In November, eBay addressed shareholder concerns about its decision to remove language from its Human Rights policy dealing with workers’ right to unionize. Now eBay is facing more serious claims about its handling of workers who voted to unionize at TCGPlayer, an online trading card marketplace that it acquired in 2022 for nearly $300 million.
The Verge reported that eBay was laying off over 200 workers at TCGplayer’s card authentication center in Syracuse, New York and moving the operations to a warehouse in Kentucky “a decision TCGplayer’s union claims is eBay’s attempt to “evade its bargaining obligations.””
A union representing TCGPlayer employees accused eBay of “corporate terrorism” by intimidating its members. As spelled out in the following tweet by TCGunion-CWA, workers claimed “dozens of unidentified guards – without nametags and badges – are following us into bathrooms and patrolling the halls. One guard told us that they get paid to beat on people. An eBay exec physically grabbed and harassed a member who was just cleaning out their locker.”
On May 20th, eBay had published its latest Impact Report that “highlights our progress and commitment to making a difference,” which included the following language:
“We respect the rights of our employees to choose to support, or not support, representation by a labor union, works council, or other employee organization. We are committed to bargaining in good faith with any such representative body established under applicable laws.”
Three days later, eBay announced it was relocating the only unionized part of its business from Syracuse, New York to Kentucky.
The union said it filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that eBay’s “sudden closure of the authentication center was a calculated move to bust the union and evade contract negotiations with the union after more than 600 days of bargaining.”
Given the serious nature of employees’ allegations, it’s unclear if eBay’s mandated independent compliance monitor will investigate the charges.
The Central New York Business Journal had additional color, quoting a spokesperson for eBay about its decision to layoff workers and close the facility:
“We are constantly evaluating our authentication capabilities and logistics footprint to ensure we are offering best-in-class service to our customers. As a result, TCGplayer is closing its Syracuse Authentication Center to consolidate operations within an eBay logistics center in Kentucky. This was a difficult decision. We recognize the near-term impact it will have on our employees, their families and the Syracuse community, and we are dedicated to taking care of our people during this transition.”
The outlet also quoted from a statement provided by Syracuse City Auditor Alexander Marion, who called the move “an offensive decision that amounts to union busting,” and called on New York State to review its “generous public benefit package” provided to TCGPlayer in return for job creation to see if a clawback of funds was warranted.