Tesla Buffalo Employees Accuse Automaker of Illegally Terminating Workers in Unionization Retaliation
By Tesla Inc. employees at the company's Buffalo, New York plant are accusing the automaker of illegally terminating employees in retaliation for their union activity. The complaint, filed with the US National Labor Relations Board, comes just one day after workers at the Tesla Autopilot facility sent a letter to CEO Elon Musk informing him of their unionization efforts.[0]
According to Bloomberg, at least 18 employees were terminated Wednesday, and Tesla's policy of prohibiting workers from wearing union insignia has previously been ruled as “unlawful” by the NLRB. The union drive is being organized by the Service Employees International Union affiliate Workers United, which has successfully unionized hundreds of Starbucks cafes across the US since December 2021, starting with a store in Buffalo.[1]
Tesla employees allege that the company monitors keystrokes to track how long employees spend per task and how much of the day they spend actively working, leading to some avoiding bathroom breaks in order not to affect their performance.[2]
The union is seeking to mitigate such factors that are reportedly harmful to the workers' health, such as monitoring, metrics, and production pressure.[2]
Former Tesla employee and organizing committee member Arian Berek said, “I feel blind sided, I got COVID and was out of the office, then I had to take a bereavement leave. I returned to work, was told I was exceeding expectations and then Wednesday came along. I strongly feel this is in retaliation to the committee announcement and it’s shameful.[4][3]
Current Tesla employee and organizing committee member Sara Costantino echoed Berek's sentiment, saying “We’re angry.[5] This will not impede our progress. We shall not be deterred They intend to frighten us, however, I believe they have caused a mad rush instead.[5] Let's do this![6] I am confident that we will accomplish this.[3][4]
Tesla also sent an email informing staff of a policy that bars recording of workplace conversations without the consent of all parties.[5] This policy violates federal labor law and flouts New York's one-party consent law to record conversations.[5]
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment sent to the press email address listed on its website, and the company is believed to have disbanded its press team three years ago.[7]
Workers at the Tesla Buffalo factory are now attempting to unionize in order to seek better pay, job security, and working conditions.[8]
0. “Tesla Reportedly Fired Workers Involved In Attempts To Unionize” InsideEVs , 16 Feb. 2023, https://insideevs.com/news/652852/tesla-fired-workers-after-unionization-attempts-report/
1. “Tesla workers launch union campaign” Automotive News, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/tesla-workers-launch-union-campaign
2. “Tesla accused of terminating Giga New York workers over unionization efforts” TESLARATI, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-accused-of-terminating-giga-new-york-workers-over-unionization-efforts
3. “Employees say 30 staffers fired after announcing they were forming a union at Tesla's Buffalo plant” WGRZ.com, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.wgrz.com/article/money/business/employees-say-30-staffers-fired-after-announcing-they-were-forming-a-union-at-teslas-buffalo-plant/71-6adfcc65-55ed-4e2a-924b-6279ff0d9a89
4. “Tesla employees are ‘tired of being treated like robots,' seek to unionize at Giga New York” Electrek, 14 Feb. 2023, https://electrek.co/2023/02/14/tesla-employees-seek-to-unionize-at-giga-new-york/
5. “Tesla fires dozens of employees in retaliation for organizing, complaint from labor group alleges” CNBC, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/tesla-fires-dozens-of-workers-over-union-campaign-complaint-alleges.html
6. “Tesla workers allege company fired dozens in retaliation for union campaign” Axios, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.axios.com/2023/02/16/tesla-union-buffalo-new-york-nlrb-complaint
7. “Tesla fires workers in response to union campaign, complaint alleges” The Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/02/16/tesla-buffalo-union/
8. “Tesla laid off dozens after union announcement, complaint says: report” Business Insider, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.businessinsider.com/union-accuses-tesla-illegally-firing-employees-workers-united-campaign-report-2023-2
