Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X Holdings Corp, speaks at the Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, on May 6, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
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Tesla He was accused of taking steps to prevent employees in Buffalo, New York, from joining a union, according to a complaint from the National Labor Relations Board.
On Tuesday, the NLRB's regional director in Buffalo, Linda Leslie, filed the complaint. In it, it said Tesla “issued and maintains” an Acceptable Use of Workplace Technology policy in 2023 that was intended to “discourage its employees from forming, joining, or assisting a union or engaging in other coordinated activities” after the allegations were raised. By members of the labor union.
CNBC obtained a copy of the complaint through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The policy prohibited Tesla workers from “registering, unauthorized soliciting (sic) or promoting” and “creating distribution channels and lists,” among other things, the complaint said.
The NLRB also alleges that the policy had the effect of “interfering with, restricting, and coercing employees from exercising rights guaranteed” under the National Labor Relations Act, which generally protects workers’ rights to discuss organizing, joining a union, and bargaining collectively for improved wages and working conditions.
Tesla's Buffalo factory was supposed to manufacture solar panels, but it was recently used to assemble electric vehicle charging equipment, and to house a team of artificial intelligence software data labels.
Last month, the Buffalo plant was home to a number of job cuts implemented as part of a broader restructuring at the electric vehicle company. According to a WARN notice filed in the state, Tesla will lay off 285 employees in New York state, most of them at the Buffalo factory. The company is cutting thousands of jobs around the world after electric vehicle sales fell in the first quarter.
Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have clashed with union supporters for years and have been found to be involved in union busting. In 2021, the NLRB decided that Tesla violated labor laws when it fired a union activist, and when Musk wrote on Twitter in 2018: “Nothing is stopping the Tesla team at our auto plant from voting to unionize. They can do that if they want. But why pay Union dues and giving up stock options for nothing?”
The Administrative Court ordered the CEO to remove the post. Tesla appealed the order but its petition for review was denied. The post in question remains on Musk's X account, where he has 182.7 million followers listed.
Tesla has also faced challenges related to labor rights in Europe. Last year, Swedish service technicians went on strike that continues today, with the labor group occasionally allowing some authorized work. Employees in Sweden, where the majority of workplaces participate in unions, are seeking a collective bargaining agreement with Tesla.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read the complaint here:
