Tesla Employees in New York Are Looking to Unionize

The group of employees started a union drive with Workers United Upstate New York.

By Gabrielle Bienasz | Feb 15, 2023
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Workers at a Tesla factory in Buffalo, New York, announced on Tuesday they intend to form a union.

“The group wants to form a union “that looks to be as innovative as the company we work for,” the group, Tesla Workers United, said in a statement .

The group posted online in order to garner more support internally for the effort, as noted. It will be organized with Workers United Upstate New York.

Now that the Tesla group has announced publicly, they will make overtures to coworkers to obtain support (via signed cards). If they can get 30% of workers to say they want a union, the (NLRB) will hold an election. This leads to a certification process if successful. Employers can also voluntarily recognize a union.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously expressed disagreements with unionization. , the NLRB ordered Tesla to hire back a union proponent it had fired and for Musk to remove a Tweet attacking unions (“why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?” the Tweet ). The NLRB in August also for Tesla to prevent workers from wearing shirts with a union logo, over an issue that had begun in 2017.

The factory in Buffalo is called and makes solar and battery products.

There have not been any successful unionization efforts at Tesla factories — distinct from other automakers, . One example is Ford, which has unionized workers through UAW (full name: The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) one of the biggest unions in the country.

The group is looking to “have a real voice in setting organization policies, staffing levels, rights on the job, health and safety conditions, protections from unfair firings or unfair discipline, seniority rights, leaves of absence rights, and benefits,” according to its FAQ.

Workers at a Tesla factory in Buffalo, New York, announced on Tuesday they intend to form a union.

“The group wants to form a union “that looks to be as innovative as the company we work for,” the group, Tesla Workers United, said in a statement .

The group posted online in order to garner more support internally for the effort, as noted. It will be organized with Workers United Upstate New York.

Gabrielle Bienasz is a staff writer at Âé¶¹Éç. She previously worked at Insider and Inc.... Read more
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