Musk Denies Firing Tesla Employees Following Unionization Attempts

In response to a trade union allegation that Tesla fired 30 union supporters, Elon Musk and Tesla have taken the unusual step of responding.

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It was reported earlier this week that Tesla was facing its first unionization movement in the United States, with its employees in New York state going on strike to unionize.

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The Tesla staff at the company's Buffalo, New York, plant who label the data that Tesla uses for its Autopilot technology sent Musk an email early Tuesday to let him know they intend to join forces with the Workers United Upstate New York union in the near future.

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As of now, the union will be known as Tesla Workers United Union.

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Union busting?

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Tesla's staff has said that they are seeking better pay and more job security, as well as a reduction of the pressures they feel are harming their health as a result of the production pressures imposed on them. It was asked by the union that Tesla management respect the right of its workers to organize a union, in addition to calling on the company to sign the Fair Election Principles.

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There is, however, speculation that this declaration could lead to a showdown with the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, who has in the past made no secret of his opposition to trade unions, despite Tesla having unions outside the United States.

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There has now been a report gathered by Trade Algo, citing the union, about the firing of more than 30 supporters of the nascent union at Tesla's Buffalo facility one day after the unionization drive was announced.

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According to allegations, Tesla Workers United filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that its supporters were illegally terminated.

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18 employees are named in the complaint as having been terminated “in retaliation for union activity and to discourage union activity.”

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However, a statement has been quoted that claimed more than 30 employees were fired. Earlier this week, it was reported that union organizing efforts led to the firings.

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Does Retaliation move?

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In the union's statement, one of the fired employees, Arian Berek, was quoted as saying, "I feel blindsided by this decision.". "I got Covid and was out of the office for some time, then I had to go on bereavement leave.". “After returning to work, I was told I was exceeding expectations, and then on Wednesday, I was fired. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a retaliation to the committee announcement, and it is a shame."

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The alleged report cites that the workers were responsible for labeling data collected by Tesla's Autopilot system.

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The work of this group has previously been praised by Elon Musk, who described it as the "Holy Grail" of the company's self-driving technology, calling it an attainable dream.

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As a result, union supporters reportedly objected to Tesla's productivity expectations, describing them as "unfair, unattainable, ambiguous, and ever-changing." Additionally, they object to the company's alleged monitoring of their keystrokes in an effort to measure the productivity of the employees.

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According to the union, it will not stop its unionization efforts because it is angry.

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Tesla's response

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Despite not having a media relations department and rarely responding to media reports, Tesla has hit back at the union with a blog post titled “In Response to False Allegations.”

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“The allegation that Tesla terminated employees as a result of a new union campaign is false,” Tesla said, before announcing that the firings were caused by poor performance reviews that the affected employees had received.

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According to Tesla, performance reviews are conducted every six months around the world, and the “most recent performance review cycle was from July 2022 through December 2022.”

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Managers were notified on 13 December 2022 “that exits for low performers would start the week of February 12, 2023.”

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Tesla reported that 4 percent of its Autopilot labeling team in Buffalo had been terminated following this performance review cycle. “Over the course of the review period, managers provided feedback to those let go for poor performance. Despite feedback, they failed to demonstrate sufficient improvement."

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Tesla stated that impacted employees were identified on February 3, 2023, well before the union campaign was announced. “The organizing activities were discovered approximately 10 days later. One out of 27 impacted employees was officially identified as part of the union campaign in hindsight. This exercise pre-dated any union campaign.”

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At its Fremont giga-factory in California, Tesla has been accused of illegally firing union supporters.

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When Elon Musk tweeted in 2018 that if employees formed unions, their stock options would be forfeited, the US National Labor Relations Board ordered him to remove the tweet.

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As of 17 February 2023, the tweet remains online.