Amazon’s campaign to prevent a first collective agreement at its only unionized Canadian warehouse just suffered another legal defeat.

On August 4, the British Columbia Labour Relations Board (BCLRB) ordered that bargaining between Amazon Canada and Unifor Local 114 must be resolved through binding first-contract arbitration, accepting a mediator’s conclusion that the company, not the union, was responsible for the breakdown in negotiations. The Board also stripped Amazon of its right to lock out workers, rejecting the company’s argument that forcing arbitration would violate its Charter rights.