$1 million in back pay? Amazon unlawfully withheld 2025 pay increase from workers at unionized YVR2 fulfillment centre
The B.C. Labour Relations Board (BCLRB) has ruled that Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services ULC violated the Labour Relations Code by withholding a 2025 wage increase from workers at its unionised YVR2 fulfilment centre in Delta, while granting the same increase at its other facilities in the Metro Vancouver region.
In a Feb. 13, 2026, bottom-line decision, BCLRB Vice-Chair Jonathan Hanvelt allowed an application by Unifor Local 114 and found the company breached section 45(1)(b) of the Code when it decided not to apply the pay increase at YVR2.
“I declare that the Employer contravened Section 45(1)(b) of the Code,” Hanvelt wrote in the decision letter. He ordered that Amazon “provide employees at YVR2 with the same pay increases as those implemented at the other sites in the YVR node…retroactive to the date on which the Employer implemented the 2025 pay increases at the other YVR node sites.”
Implementation of the remedial order is stayed until the Board issues full written reasons. Hanvelt also reserved on other remedies sought by the union pending completion of the evidentiary hearing.
The complaint stems from Amazon’s decision not to apply a pay increase at YVR2 that was extended to its other operations in the YVR node, prompting Unifor to allege multiple breaches of the Labour Relations Code. The parties agreed that the section 45 issue would be treated as a threshold question, with other allegations to be addressed after the Board’s ruling on that point.
Amazon previously withdrew its application to unionise workers at two Amazon facilities in B.C., months before Quebec’s Administrative Labour Tribunal told the employer to refrain from making any statements or publishing any messages that have the purpose or effect of criticising or denigrating the organising campaign questioning the usefulness of a union.
‘Million-dollar’ ruling
In a Feb. 17, 2026, statement, Unifor said the BCLRB ruling confirms that Amazon “broke the law by singling out unionized workers for unfair treatment,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “No worker should be punished for exercising their legal right to join a union, and today’s ruling sends a clear message that Amazon is not above the law.”
Unifor said the decision will “likely result in over one million dollars in back wages paid out to workers at the YVR2 facility, underscoring the real financial consequences of the company’s unlawful conduct.”
The BCLRB has not yet released its detailed reasons, and the back pay figure is the union’s estimate of the impact of the retroactive wage order at the 800-employee site.
HRD Canada has not seen a statement from Amazon about the ruling.
Union seeks mediation to expedite first contract
Unifor Local 114 represents approximately 800 workers at the YVR2 fulfilment centre in Delta, which the union describes as the only unionised Amazon facility in Canada. Workers were certified in July 2025 and are seeking a first collective agreement addressing “workload, favouritism, wages, and workplace safety,” according to the union.
Bargaining between Unifor and Amazon has been under way since December 2025. The union says Amazon representatives have made “little meaningful progress toward a contract” and that, without the protections of a collective agreement more than seven months after certification, arbitration or mediation is required to prevent further delay.
Meanwhile, Unifor said it will seek mediation to speed up first-contract talks in light of the wage-freeze ruling.
Long-running legal and organising campaign
The BCLRB decision on the wage increase follows a lengthy organising and litigation campaign at YVR2.
Amazon YVR2/YVR3 union drive – key timeline, according to Unifor:
January 2023
Interest in unionising emerges at Amazon’s YVR2 and YVR3 facilities.
Workers contact Unifor, which responds with a visibility campaign and distributes information at facility gates.
October 2023
According to Unifor, Amazon workers at Metro Vancouver sites begin signing union cards.
May 2024
Unifor files an application with the BCLRB to certify workers at YVR2.
The union also files an unfair labour practice complaint alleging employer obstruction, including over-staffing to inflate headcount and affect the union drive.
A Board-ordered representation vote proceeds despite Amazon’s attempts at the BCLRB and the B.C. Supreme Court to halt it.
Ballots from the vote are sealed while litigation continues.
May 2024 – February 2025
Amazon argues that Unifor does not have sufficient signed cards for the ballots to be counted.
Unifor presents evidence that Amazon interfered with the process in the workplace.
July 2025
The BCLRB rules that Amazon’s conduct was intended to thwart workers’ ability to unionise.
As a remedy, the Board certifies Unifor at YVR2.
The Board cites an anti-union campaign and the hiring of excess employees in its findings, according to the union.
August 2025
Amazon’s bid for reconsideration of the BCLRB ruling is denied.
Unifor characterises those interim rulings as a series of legal losses for Amazon at both the BCLRB and the B.C. Supreme Court. The company has continued to state that it will challenge unionisation in court, the union says.
In October 2024, a labour tribunal in Quebec dismissed a challenge by Amazon to the unionisation of workers at its warehouse in a Montreal suburb.
