Accusations of Mexico Blacklisting Seasonal Workers Who Unionize in Canada H.G. Watson - rabble.ca
go to original February 26, 2014

A successful campaign to unionize migrant workers has led to allegations that the Mexican government blacklisted labour activists, then prevented some of those workers from returning to work in Canada under Canada's Seasonal Agricultural worker program.

For almost four years, Stan Raper and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) have been fighting a battle for a group of migrant workers in B.C. who did something controversial -- they unionized.

"It has been a difficult process," explained Raper, the national coordinator for the UFCW's Agricultural Workers Alliance, as he detailed the multiple court battles he and the workers have undertaken.

The story begins with a group of agricultural workers from Mexico who, while living and working in B.C., decided to form a union with the help of UFCW.

On February 9, 2010 workers at Sidhu & Sons Nursery, a flower growing operation in Abbotsford, B.C., were organized. Raper believes initially there were 160 employees at the operation, a mix of migrant and domestic workers, though that number has fluctuated since the original organizing drive. Raper was unable to give an exact number of current employees, but did note that the farm employed a mix of seasonal migrant workers and domestic workers.

The workers in the UFCW unit, however, are seasonal workers who entered Canada as a part of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP).

It can be difficult for temporary foreign workers to join unions because they fear repercussions from management. That these workers organized was considered a victory by UFCW.

The story might have ended happily, but then, some workers who returned home to Mexico discovered that for no immediately discernable reason, they were no longer welcome back to Canada to work.

Read the rest at rabble.ca

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