When Eric Tillotson, who helps sort and ship cards for games like Magic: The Gathering at TCGPlayer, looks at his budget, he does so with dismay. He knows the money he earns at his job at the largest trading card game retailer in the world doesn’t go far enough.

“I live a pretty modest life, all things considered,” said Tillotson, a receiving generalist at the eBay-owned company. “With student loans, which are largely the biggest cloud that looms over me, I’ve had to reach out to my folks for help with that. It has made me feel like I am never going to be able to be truly financially independent.”

Tillotson described the last three and a half years working at the TCGPlayer facility in Syracuse, New York, as bittersweet. He loves his coworkers and the bonds he has forged with staff over the years, which pushed him and other workers to form the first union in the history of eBay in 2023.

But the other side of those three years is grim. Tillotson said he has had to use payday advance services to make ends meet from one paycheck to another. His private student loans take $400 from his monthly earnings. Tillotson makes about $18.50 an hour before taxes, so that student loans payment is more than half of a week’s worth of work.

“I have felt like I’ve just been battening down the hatches and trying to ensure that all my bills get paid on time,” Tillotson said. “And still having a great deal of trouble with that.”

Tillotson’s is but one story of the dozens of workers employed at TCGPlayer. The union, supported by the broader Communications Workers of America (CWA), compiled a report in October that found some grisly facts: For one, about 87% of the workers at the Syracuse Authentication Center where Tillotson works earn less than a living wage for the area. 

TCGPlayer representatives did not respond to a request to comment on the survey findings by the time of publication.

Workers, union officials, and elected leaders say the economic instability brought on by TCGPlayer’s low wages is a primary reason why workers and the company need to come together on a first contract that establishes a living wage. Tillotson said the only way to receive a pay bump is through a performance-based incentive, which is how his wage went from $17.80 to $18.50.

Both sides have been bargaining since eBay finally recognized the union in August 2023. All throughout, however, workers have accused the company of stalling bargaining during key moments and negotiating in bad faith. Prism has documented workers’ struggles since the union was recognized by eBay. 

Since then, a judge ruled in favor of the union in an unfair labor practice investigation last December, finding the company breached labor law by not recognizing the union in March 2023 after its initial election. National Labor Relations Board regulators also found that the company denied union representation during disciplinary investigations, refused to provide information the union is entitled to, made changes to benefits and working conditions without engaging in bargaining, and strictly enforced work rules in retaliation for workers’ decision to unionize.

“TCGplayer should stop stalling, stay at the table, and bargain in good faith with CWA to forge a fair contract ASAP,” Democratic Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York, said in a press release. “I believe businesses and our economy are most efficient and equitable when labor and management work collaboratively to craft fair and lasting contracts.”

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator indicates that a single adult without children would have to earn $20.99 an hour to support themselves in Syracuse. The calculations include food, medical expenses, transportation, housing, and taxes. 

The CWA report clocked the median wage at TCGPlayer at $18.25, slightly below what employees like Tillotson are making. Economic hardship, the union wrote in its report, has forced 66% of workers to rely on family, friends, and public assistance to get by.

“Tapped Out” union

The CWA report, titled “Tapped Out,” also illuminates the economic anxiety workers like Tillotson feel month to month. The report shows that a majority of workers feel financially insecure: 78% of workers feel they won’t be able to pay their bills on time. Another 13% said they only feel that financial squeeze sometimes.

“To be blunt, the company has not been doing what it needs to be doing to support its employees and to support the people that make its money,” Tillotson said. “It’s been really terrifying just seeing so many people have to leave the company because they’re unable to afford the wages that they’re given.”

This economic anxiety extends to basic needs such as medical care and food. 57% of respondents said they delayed necessary medical care due to financial stress.

Megan Wheeler, a receiving generalist at TCGPlayer, said in the report that her family doesn’t have enough money to rent a bigger home to accommodate her newborn child. Workers said half of the respondents with children also struggled to afford childcare. 

“A pay raise would make all of the difference to actually being able to set up a home,” Wheeler wrote. 

Wheeler was involved in a particularly dire incident with the company earlier this summer when the union and Wheeler accused TCGPlayer of disciplining her for being tardy and missing work during a miscarriage scare. Wheeler said at the time she could have lost her job after the company denied her requests for accommodations due to her pregnancy. 

Fifty-six percent of the total sample also noted that buying groceries was an economic hardship due to low pay. 

About 10% of respondents said they rely on programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Workers like Tillotson find themselves in a precarious middle ground. They make enough money to clear federal income thresholds of access to programs such as SNAP and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. But that is still not enough money to survive.

“I have applied for food stamps [SNAP] in the past, and was rejected because of that,” Tillotson said. “[SNAP] would have significantly improved my situation and maybe have given me the means to at least pay up on a lot of my financial responsibilities.”

After the report was released, workers rallied outside the TCGPlayer facility in Syracuse demanding the company come to the table and finally agree on a contract. Tillotson said that both sides have met about twice a month and that he is optimistic the company will be more receptive to workers’ demands going forward.

“The prior two sessions that we had that followed the rally that we debuted this making-ends-meet survey, we actually had some pretty productive bargaining sessions where we got some solid tentative agreements on some pretty important articles of our contract,” Tillotson said.

Tillotson said the company will not bargain on economic articles until the very end of the process. 

Despite the progress made, the incoming Donald Trump presidency has Tillotson on edge. Labor experts have said in the wake of Trump’s victory that the president-elect would likely be indifferent toward labor, allowing enemies of organized labor in his orbit to roll back worker protections won during the Joe Biden administration.

“I do worry that the company might slide back into trying to stall and not really bargain in good faith,” Tillotson said. “I am just pretty much taking life moment to moment, not even day to day. Sometimes, meal to meal. It’s not how I’d like to be living, and I don’t think it’s how anyone should be living in this country.”