada has therefore warned them that their employer could try to stall the procedure.

"We will continue to stand with these men and women for as long as it takes," adds Mr. Bouvier. "Furthermore, we have learned that they earn to up $16,000 less than their brothers and sisters employed by Purolator. That is one of the many reasons that convinced them to contact us for help."

The Teamsters intends to continue to help all FedEx workers legal right to form a union.

The Teamsters Union represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.

For further information: Stéphane Lacroix, Director of Communications, Teamsters Canada, [phone], www.teamsters.ca, www.fedexworkers.org