To form a union, a majority of non-management employees must support unionization. In Alberta, this typically means that more than 50% of workers who vote must vote in favour during a confidential vote.

The timeline can vary depending on the size of the workplace and employer response, but many union drives take a few weeks to a few months from initial organizing to certification. Teamsters 987 guides workers through each step to help keep the process efficient and protected.

While companies can still track performance, a union contract (CBA) ensures that tracking is fair, transparent, and that workers have a process to dispute errors in the data.

Under Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act, your employer is legally required to ensure you are trained and competent before operating any equipment. You have the right to refuse work you believe is unsafe — including operating machinery you haven't been trained on — without fear of reprisal. If you are disciplined for refusing unsafe work, that is illegal. A union contract reinforces this by requiring documented training protocols and creating a grievance process if those protocols are ignored.

Without a union, your recourse is limited to filing an employment standards complaint or pursuing wrongful dismissal through the courts — both expensive and slow. With a union, you have a grievance process that can challenge discipline based on unrealistic targets. A union steward can argue that the standard used to discipline you was unachievable, inconsistently applied, or introduced without proper notice — and take that argument to arbitration if necessary, at no cost to you.

Yes. Unions can negotiate "reasonable pace" clauses that prevent management from arbitrarily increasing speed or "pick rates" to unsafe levels, ensuring you aren't disciplined for prioritizing safety over speed.

Unions negotiate for severance packages, transfer rights to the new location, and "first-hire" status, ensuring that long-term employees aren't just left behind.

We negotiate for predictable schedules and "minimum rest" periods between shifts so you can maintain a life outside of the warehouse.

Unions provide advocates to ensure you receive your full WCB benefits and that the company provides proper "light duty" or accommodations during your recovery.

Not outright — and any union that tells you otherwise isn't being straight with you. What a union can do is force your employer to negotiate the terms and impacts of automation. That negotiation can result in longer notice periods, retraining rights, job guarantees, and better severance. The goal isn't to stop technology — it's to make sure workers aren't left behind by it.

If you are not unionized, Alberta's Employment Standards Code only requires minimal notice — often just a few weeks — before a layoff, regardless of the reason. There is no legal requirement for your employer to consult you, retrain you, or offer any special severance beyond the statutory minimum. A union collective agreement changes this by negotiating protections specific to technological change.

While technology changes, a union contract can include "Successorship" and "Technological Change" clauses. These require the company to provide advance notice of automation and offer retraining for current staff to operate the new systems.

There is no minimum size requirements to form a union. Teamster 987 can represent workers in small shops, large warehouses, and multi-shift manufacturing facilities. What matters most is that workers share common working conditions and a desire to organize.

Teamsters 987 represents all non-management employees, including full-time, part-time, and shift-based workers within a facility. This ensures that everyone doing the work has a collective voice, no matter their role or schedule.

Yes. Unions negotiate enforceable health and safety standards, including access to proper PPE, training, and safety equipment. If safety rules are not followed, your union can step in to address the issue and hold the employer accountable.

Yes. Union contracts commonly include language around shift scheduling, overtime distribution, staffing levels, and rest periods. This gives workers a formal voice in decisions that directly affect fatigue, work-life balance, and safety.