Employees at a Winnipeg Staples Business Depot will be represented by a local union, making it the first store in the North American chain to be unionized, union representatives say.

Nearly 40 employees joined UFCW Local 832, after 65 per cent of staff signed up to join the union in November.

Members held their first proposal meeting on what they would like to see in the new agreement and discussed dates they would start bargaining with the office supply store.

"When a company doesn't respect their workforce, the workers have an option, said Jeff Traeger, UFCW Local 832 president, in a press release. "In this case they stood up for themselves and joined a union."

UFCW Local 832 is the largest private sector union in the province.