Tesla Faces Labor Board Complaint Alleging Interference With Unionization (arstechnica.com)

According to Ars Technica, a federal labor board on Thursday "filed a complaint against Tesla, alleging that the electric vehicle company had discouraged workers from distributing pro-union information, stopped them from talking about employee safety to the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, and in one case, prevented an employee from taking a picture of the Confidentiality Agreement they had to sign." From the report: The Oakland, California-based regional office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) consolidated the complaints of three former Tesla employees, Michael Sanchez, Jonathan Galescu, and Richard Ortiz, as well as complaints made by UAW. The complaint alleges that on numerous occasions between February 2017 and May 2017, security guards and human resources agents working on behalf of Tesla told employees that they had to leave the Fremont, California, factory premises because they were distributing pro-union leaflets. In addition, one employee says that over the course of two meetings, a Human Resources Business Partner and an Environmental Health Safety and Sustainability Specialist "interrogated the employee about the employee's Union and/or protected, concerted activities," as well as the pro-union activities of other employees. In March, the complaint claims, a supervisor told his employees during a pre-shift meeting that they could not distribute any stickers or pamphlets that hadn't been approved by Tesla first, or they would be fired. In another incident, a Human Resources Business Partner allegedly "attempted to prohibit an employee from discussing safety concerns with other employees and/or with the Union."

Comments

Elon Musk is a hypocrite

[Anonymous Coward]

Musk has stated his support for universal basic income, to protect workers who would lose their jobs. It's easy to say that when it comes out of everyone's tax bills. Hiwever, when his workers want to form unions to protect themselves, his company is actively working to prevent them from exercising collective bargaining rights. What a hypocrite.

Re:Elon Musk is a hypocrite

[geoskd]

I've managed to invest around $900,000

Lets assume it has taken you 20 years to accumulate that much. At an average 5% return, that would mean your monthly contribution has been about $6,000 per month. Even if this is pretax, and assuming you are homeless and don't eat, that puts your annual income at $72,000

So your basic solution to low paying non-union jobs is to not have a low paying job. Nicely done! You have solved world poverty. We need to make everyone aware of this breakthrough

Somehow, I think the more likely answer is that you're an asshole libertarian, and can't justify your political beliefs without lying.

The UAW is like the mafia

[catchblue22]

The UAW is basically acting like a mafia organization now. They do not want Tesla to succeed, because Elon Musk's eventual vision is to drastically reduce human presence on the manufacturing floor through unprecedented production automation. Right now, GM uses robots for frame assembly, but the assembly of the rest of the car is primarily done by humans. Tesla currently occupies the NUMMI plant, formerly a venture of GM and Toyota opened in 1984. It was shut down, in large part because it was unprofitable due the presence of the UAW. The United Autoworkers union is a rent seeking parasitic organization that neither acts in the interests of its workers, nor largely for the companies its workers are employed in (except in this case indirectly in that getting rid of Tesla would be in the interests of GM and Ford).

Re:The UAW is like the mafia

[Anonymous Coward]

The UAW is is needed. I worked at the Tesla factory. In my opinion, Tesla workers badly need a union. Or, Tesla needs to take safety seriously like managers do in Japanese transplant factories. Building cars isn't like building software. Worker safety should be first. Worker health should be first.

Re:The UAW is like the mafia

[Anonymous Coward]

The workers were predominately Hispanic and Asian, but the thing about the gangster rap was the disgusting objectification of women. Nothing like being in a so called professional work environment and being forced to hear songs about screwing and slapping "bi***s*" and hoes which are blasting super loud as women are working in the next pitch. And then the super line managers walk out a peon worker for calling another worker a "pu****". The double standards were ludicrous.

I gotta say, I did love eating free cereal in the middle of an assembly line. Elon took good care of us in the free drinks and all you can eat cereal departments. I also enjoyed the trains of investors on plant tours who sometimes pointed to us like we were trained monkeys. The Fremont plant was all about the show.

And yes, the Japs know how to build cars. Japanese plants don't need unions because they are well managed.

Re:The UAW is like the mafia

[catchblue22]

Also, let me tell you their automation is nothing compared the typical Japanese plant. Tesla has some of the lowest levels of automation compared to the typical auto factory. They just discovered how to run a moving assembly line and they struggle with it. They are still learning how to build cars.

Your comment is totally uninformed. When was the last time you visited an auto plant?

Almost every car manufacturer uses automation for frame welding. No one, I repeat, no one, not the Japanese, not the Germans has fully automated the assembly of the interior of the car. For example, inside the dashboard of most cars, wiring is snaked around many different places, and it is typically connected using wiring harnesses. You cannot get a robot to reliably pick the correct wiring harnesses and plug them into one another. There are simply too many variables. Take a look under your Japanese car dashboard, and you will see many wiring harnesses. They cannot be assembled by robots.

As an example of Tesla's innovation, their new car (the Model 3) has a glass roof. If you don't choose that option, a steel cover will be put in place of the glass. The reason they do this is to keep the roof of the car open for clear robotic access during interior assembly. Their next generation of car will be built for full robotic manufacturing. Things like wiring harnesses will be replaced by parts with interior wiring and plugs, so that robots can easily snap parts together.

You are a 2+2=5 troll.

Re:The UAW is like the mafia

[Rei]

There's shades of that in Tesla's response (which of course Slashdot, eternally lacking any sort of attempt to be balanced, did not post):

"As we approach Labor Day weekend, there’s a certain irony in just how far the UAW has strayed from the original mission of the American labor movement, which once advocated so nobly for the rights of workers and is the reason we recognize this important holiday.

Faced with declining membership, an overwhelming loss at a Nissan plant earlier this month, corruption charges that were recently leveled against union leaders who misused UAW funds, and failure to gain traction with our employees, it’s no surprise the union is feeling pressured to continue its publicity campaign against Tesla.

For seven years, the UAW has used every tool in its playbook: misleading and outright false communications, unsolicited and unwelcomed visits to the homes of our employees, attempts to discredit Tesla publicly in the media, and now another tactic that has been used in every union campaign since the beginning of time–baseless ULP filings that are meant only to generate headlines. These allegations, which have been filed by the same contingent of union organizers who have been so outspoken with media, are entirely without merit. We will obviously be responding as part of the NLRB process.”