Nine Years Too Late, Wal-Mart’s First Unionized Employees Win At The Highest Court

The saga of North America's first unionized Wal-Mart has taken a significant turn in favour of its former employees, nine years after they lost their jobs when the store in Jonquière, Quebec was permanently shut.  Much ink has been spilled telling the story of the Jonquière store, its successful unionization in 2004, and its closure in 2005, which was announced on the very day that an arbitrator had been appointed in relation to the what was to have been the store's first collective agreement.  Now, the Supreme Court of Canada in United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 503 v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., 2014 SCC 45  has, for a second time, considered the rights of the store's employees in the context of that store closure.  This time, however, the Court issued a significant victory in favour of the employees which may have implications across the country.