Protecting the Rights of Migrant Farmworkers in Quebec:To what Extent can Unionization Overcome the Effects of Precarious Immigration Status?


Jill Hanley, Leah Paul, Jishian Ravinthiran, Loïc Malhaire, & Nathaniel Mosseau (2020)

Journal of Rural and Community Development

15(2)

Very little literature in Canada offers in-depth examination of efforts to unionize migrant farmworkers. Drawing on an empirical case study of farmworker unionization efforts in Quebec, this article makes the argument
that, if the monumental efforts of the UFCW are unable to overcome the entrenched anti-union positions of consulates and employers, it is principally
due to farmworkers’ precarious immigration status. We argue that both the
willingness of the Quebec state to create policy excluding farmworkers from
coll ective bargaining rights and farmworkers’ own doubtful evaluation of the
relative costs and benefits of attempting to unionize are innately tied to an
immigration system that places migrant farmworkers in a situation of
“conditionality of presence and access” (Goldring & Landolt, 2013, p. 3
). We begin this article with an overview of the precarious and dangerous work

conditions that would lead advocates to favour unionization, before turning

to a literature review on the perspectives of different actors on farmworker
unionization across Canada. Within Quebec (and in other provinces), the
UFCW made exceptional efforts to organize this workforce, and here we
present their struggle to achieve the right to unionize within the province.
Ultimately, these unionization efforts failed, but what are their future
prospects in Quebec? How do different Quebec actors — employers, consulates, advocates, and workers themselves — view unionization? We
present original data from interviews before turning to a final discussion
about the relative contributions and shortcomings of the potential unionization of migrant workers. While unionization can offer significant protections, we must also anticipate and address its shortcomings given the
precarious immigration status of so many agricultural workers and invest in
alternative forms of collective action.

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