WGA, Other Unions Urge FTC to Contest Amazon-MGM’s Done Deal; Regulator Says It Can Challenge Mergers “Any Time”

deadline.com:

The Writers Guild of America West and a coalition of unions launched another salvo against Amazon-MGM, urging antitrust watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission, to contest the deal even though it officially closed last week.Their letter to the FTC today focused in part on Amazon’s acquiring MGM-owned Epix, taking out a producer and nascent streaming service, and it hit on previous arguments that the Commission must prevent Amazon from “consolidating power across the entertainment industry, reducing consumer choice and harming the creative workforce.”“We strongly believe that this is an instance where the FTC must challenge a deal post-merger, because of the outsized role Amazon plays in our economy overall, and how the merger would enhance Amazon’s ability to leverage its power against workers in the entertainment industry and across different platforms,” it said.The other labor unions, under the banner of the Strategic Organizing Center, include Service Employees International; International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Communications Workers of America; and United Farmworkers of America — representing over four million workers.The FTC doesn’t formally ‘approve’ deals.

Rather, a time-clock for review starts when one is announced and can run out with the FTC either taking no action, or suing to block it – which requires a majority vote of commissioners.

There are only four in place currently, reportedly split 2-2 along party lines on Amazon-MGM. The fifth commissioner awaits Senate approval.FTC Chair Lina Khan, an aggressive antitrust enforcer, has written papers about risks posted by Amazon’s dominance and was asked by the company to recuse herself from a review but declined.The merger closed March 17 — last Thursday.