eBay is slashing the jobs of 220 workers at TCGplayer’s card authentication center in Syracuse, New York, as reported earlier by local news outlet LocalSyr. eBay will move the online trading card marketplace’s operations to a warehouse in Kentucky — a decision TCGplayer’s union claims is eBay’s attempt to “evade its bargaining obligations.”
TCGplayer and eBay also canceled their meeting to finalize the union’s first contract just days before eBay revealed that it’s closing the Syracuse location.
The CWA has since filed another unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing eBay of “terminating the employment” of workers to avoid bargaining. On Monday, the CWA claimed that eBay hired security guards at TCGplayer’s Syracuse authentication center that have “created an oppressive atmosphere by physically and verbally harassing employees.”
“TCGplayer is closing its Syracuse Authentication Center to consolidate operations within an eBay logistics center in Kentucky,” eBay spokesperson Maddy Martinez said in a statement to The Verge. “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.”
“Deploying security guards to stalk us immediately after letting us know that we would all be losing our jobs is psychological warfare,” Zach Freeman, an eBay worker and TCGunion-CWA Local 1123 member said in a press release. “By unleashing this brutal surveillance and intimidation campaign, TCGplayer and eBay are doing everything in their power to punish us for exercising our federally-protected rights to organize.”
Update, May 27th: Added a statement from eBay.
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