Unionized employees of trading card marketplace and eBay subsidiary TCGplayer filed two Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges against the company today for anti-union behavior.
The TCG Union-CWA, formed earlier this year, held a press conference in Syracuse earlier today outlining their frustrations with the company and delivering a petition to eBay and TCGplayer to “end delay tactics and bargain in good faith.”
“My colleagues and I haven’t had a cost-of-living raise in three years. We are losing sick time and face constant changes at work that impact our ability to be successful. We are tired of being blamed for management’s poor decision making,” said Briana Thomas, an eBay employee and union member. “A strong union contract is the only way we’ll be able to hold management accountable to their own supposed values and ensure my colleagues and I earn the fair wages and benefits we deserve.”
The first ULP charge simply alleges that eBay refused to recognize and bargain with the Union, while the second details more specific cases of anti-union practices. These specific activities include refusing to provide requested information relevant to collective bargaining, denying employees their Weingarten Rights, or the right for employees to request representation from their union during investigatory interviews, and refusing to bargain with employees over decisions such as the downsizing of their comics department and changes to sick and personal leave benefits. The charge also accuses the company of retaliating against the workers for unionizing.
“Additionally, in retaliation for the Union victory on March 10, 2013, Employer representatives have announced (including on or around March 14, 2023) that they will be enforcing Employer policies ‘to the letter’ as a result of unionization,” the charge reads.
These charges mark the latest in what has been a busy year for organized labor, including in the games and tech industries. TCGplayer’s union is one of numerous young unions formed this year in the industries, with employees at Zenimax and Sega of America recently making waves for establishing the largest unions yet in gaming. These charges being filed represent an early conflict in the burgeoning movement of organized labor in games.