CWA union backs anti-merger bill that could end "anticompetitive" deals
The Communication Workers of America (CWA) union has backed a new Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act that would allow the Justice Department (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to automatically block mergers worth more than $5 billion without needing to go to court.
As noted by Politico, the bill would specifically require the DOJ and FTC to rework their merger processes to make it more difficult for companies to challenge their decisions, while also granting both agencies the ability to reverse mergers if they "materially harm" workers, consumers, and small business, or eventually result in a more than 50 percent market share.
The CWA, which is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, said the legislation will help "put an end to anticompetitive mergers that destroy jobs, put downward pressure on workers' wages, and leave the communities where we live and work to pick up the pieces."
The union has also suggested the bill -- backed by senior Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- would encourage regulators like the FTC to more closely scrutinize deals such as Microsoft's staggering $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, which it believes could harm workers' rights.
"Activision Blizzard employees are facing rampant surveillance, intimidation, and union-busting tactics in response to their efforts to change a culture of worker abuse and discrimination," said the CWA in a statement.
"Sen. Warren’s bill would ensure the merger’s impact on these workers is prioritized by federal regulators and add a necessary check on corporate mergers by directing agencies to review and reject potential deals that would harm workers’
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