How to Organize in Quebec

Step 1: Contact UFCW Canada

Call our Quebec office at 514.326.8822 or email UFCW Canada. Ask to speak with an organizer. He or she is a specialist in labour law and will answer all your questions. All contacts with UFCW are confidential. No obligation.

Step 2: Sign UFCW Canada Membership Cards

With the guidance of an organizer, you and your co-workers sign UFCW Canada membership cards. The employer never sees these cards. UFCW Canada organizers are sworn to protect confidentiality. The law also requires that you pay two dollars out of your own pocket at the time you sign the card.

If more than 50% of the employees in your workplace sign a UFCW Canada card, the Quebec Labour Relations Commission can certify the union.

Step 3 (if necessary): Vote for UFCW Canada

If between 35% and 50% of the employees sign a card, UFCW Canada may petition the Commission to hold a vote of the workers. The secret ballot vote is then conducted by the Commission in your workplace generally one week after the application. No one will know how you voted. If a majority of employees vote YES, the commission can allow you and your coworkers to join a Union.

Now that you have a Union.

Your employer and UFCW representatives (including workers from your bargaining unit) then sit down to negotiate a collective agreement. This agreement - the union contract - sets out the wages, benefits, working conditions, job security and other rights of the workers.

UFCW Canada has experienced, professional negotiators who know your industry and what is realistic. We've been representing Canadian workers for over 100 years.

You and your co-workers have the final say on any collective agreement, once again, through a secret ballot vote. UFCW Canada is a democratic union.

UFCW Canada Will Protect Your Rights Under the Quebec Labour Code

Most employers would rather not have their employees represented by a union. But the choice is not theirs. Under the Quebec labour code, your employer cannot interfere with your decision to join a union. Employers can talk about the union generally but are forbidden from making any promises or threats, or to do anything that might prevent employees from making a free decision.

If your employer breaks the law, UFCW Canada can take legal steps to enforce your rights.

What are you waiting for?

If you think you need a union, you probably do. UFCW Canada is one of Canada's largest and most respected unions. A better life for you and your co-workers is just a phone call or email away. Contact us today.