Mushroom workers unionize

The mushroom sector represents the largest employer of farm workers sourced through the federal Temporary Foreign Workers Program, and now 150 of those workers at Highline Mushrooms in Abbotsford have unionized.

The vote this week saw the workers join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1518, in what the union says is a first for migrant workers in BC.

The union says health and safety issues were key concerns of workers. It alleged that temporary foreign workers spend “long, grueling hours, being paid by the piece or making barely over minimum wage,” but successive piece rate studies for the province have found data for the sector difficult to obtain.

“We did not receive any direct input from mushroom growers or pickers,” a 2019 study by agricultural economist Karen Taylor noted. “Problems arise in figuring out work hours, which are often not recorded. This omission of reporting hours may factor into potential safety malpractices in the industry because it is not known when the worker is on site in the barns, which can be a significant safety concern.”

The study indicated that 27% of workers in the Lower Mainland are temporary foreign workers, primarily from South Asia and Vietnam.

The union is optimistic that collective bargaining will make positive changes.

“We look forward to sitting down with the employer as soon as possible to negotiate a fair collective agreement,” says Local 1518 president Patrick Johnson.

BC produces approximately 35% of Canada’s mushrooms, with South Mill Champs being the Lower Mainland’s other major grower.