Since 2010, Tesla workers in Buffalo have been campaigning for union representation. After years of organizing, the group of employees—named Tesla Workers United—has announced its intent to form the first ever union at the electric vehicle company. While Musk has yet to respond officially to their request, the founder and CEO of Tesla is no stranger to activism himself, and may see this move as a step in the right direction.
Many employees at Tesla’s Buffalo plant label data as part of the automaker’s Autopilot team, a job that may not be as critical to Tesla’s operations in the future. However, this does not mean that these workers are dispensable, as their skills and knowledge may be valuable in the future when Tesla launches its full self-driving system.
The Buffalo workers are leading the way for job security and better pay in the fast food industry, with Workers United providing support. This success is fuelling a nationwide movement of fast food workers fighting for fair treatment and decent wages. The Starbucks unionization drive started in Buffalo and has now swept across the country, showing that together we can make change.
Supporters of the organizing effort argue that unionizing will improve overall working conditions and contribute to a more sustainable future. Collective bargaining can help secure better pay and benefits for workers, as well as improved safety measures and work-life balance initiatives. By uniting under a common banner, unions can also advocate for policies that benefit all members, regardless of location or occupation. With global warming increasingly dominating headlines as an environmental issue, unionization may be one of the most influential ways to fight climate change on a local level.
As data labelers strive to maintain a secure livelihood in an increasingly competitive industry, they face intense pressure to complete assigned tasks quickly and efficiently. Six employees interviewed for Bloomberg’s report said that this surveillance, coupled with aggressive metrics and deadlines, has resulted in some workers skipping bathroom breaks. Though the roles pay a minimum of about $19 per hour, the employees said that they find it difficult to make ends meet considering the high cost of living in major metropolitan areas.
Tesla Workers United supporters say that the electric car company’s retaliatory firing of workers who attempted to unionize is a sign that their movement is far from over. The group filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Monday, seeking to win Tesla guarantees against retaliation for organizing and for treating employees fairly once they have won representation. Among its initial demands, Tesla Workers United asked the company to sign a document of fair election principles, which would bar the company from terminating or retribution against workers who voted in favor of unionization or supported others making signs or speeches encouraging such activity.
In recent years, Tesla has faced investigations from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for allegations of union-busting. Despite this criticism, Musk has also voiced support for unions in the past, and even faced blowback from officials over a tweet from 2018 implying that employees would lose their stock options if they joined a union with the United Auto Workers. In particular, these violations occurred when Tesla created rules to prevent off-duty workers from distributing leaflets about union organizing, and fired two employees involved in union efforts. The NLRB has not ruled on whether or not Tesla broke labor laws specifically related to unions however; consequently it remains unclear how forthcoming the company will be with employee organizing going forward.
