FedEx Workers in Fort McMurray Win Their Union, Join Teamsters

Workers join Teamsters Local Union 362 after company tried to strip immigrant workers of right to join a union alongside Canadians

CALGARY, Alberta, May 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Approximately 50 workers at FedEx Express in Fort McMurray have won their union, joining Teamsters Local Union 362 after a lengthy legal battle.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board issued its certification order yesterday, on International Workers’ Day. The Teamsters will now move quickly to begin negotiating a first collective agreement.

In what the union calls a blatantly racist and morally indefensible argument, FedEx had attempted to argue that “temporary workers,” like international students and temporary foreign workers, were not entitled to join a union alongside Canadians. Roughly 30 workers at the Fort McMurray facility hold temporary status. The certified unit includes them.

“FedEx tried to divide these workers along the lines of where they were born. Today, they stand together as Teamsters, and they will sit together at the bargaining table,” said François Laporte, President of Teamsters Canada. “This is a May Day victory in every sense of the word. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the organizing drive.”

“FedEx doesn’t pay these workers what they’re worth. FedEx doesn’t give them what every other courier in this town gets. And then FedEx had the nerve to argue over half of them shouldn’t be allowed in a union. Well, now they’re in a union, and we’re coming for the rest of it,” added Bernie Haggarty, Secretary-Treasurer, Teamsters Local Union 362.

Temporary workers often face greater vulnerability in the workplace, due to language barriers or limited awareness of labour rights. Some may hold closed permits tied to a single employer, meaning their right to stay in Canada depends on keeping their job. That precarity increases the risk of abuse and the need for union representation.

This is the first FedEx Express location to successfully unionize in Canada.

Couriers at FedEx Express earn approximately $3 less per hour than their Teamster-unionized counterparts at UPS and Purolator. They are also required to contribute 3% of their wages to their pensions, unlike workers at UPS and Purolator whose pensions are fully employer-funded.

In Fort McMurray, FedEx workers do not have a living out allowance, an allowance commonly given to workers in the area meant to offset the high cost of living. A full-time unionized Purolator employee in Fort McMurray can receive up to $1,500 per month.

Teamsters Canada represents close to 130,000 workers in all industries from coast to coast to coast.

Media requests:

Christopher Monette
Director of Public Affairs
Teamsters Canada
Cell: 514-226-6002 
cmonette@teamsters.ca

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