Greetings TCGunion from the Friends of Trevor United union!
We have heard that the past several weeks have been exceptionally hard on you all. Harassment, intimidation, misinformation, and more, each manifesting in numerous malicious forms. All the worst that TCGplayer and Littler Mendelson could throw at you, and yet here you are. Less than a week stands between you and the election which will change your workplace
for years to come! You have a strong base of internal and ardent support from your friends and associates within Friends of Trevor United, CWA, and beyond. We want to express our appreciation to you for the stand you’ve taken. Together we fight for our rights in the workplace, and together we will succeed.
We’ve learned that TCGplayer has proudly professed its support for the LGBTQ+ community by donating $10,000 to The Trevor Project, and they’re quick to remind their employees of TCGplayer’s generosity and commitment to our community. Yet, in the same breath they threaten and harass their own LGBTQ+ employees. Friends of Trevor United cannot abide by this hypocrisy. If TCGplayer management truly believed in The Trevor Project’s mission, they would support their LGBTQ+ employees and allies, and respect their decision to form a union instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to inflict long-lasting harm on their employees. The trauma TCGplayer has chosen to inflict upon the very community that makes them money, who determine its culture, and without whom there would be no TCGplayer, is unforgivable. You cannot earn forgiveness by donating to a crisis hotline while potentially driving your employees to use it to cope with your actions. To support our community first do no harm, don’t just spend pennies on bandages for wounds you’ve caused. Friends of Trevor United firmly believes the only way to begin mending this rift would be to immediately recognize the TCGunion, and to work with their employees to create an organization where people feel safe, supported, and heard. No amount of money donated to The Trevor Project or rainbow-washing can absolve the harms caused by choosing violence in the face of workers’ requests for dignity.
TCGplayer, and by extension eBay, have chosen to tarnish their reputation by threatening workers’ jobs if they publicly support the union, by intimidating employees by walking through the warehouses and taking note of anyone wearing union apparel, and by contracting one of the nation’s most notorious union-busting firms. Despite all of that, TCGunion gives us hope for TCGplayer’s future. The members of TCGunion embody the values we share at Friends of Trevor United, and have been one of the guiding stars for our own organizing. We’ve been inspired by your resilience in the face of actions taken by one of the most malicious union-busting firms on the planet. We’ve been inspired by the compassion for your colleagues which is self-evident from the mission described in your vision statement. We’ve been inspired by your tenacity; you adapted from lessons learned in 2020 and continue to push forward to fight for what you know is right. However, we aren’t the only ones following in your footsteps. Your work resonates throughout the country, and as you win a union for yourselves, you inspire workers across the country to band together and fight for their rights! We can’t imagine a better partner to join CWA with!
We’re excited to share our support as you enter into the final sprint towards your election! Whether you need a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, or a voice to echo your cries; this week is the culmination of years of your hard work and we at Friends of Trevor United stand in solidarity to support you.
We applaud your continued spirit, tenacity, and grit in the face of a brutal union-busting campaign; but know that you do not stand alone.
Solidarity!
Friends of Trevor United
