Tesla Faces Allegations of Retaliation Against Union Organizers
Tesla Faces Allegations of Union-Busting After Firing Buffalo Plant Employees
On February 17, 2023, Tesla fired 18 employees, including key leaders of a unionization campaign, just a day after they announced plans to organize a Tesla plant in Buffalo, New York, according to workers who filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This move, which the Workers United union has called “unlawful,” follows a pattern of hardball tactics employed by Tesla against union organizers.
The firing of the employees at the Buffalo plant has put the spotlight back on the longstanding tension between Tesla and labor unions. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has been vocal about his opposition to unions, and the company has been accused of illegally firing a worker involved in organizing at its car factory in Fremont, California, as well as threatening workers with the loss of stock options if they unionized.
The Workers United union branch in Rochester filed a “charge against employer” with the NLRB on Wednesday, seeking an injunction to block the firings, which it claims were done in retaliation for union activity and to discourage further union activity at the company. In response to the allegations, Tesla has said that the layoffs were part of a routine performance review cycle and that it is “false” that it fired employees in response to a new union campaign. However, the workers who were laid off are arguing that the timing of the layoffs is no coincidence.
“I strongly feel this is in retaliation to the committee announcement and it’s shameful,” said Arian Berek, a member of the Buffalo organizing committee who was one of the employees fired. She was let go after returning to work following a bout with Covid-19 and bereavement leave. Berek’s claims are supported by the Workers United union, which has accused Tesla of terminating these individuals in retaliation for union activity and to discourage union activity.
The Buffalo factory, also known as Gigafactory 2, makes solar panels and components for charging equipment, and has about 800 workers who help develop driver-assistance software. The workers who were fired were part of Tesla’s Autopilot labeling team, which accounts for around four percent of the factory’s workforce.
In its statement, Tesla claimed that it identified the impacted employees ten days before the unionization plans were announced, and that it only learned “in hindsight” that one of the 27 employees identified was part of the union. Tesla also emphasized that it conducts performance review cycles every six months and that employees who fail to meet performance expectations are let go. The company denied allegations that employees are pressured to delay bathroom breaks, as previously reported by Bloomberg.
Tesla Workers United, the group of workers attempting to unionize in Buffalo, has not responded to our requests for comment on this issue. The company is widely reported to have disbanded its press relations team in 2020, making it difficult to get an official statement from Tesla on this matter.
This latest controversy comes as Tesla faces mounting pressure from regulators and critics over issues such as its Autopilot system and working conditions at its factories. Tesla’s Autopilot system has been criticized for being a potential safety hazard, and the company has faced numerous lawsuits over accidents involving the technology. In addition, Tesla has been accused of poor working conditions at its factories, with workers alleging that they are overworked and underpaid.
Despite these challenges, Tesla remains a hugely popular and influential company in the world of electric vehicles, and its founder and CEO, Elon Musk, has become one of the most well-known and controversial figures in the tech industry. As the company continues to expand and innovate, it remains to be seen whether it will be able to maintain its position as a leader in the EV market while also addressing the concerns of its workers and regulators.