TORONTO – Foodora couriers and drivers in Toronto and Mississauga voted in favour of unionization with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, becoming the first app-based workforce in Canada to do so.
“The truth is free – we are a union and we deserve respect and rights from our employer,” says Iván Ostos, a courier who has worked on the unionization campaign from the very beginning. “Many doubted that workers in this era wanted or needed a union. Through conversations, companionship, and the dedication of hard working foodsters we came together to achieve something many said was impossible. I am so thankful for all the couriers that dedicated themselves to this campaign”
While Foodora announced in April the shutdown of its Canadian operations, leaving thousands of gig workers without employment during a global pandemic, the results of this vote remain historic. Gig workers have made it clear that the status quo doesn’t work and change is coming to the gig economy.