Workers at an eBay-Owned Company Are Trying to Organize a Union. eBay Is Trying to Bust It.
Workers with TCGPlayer, a trading card game marketplace owned by eBay, filed for a union election in late January. Employees have accused TCGPlayer of illegal union busting since, including unlawful surveillance and captive audience meetings.
The headquarters of internet auction company eBay in the Silicon Valley, San Jose, California. (Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images)
On Wednesday, January 25, workers at TCGPlayer, an online marketplace for trading card games acquired by eBay last November, announced that they had filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. An initial unionization push came in late 2019 or early 2020, according to workers, but was derailed by the COVID pandemic; the most recent organizing drive began in summer 2022. The union is affiliating with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Since announcing plans for a union election, CWA has filed two unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against TCGPlayer. The first, filed on January 27, accuses the company of engaging in unlawful surveillance; the second, filed February 6, charges that TCGPlayer has illegally forced employees to attend mandatory anti-union meetings. Jacobin’s Sara Wexler spoke with TCGPlayer workers about their unionization efforts and the company’s attempts at union busting.
Sara Wexler
What sparked the campaign to unionize? Were there certain workplace conditions or incidents?
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