Mama Earth Organics Accused of Union-Busting in Warehouse Move
Grocery delivery workers say employer used a relocation loophole to fire unionized staff without severance justification.
On a March afternoon at Mama Earth Organics, 101 employees got the news: they were terminated, effective May 12. The organic food delivery company, owned by Fresh City Farms, was closing its East York warehouse and relocating to Mississauga—a move that, on its face, seemed like business necessity until workers realized what was happening.
Because the union's collective agreement was limited to Toronto's municipal boundary, the company wasn't contractually obligated to carry it over to Mississauga. The jobs were posted anew, and terminated workers were told they could reapply. It's a legal loophole, but workers and their union see it as union-busting.
"You're terminated and then you're told, 'Wow guys, we have a great deal for you. You can apply for the new place,'" said Matt Davis, a delivery driver for just under four years. "It's a shameful way to spin this."
Mama Earth CEO Ran Goel defended the move as financially necessary—rising lease costs, over $1 million in required HVAC and refrigeration upgrades, and no other suitable Toronto sites. Forcing workers to commute 40 kilometres and transit two-plus hours would be unfair, he argued. Employees who reapply at Mississauga would still receive severance and could be rehired.
But UFCW Canada Local 1006A president Wayne Hanley called for the company to reverse course and allow workers to transfer while keeping their union protections. A labour lawyer told CBC Toronto that if the union can prove anti-union motivation behind the relocation—not genuine business need—it could amount to an unfair labour practice before the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
For workers like Davis, the sting cuts deeper than logistics. "This was our company," he said. "We want them to do well. It's just sad that they don't want us part of that."