March 3 – Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O), said on Thursday that he was inviting the United Auto Workers (UAW) union to hold a vote at the California carmaker’s factory.
The announcement came when the billionaire entrepreneur criticized the Biden administration and Democrats for proposing an additional tax incentive of $ 4,500 for electric vehicles made in US-made unions. Tesla and foreign carmakers have no unions in their US plants. Read more
Organizing a Tesla plant would be a great victory for the UAW, which has largely failed to win the support of workers in foreign car assembly plants or starter electric vehicles, many of which are in the southern United States. Tesla also has a plant in Austin, Texas.
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In his tweet on Thursday, Musk said the real challenge is negative unemployment in the Gulf region, and if people do not compensate well, they will be forced to leave because they have many offers.
“I would now like to invite the UAW to hold a union vote when it is convenient for them. Tesla will do nothing to stop them, “he said.
The UAW had no immediate comment on Musk’s tweet, but analysts said his actions over the past year were inconsistent with rhetoric.
Under federal law, at least 30 percent of factory or company workers must sign a petition indicating that they want to join a union in order to hold elections. Usually, unions like the UAW will not seek elections unless they feel they have the support they need to win the support they need from the majority.
Musk also faced the wrath of the U.S. National Labor Council, which ruled last year that the company had violated U.S. labor laws and ordered Tesla to delete his 2018 tweet, which said employees would they lose their stock options if they form a union. Read more
Tesla subsequently appealed the NLRB’s decision to the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals, and the case is still pending.
The NLRB also ordered Tesla to propose the reinstatement of a former employee, as well as repeal the 2017 rules that banned the distribution of trade union literature in his parking lot during non-business hours and the rules that prohibit the distribution of union stickers, leaflets and brochures without prior permission.
Tesla has also been affected by a series of cases of racial discrimination and sexual harassment by current and former workers. The California Civil Rights Agency has also filed a lawsuit accusing Tesla of failing to deal with widespread racist behavior at its Fremont assembly plant for years.
Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination and has taken steps to address workers’ complaints.
US President Joe Biden has often praised the electric vehicle (EV) efforts made by automakers at Detroit General Motors Co. (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co. (FN), including during his speech on the state of the Union in Tuesday, although they sell less EV than Tesla.
Last month, Biden, whom Musk likened to a “wet sock puppet” earlier this year, acknowledged Tesla’s leadership in electric cars after Musk repeatedly complained that he had been ignored. Last fall, Musk said Biden’s electric car policy seemed to be controlled by unions. Read more
Last November, 10 environmental and advocacy groups, including Sierra Club, Greenpeace and the League of Conservation Voters, called on startup electric car maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) to work with working groups to ensure a clean future and high-paying jobs. and allow a union voting process in their factories. Read more
Workers at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois, plant are not unions. Rivian had previously declined to comment on the topic and could not be found immediately Thursday after Musk’s tweet.
Officials from the startup for electric vehicles Lucid Group Inc (LCID.O), which has a plant in Arizona, also could not be found for comment on Thursday.
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Report by Ben Kleiman in Detroit, Bhargav Acarya in Bengaluru and Hyunju Jin in San Francisco; Edited by Subhranshu Sahu and Nick Zieminski
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