eBay TCGPlayer Union Rallies Against Pregnancy Discrimination, Files NLRB Claim For Refusal To Bargain

Unionized workers at eBay subsidiary TCGPlayer held a rally this week protesting against pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, calling out management for refusing to bargain over gender equity, fair accomodations and paid time off proposals, and filing a new complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Refusal To Bargain/Bad Faith Bargaining as well as Unfair Labor Practices related to treatment of pregnant workers.

The rally was held in support of TCGplayer receiving generalist, Megan Wheeler, who the union says has been penalized by management for issues related to her pregnancy. Despite supplying a note from her doctor, Wheeler's requests for accommodations were denied and she instead received warnings for tardiness and was placed on final notice after missing work to seek emergency medical attention for symptoms of a miscarriage.

“I felt like I was alone with this until I shared my story with members of the union, and it’s really inspiring that workers can have each other’s back when management fails us,” Wheeler said in a statement.

This new NLRB complaint comes in addition to charges filed in May alleging eBay TCGPlayer has escalated union-busting activities targeting women, disabled and pro-union workers with illegal surveillance and changes to family leave benefits.

eBay TCGPlayer Union Files Unfair Labor Practice Charge Over Surveillance & Benefits Changes

TCGUnion-CWA files new Unfair Labor Practice charge saying eBay TCGPlayer has undertaken illegal surveillance & changes to family leave benefits in union-busting efforts.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

TCGUnion-CWA had been hopeful that negotiations would begin to move forward more productively after eBay reinstated previously removed commitment to bargain in good faith in company's Human Rights Policy and agreed to a settlement that included compensation for previously fired pro-union workers and other concessions in return for dropping several prior NLRB complaints in March.

But new Head Of Labor Relations, Kristi Selby, appears to be putting the union-avoidance and delaying tactics she ostensibly learned in her decade plus stint at Nestle to good use by continuing to draw out the bargaining process with TCGUnion-CWA.

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Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

The company has also engaged infamous anti-union law firm Littler Mendelson to represent their interests since labor trouble began brewing shortly after eBay acquired TCGPlayer in October 2022.

The ~$295 Million deal initially left founding CEO Chedy Hampson and other key management in place, despite a history of strained labor relations which led to a previous unsuccessful union drive in March 2020 that received national media attention and public support from Senator Bernie Sanders.

Those previous unionization efforts and ongoing labor issues raised questions about due diligence and disclosure in the TCGPlayer acquisition and what the implications could be for eBay's other labor centric operations, leading both Hampson and eBay Chief Accounting Officer Brian Doerger to step down from their positions on March 20th, 2023.

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Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Continued violations of labor laws and engaging in anti-competitive business practices could lead to increased regulatory scrutiny and legal action which the company can ill afford on top of a historic $59 Million settlement with the DEA, the EPA lawsuit, and a deferred prosecution agreement after being criminally charged in connection to the 2019 cyberstalking of journalists Ina and David Steiner of EcommerceBytes with $3 Million fine and enhanced compliance monitoring that includes a specific focus on Mergers and Acquisitions.

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Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

Amanda Lewis, Co-Founder of the Responsible Online Commerce Coalition, has filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission calling for an investigation into eBay's acquisition of collectible trading card marketplace TCGplayer for alleged violations of the FTC Act and federal antitrust law.

FTC Urged To Investigate eBay TCGPlayer Deceptive & Anti-Competitive Conduct In ROCC Petition

Responsible Online Commerce Coalition petitions FTC to investigate eBay TCGplayer acquisition, alleging deceptive practices & antitrust violations.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

The petition on behalf of ROCC member DJ Johnson and other 3rd party sellers cites “serious concerns about eBay/TCGplayer’s apparently deceptive and anticompetitive conduct” including illegal monopoly maintenance, anticompetitive rollups, and overcharging sellers and consumers through unfair and deceptive “junk fees.”

ROCC also called out eBay for directly selling on their own platform under the TCGPlayer name with no disclosure to consumers or the third party sellers the company is now competing directly against - a conflict of interest that could seriously jeopardize one of eBay's main defenses in ongoing EPA lawsuit that seeks to hold the company accountable for prohibited and illegal items sold on the site.

But recent reporting by Luke Rosiak at the Daily Wire raises some troubling questions about whether Lina Khan and others occupying top spots at the FTC can remain objective in this case, due to their strong ties to eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.

Omidyar stepped down from active membership on eBay's Board of Directors in September 2020 after the cyberstalking scandal became public, but he is still a major shareholder and retains the honorary title of Director Emeritus.

That honorary title may not come with voting rights, but that doesn't necessarily mean Omidyar no longer has any influence at the company.

Notably, Shripriya Mahesh was appointed to eBay's BOD in 2023 after previously rising to VP Product Management and Product Strategy in 2006, then joining Omidyar's First Look Media as Head Of Product in 2013 and later becoming Partner Emerging Tech at Pierre's "social change venture", Omidyar Network.

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Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

While serving on the eBay Board of Directors, Mahesh has also actively maintained her position as Founding Partner of Spero Ventures - a for-profit venture fund spunout from Omidyar Network in 2018 with Pierre Omidyar as its sole limited partner at the time.

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Shripriya Mahesh was diagnosed with cancer right as she was pitching Omidyar Network on spinning out its for-profit startup investments into a new fund. Months later, she’s cancer free and the head of a new $100 million firm backed by Omidyar called Spero Ventures.

ForbesAlex Konrad

Omidyar Network has also been strategically funding freelance journalists through their their Reporters in Residence program, with a specific focus on big-picture economic issues and "Reimagining Capitalism" including "The Future of Workers and Work."

Over the last few years, this Reporters in Residence program has awarded several grants to labor journalists with a specific focus on Worker Power like Kim Kelly, Hamilton Nolan, s.e. smith, and Brian Merchant - all of whom appear to have been curiously quiet about the first union in eBay's ~30 year history and the year long battle TCGUnion-CWA has fought trying to bargain their first contract.

Unfortunately, the scant mainstream media coverage this historic organizing effort has received compared to similar campaigns at Amazon likely won't come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to eBay leadership's hostile attitudes toward free speech and independent journalism revealed in the cyberstalking case or more current initiatives aimed at leveraging media connections to manipulate and influence public perception and discussion about the company.

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Value Added ResourceLiz Morton

These ongoing labor, compliance and potential antitrust issues at eBay/TCGPlayer highlight the need for a truly independent and robust press to hold both corporations and government agencies accountable - especially when there are significant conflicts of interest and apparent regulatory capture in play.