TORONTO ─ Foodora couriers and drivers in Toronto and Mississauga, Ont. voted in favour of unionization with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, becoming the first app-based workforce in Canada to do so.
“The truth is free — we’re a union and we deserve respect and rights from our employer,” says Iván Ostos, a courier who has worked on the unionization campaign from the very beginning. “Many doubted workers in this era wanted or needed a union. Through conversations, companionship and the dedication of hard-working ‘foodsters,’ we came together to achieve something many said was impossible. I am so thankful for all the couriers that dedicated themselves to this campaign.”
While Foodora announced in April the shutdown of its Canadian operations, leaving thousands of gig workers without employment during a global pandemic, the results of this vote remain historic. Gig workers have made it clear that the status quo doesn’t work and change is coming to the gig economy.
Just nine months after the union-certification vote, the Ontario Labour Relations Board finally unsealed and counted the ballots. This was only made possible after the board ruled in February that the couriers and drivers were dependent contractors, not independent contractors, and therefore eligible to unionize.
Yesterday’s outcome is the culmination of a more than year-long unionization campaign by dedicated riders and drivers fighting for respect as workers, better health-and-safety protections and fair compensation for the work they perform.
“People said gig workers can’t be organized, but these workers just proved you can,” says Jan Simpson, CUPW national president. “Just because Foodora left, it doesn’t take away what these workers achieved. They have paved the way for all precarious workers to gain rights and unionize and we’re honoured to stand by and support them, and all other gig workers, in the struggles to come.”
