IG Metall brochures in English and German for Tesla employees

Tesla, Inc. is an American electric car manufacturer which as of January 2023 employs over 127,000 workers across its global operations,[1] none of which are unionized. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has commented negatively on trade unions in relation to Tesla. Despite allegations of high injury rates, long hours, and below-industry pay, efforts to unionize the workforce have been largely unsuccessful. There are active labor disputes with Tesla in the United States, Germany and Sweden.

Tesla is the only major American auto manufacturer not represented by a union in the US as of 2023. Two American trade unions, the United Auto Workers and Workers United have unsuccessfully sought to unionize workers in California and New York respectively. Tesla responded by firing employees involved in both campaigns. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) deemed the California firings in 2017 illegal and retaliatory.

In Germany, Tesla and Tesla Automation's non-union status and lower wages compared to industry standards weakens the power of the metalworkers' union IG Metall. Tesla concluded a pay-related works agreement with Tesla Automation's Works Council, while refusing to sign a collective agreement with IG Metall. In January 2023, IG Metall called for an investigation into Tesla over allegations of long working hours and forced non-disclosure agreements.

United States

As of January 2024, Tesla is the only major US auto manufacturer not represented by a union in the US,[2][3] despite unionization drive attempts by United Auto Workers,[4] United Steelworkers, IBEW,[5] and Workers United[6] between 2016–2023.

In 2010, Tesla acquired the formerly unionized NUMMI plant in Fremont, California, which became the Tesla Fremont Factory.[7][8] In the fall of 2016, Jose Moran, a Tesla Fremont Factory employee, contacted the United Auto Workers (UAW), going public with a "Fair Future at Tesla" campaign in February 2017, citing high injury rates, long hours and below industry pay as motivations.[4] In 2016, the UAW also indicated its interest in unionizing Tesla,[9] spending over $400,000 by 2018 on organizing, campaigning and filing NLRB complaints.[7] In October 2017, Tesla fired Richard Ortiz who was organizing[10] (alongside Moran, one of the unions organizers),[4] which the NLRB later ruled to be illegal retaliation.[10]

Our real challenge is Bay Area has negative unemployment, so if we don't treat and compensate our (awesome) people well, they have many other offers and will just leave!

I'd like hereby to invite UAW to hold a union vote at their convenience. Tesla will do nothing to stop them.

Elon Musk, (3 March 2022)[11]

In 2018, CEO Elon Musk tweeted "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing? ... ".[12] Musk was ordered to delete that tweet (which implied workers would lose stocks if they formed a union), and offer Ortiz his job back with back pay.[13][14] Additionally Tesla would have to put up a notice in all of its US factories addressing the unlawful tweet.[15] The case was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which in 2023 affirmed the NRLB's order.[16][17]

In March 2022 Musk invited the UAW union to hold a vote at their convenience.[18] UAW president Ray Curry responded that Tesla should recognize it broke the law if it was serious about supporting organizing.[19]

Later, in June 2022, a CNBC report found that Tesla paid public relations firm MikeWorldWide to monitor a Tesla employee Facebook group and to conduct research on Tesla union organizers on social media from 2017 to 2018. MikeWorldWide monitored discussions on social networks alleging unfair labor practices at Tesla and monitored discussions on a sexual harassment lawsuit. Former and current Tesla employees told CNBC that they believed the company continued to monitor its workers on social media as of 2022.[20]

Giga New York

In December 2018, 300 workers at the solar panel factory at Gigafactory New York in Buffalo, New York, announced a unionization drive with the support of United Steelworkers (USW) and IBEW unions.[5] The USW filed a complaint one month later, alleging that Tesla illegally surveilled and fired 6 workers in retaliation.[21]

In February 2023, workers at Gigafactory New York in Buffalo involved with labeling data for Tesla Autopilot announced a unionization effort with Workers United.[6] Workers United is affiliated to Service Employees International Union. Workers United successfully led the union drive at a Starbucks store six miles away in Buffalo.[22][23][24] A day after the announcement, a complaint was lodged with the NLRB against Tesla for allegedly firing over 18 employees who participated in the Workers United organization.[25][26] In November, the NLRB dismissed the illegal firing complaint, but found merits in the other complaints around workplace surveillance and discussing with workers their opinion on unions.[27]

Germany

Tesla is one of the few auto manufacturers in Germany that have not signed any company collective agreements, nor joined the Employer Association Gesamtmetall as of 2021. Electric vehicle production requires 30 percent fewer workers than traditional combustion-engine vehicles. As a result, a non-unionized Tesla weakens IG Metall's bargaining power in the overall automotive sector in Germany due to fewer union members and a higher labor supply.[28]

Tesla Automation

In January 2017, Tesla acquired Grohmann Engineering (now Tesla Automation). IG Metall and the Works Council Chair Uwe Herzig of Grohmann Engineering stated that wages under Tesla were 25‒30 percent below the Metal Industry ("Gesamtmetall") collective agreements. Employees expressed concern after former CEO Klaus Grohmann was ousted and business contracts with other firms were cancelled.[29]

In early 2023, IG Metall threatened to go on strike if Tesla did not start negotiating with them and the Grohmann Engineering Works Council. In October 2017, management and the Works Council concluded a works agreement that set employee salaries on par with the Metal Industry trade union collective agreements without explicitly signing them. IG Metall still pushes for formal ratification, however, it indicated there have been "good negotiation results", crediting threats of strikes and internal pressure to bolster such agreements.[30]

Giga Berlin

IG Metall office at train station adjacent to the Tesla Factory

According to IG Metall, Tesla was offering employees at the new Giga Berlin facility wages 20 percent below the collective agreement standards provided at other automotive facilities in Germany.[31][32] On November 22, 2021, seven non-union employees of Giga Berlin initiated the process of establishing a Works Council. IG Metall expressed a concern about the future Works Council being dominated by management, as only earlier employees would be eligible to run as candidates (due to the 6-months tenure requirement) and the majority of the first 1,800 hires were middle–management personnel. In total, Tesla planned to hire 12,000 employees. If the number of employees were to double, the next Works Council election would be two years later instead of the usual four.[33][34] On March 2, 2022, a Works Council was established. Nearly half of the votes went to the manager friendly "Gigavoice" list.[35]

In January 2023, IG Metall called for an investigation after stating that workers had called the organization to report that they were being made to work longer hours, with less time between shifts. IG Metall also stated that workers were being forced to sign non-disclosure agreements alongside their regular work contracts and were therefore afraid of retribution if they openly discussed their work conditions.[36][37][38]

Nordic countries

On 27 October 2023, IF Metall, a Swedish labor union, initiated a strike against TM Sweden, a Tesla vehicle service subsidiary, over the company's refusal to sign a collective agreement.[39] Tesla employs 120 employees in Sweden.[40] The strike, initially affecting mechanics at ten workshops servicing Tesla vehicles, later expanded to include other facilities servicing various car brands. While workers continued with regular tasks, they refrained from servicing Tesla vehicles during the strike.[41] At some point, unidentified individuals suspected to be strikebreakers arrived at Tesla service centers, prompting concerns about their impact on the labor dispute.[42] Other Swedish trade unions later joined through sympathy (solidarity) strikes, which are legal in Sweden.[40] The Swedish Transport Workers' Union blocked the loading and unloading of Tesla cars,[43][44] while dockworkers, electricians, and postal workers halted services to Tesla. Musk has reportedly instructed TM Sweden to sign no collective agreements.[45]

Over the next few months, union support for the Swedish campaign expanded to other Nordic countries, with unions in Denmark,[46] Norway[47] and Finland[48] joining the Tesla protest. The strike also led to the pension fund PensionDanmark selling its stake in Tesla's stock in protest.[49] In response to the escalation, Tesla posted a job opening for a Swedish government affairs specialist with “significant experience with Nordic legislative and regulatory advocacy," presumably to help with lobbying efforts.[49]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Annual report Form 10-K 2022 Tesla Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. January 31, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Tesla workers launch campaign to form union in New York". Reuters. 2023-02-14. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  3. ↑ Bomey, Nathan (May 19, 2016). "UAW wants union for Tesla factory". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  4. 1 2 3 Campbell, Alexia Fernández (2019-09-30). "Elon Musk broke US labor laws on Twitter". Vox. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  5. 1 2 Eidelson, Josh. "Tesla Workers Start a Drive to Unionize Solar-Panel Factory". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  6. 1 2 Shakir, Umar (2023-02-14). "Tesla workers in New York are trying to form the company's first union". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  7. 1 2 Dayton, Kevin (2018-05-01). "Opinion: Would Tesla close unionized plant like GM and NUMMI did?". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  8. ↑ DeBord, Matthew. "Tesla bought an old GM-Toyota factory and made it cool — but in its former life it built a lot more cars". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  9. ↑ Bomey, Nathan (May 19, 2016). "UAW wants union for Tesla factory". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  10. 1 2 Scheiber, Noam (2021-03-25). "Tesla employee's firing and Elon Musk tweet on union were illegal, labor board rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  11. ↑ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (March 3, 2022). "Our real challenge is Bay Area has negative unemployment, so if we don't treat and compensate our (awesome) people well, they have many other offers and will just leave! I'd like hereby to invite UAW to hold a union vote at their convenience. Tesla will do nothing to stop them" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ↑ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (May 21, 2018). "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (2021-03-25). "Tesla ordered to have Elon Musk delete anti-union tweet". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  14. ↑ McFerran, Lauren; Emanuel, William J.; Ring, John F. (2021-03-25). Tesla, Inc. and Michael Sanchez, Jonathan Galescu, Richard Ortiz and International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, AFL–CIO (decision and order). Decisions of the NLRB. National Labor Relations Board. p. 9,10. Retrieved 2022-01-06. General Counsel argues that to remedy fully CEO Musk's unlawful May 20, 2018 tweet, which coercively threatened that employees would lose their stock options if they selected the Union as their representative, the Board should order the Respondent to have Musk delete that tweet and to post a notice addressing that violation at its facilities nationwide. … (f) Direct its agent and supervisor, CEO Elon Musk, to delete his May 20, 2018 statement
  15. ↑ Peters, Jay (2021-03-25). "Tesla has to tell Elon Musk to delete a 2018 tweet, labor board rules". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  16. ↑ Reply Brief to Court of Appeals (appeal). NLRB. 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2022-01-06. The Court should set aside the Board's ruling that Musk's tweet was unlawful and must be deleted.
  17. ↑ Scheiber, Noam (2023-03-31). "Tesla and Musk Lose Ruling on Factory Union Issues". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  18. ↑ Boston, William; Elliott, Rebecca (2022-03-03). "Elon Musk Invites UAW to Hold Union Vote at Tesla". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-03. 'Tesla will do nothing to stop them,' the chief executive says
  19. ↑ Wayland, Michael; Kolodny, Lora (2022-03-29). "Tesla should accept that it violated labor laws if Elon Musk is serious about inviting the UAW to organize workers, union chief Ray Curry says". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  20. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (2022-06-03). "Tesla monitored its employees on Facebook with help of PR firm during 2017 union push". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  21. ↑ Rapier, Graham. "Workers at Tesla's Buffalo solar tile factory say the company sabotaged their efforts to find new jobs after trying to unionize". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  22. ↑ Eidelson, Josh (2023-02-14). "Tesla Workers Launch Union Campaign in New York". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  23. ↑ Ewing, Jack (2023-02-14). "Tesla Workers in Buffalo Begin Union Drive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  24. ↑ Stancil, Kenny (14 February 2023). "Tesla Workers Are Organizing a Union in Buffalo—With Help From Starbucks Veterans". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  25. ↑ Eidelson, Josh (2023-02-16). "Tesla Just Terminated Dozens in Response to New Union Campaign, Complaint Alleges". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  26. ↑ Ewing, Jack; Scheiber, Noam (2023-02-16). "Tesla Fired Buffalo Workers Seeking to Organize, Union Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  27. ↑ Glynn, Matt (2023-11-28). "NLRB director dismisses claims by union that Tesla illegally fired workers". Buffalo News. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  28. ↑ Levin, Tim (April 3, 2021). "Tesla is on a collision course with Germany's biggest union and neither side is likely to back down". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  29. ↑ Vetter, Philipp (2017-04-16). "Tesla: Ärger mit dem Maschinenbauer Grohmann" [Tesla: Trouble with the machine manufacturer Grohmann]. Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  30. ↑ Vetter, Philipp (2017-10-18). "Deutschland: Tesla einigt sich auf deutliche Gehaltssteigerung" [Germany: Tesla agrees on significant salary increase]. Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  31. ↑ Waldersee, Victoria (2021-10-07). "Tesla's gigafactory electrifies California-Germany culture clash". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  32. ↑ Eddy, Nathan (2022-01-03). "German union steps up efforts to recruit Tesla workers with office near Berlin plant". Automotive News Europe. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  33. ↑ Barnstorf, Phillip (November 25, 2021). "IG Metall fürchtet Strategie in früh gewähltem Tesla-Betriebsrat". RBB 24 (in German). Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  34. ↑ Waldersee, Victoria (2021-11-24). "German union fears new Tesla works council will be top heavy". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  35. ↑ "Erster Betriebsrat bei Tesla steht fest" [The first Works Council at Tesla has been set]. RBB 24 (in German). Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  36. ↑ "Tesla under fire in Germany over union concerns on working hours, contracts". Reuters. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  37. ↑ "Tesla under fire in Germany over union concerns on working hours, contracts". Automotive News Europe. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  38. ↑ Bhaimiya, Sawdah (January 16, 2023). "A major union in Germany says workers at Tesla's Berlin factory face unreasonable working hours and fear speaking out". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  39. ↑ Nyheter, S. V. T. (2023-10-27). "Strejk inledd på Tesla i Sverige". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  40. 1 2 Stewart, Heather (2023-12-01). "'We can't let Tesla get away with this': why Swedish unions are fighting Elon Musk". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  41. ↑ Nyheter, S. V. T.; Backman, Wilma (2023-11-03). "Strejken mot Tesla och Klarna utvidgas: "Ser ingen annan utväg"". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  42. ↑ "Facket larmar om strejkbrytare vid Tesla: "Folk är livrädda"". www.tv4.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  43. ↑ Eddy, Melissa (2023-11-05). "Job Action Against Tesla Puts Sweden's Unions in Spotlight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  44. ↑ "Tesla faces strikes in Sweden unless it signs a collective bargaining agreement". AP News. 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  45. ↑ ÖhrnText, Linda (2023-11-21). "Ordern från Elon Musk: Tesla får inte skriva på något avtal". Dagens industri (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  46. ↑ "Danish Dockworkers Dial Up Pro-Union Pressure on Tesla With Solidarity Strike". www.commondreams.org. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  47. ↑ "Norway union joins Tesla blockade in support for Swedish workers". Reuters. 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  48. ↑ "The AKT executive committee decided on sympathy actions for Tesla | Auto- ja Kuljetusalan Työntekijäliitto AKT ry". www.sttinfo.fi. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  49. 1 2 "Wanted: Nordic expert to help Elon Musk defuse Tesla union row". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
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