As we covered previously in this post, workers at eBay’s trading card game marketplace (TCGplayer) aimed to form a union with the National Labor Relations Board at the beginning of the year.

Workers were seeking:

• A stop to pay caps.
• pay increases to account for the cost of living increasing.
• A comprehensive leave and absence policy that is fair and doesn’t punish employees.
• Career advancement opportunity.
• Equal and fair hiring policies.
• Training resources.
• Well-defined job roles and expectations.
• The ability to sit with management and higher-ups to discuss issues.

The workers have voted in favor of joining a union! The 272 workers in the company’s authentication center located in Syracuse, New York are the first group to form a union at eBay in the states. The vote was 136-87.

However, this has been met with unfavorable responses. CWA Local 1123 claimed that TCGplayer fired one worker, Iris St. Lucy from her job in a blatant form of retaliation for union activities and union victory. The union filed against TCGplayer for an unfair labor charge.

Iris St. Lucy was an overnight team and union organizer. She had made an attempt to invoke her Weingarten rights, which is the right for union representation to be present.

Seems pretty sketchy to me. Union busting and retaliation is unethical and unacceptable.

If you want to take support a step further, vocalize that you will not buy from TCGplayer while they are committed to such actions and behaviors. Some individuals have moved to other companies and Facebook groups.

Creepingforscalemodels and its affiliates stand in full solidarity with the unionized TCGplayer workers.

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Have a happy Friday, everyone!

-J