1,200 Winnipeg-based Canada Goose workers vote to unionize

Nearly nine in 10 Canada Goose employees who work at the company's Winnipeg production facility have voted to unionize.

Eighty-six per cent of the roughly 1,200 garment workers voted in favour of joining the Workers United Canada Council, the union said Wednesday.

"This marks the largest private sector victory for manufacturing workers in over 30 years and is a culmination of a three-year effort by the workers, most of whom are immigrant women sewers," a WUCC news release says.

Canada Goose is known for its luxury winter jackets and has operated in Winnipeg for a decade.

Bain Capital acquired a majority stake in the company in 2013 and opened a second Winnipeg factory in 2015. The company has two facilities in Toronto that have been unionized for almost three decades, said Rabia Syed, a local organizer with WUCC.

Wages and fair representation were all factors in the latest vote, Syed said. 

"Workers are coming together in solidarity because they had enough," Syed said.

Workers alleged there were problematic terminations and discipline, and took issue with being paid based on how many pieces they produce, or a piece-rate system, that some felt was unfair.

Sewing machine operator Alelie Sanvictories has worked for Canada Goose in Winnipeg for five years and was involved in bringing the decision to a vote.

Sanvictories said some workers were on board early while others took longer to come around because of fears unionization could result in them losing their jobs.

"They know now with the union we have a real voice, we have somebody to fight for our rights."

International WUCC organizing director Richard Minter congratulated employees and the company.

"Canada Goose management allowed the workers the right to exercise their democratic vote," Minter said in a statement.

"This is a wonderful moment for our workers," Sanvictores said in the WUCC statement. "We work so hard to make this company a success. Now we feel we have a real voice in the company to share in that success."

A Canada Goose spokesperson said the goal of the company has always been to support staff and "respect their right to determining their own representation."

"We welcome Workers United as the union representative for our employees across our manufacturing facilities in Winnipeg and look forward to working alongside them as we have in Scarborough and Toronto for decades," the spokesperson said in a statement Thursday.

Workers United represents over 86,000 apparel, laundry, hospitality, food service, warehouse distribution, non-profit and manufacturing industry workers across the U.S. and Canada, including 10,000 in Canada.