Thursday, November 25, 2021

Tesla Giga Berlin Workers Reportedly Planning To Organize A Union

Trade union IG Metall claims Tesla is offering pay 20 percent below that of German automakers.



Nov 24, 2021 

By: Dan Mihalascu

Elon Musk’s stance on labor unions is well known, with Tesla being the only large US automaker lacking a unionized workforce in its home country.

That might not necessarily fly with Tesla’s German workers who are reportedly planning to elect a works council to represent their interests at the massive EV plant near Berlin. German trade union IG Metall made the announcement on November 23 as Tesla is waiting to get permit approval to start production.

Seven employees at the Grünheide plant have already taken the first step toward setting up a union and they plan to choose a committee on November 29 that will run elections for a works council, IG Metall said according to Reuters. None of the seven employees are IG Metall members.

"A works council ensures that the interests of the workforce have a voice and a weight. This is in line with the democratic work culture in Germany.”

Birgit Dietze, IG Metall district leader in Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony

Mind you, the trade union representative added that the election of a works council will not take place soon as only about a sixth of the plant’s 12,000 workers have been hired so far.

German labor law states that employees must be at a company for six months before they can run in a works council election. With most of the people hired so far being middle or senior managers, any body formed in the near future is likely to be dominated by management figures, the union said. A new election for a works council can only be called after two years, and only if the workforce has more than doubled.

IG Metall claims that applicants have told it that Tesla is offering pay 20 percent below the collectively bargained wages offered at German automakers. Furthermore, the contracts offered to employees are unconventional by German standards as they offer packages with stock options and bonuses rather than predetermined holiday pay.

It will be interesting to see how this will play out given that Elon Musk is known for his rocky relationship with organized labor. Earlier this year, the chief executive was ordered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to delete a 2018 tweet threatening US employees with the loss of stock options if they formed a union.

A reaction from Elon Musk is yet to appear, but he has already expressed irritation for German laws and processes. In a letter to authorities in April, he complained that the country’s complex planning requirements were at odds with the urgency required to fight climate change.

Gallery: Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg County Fair

15 Photos


German union fears new Tesla works council will be top heavy

By Victoria Waldersee
Posted on November 24, 2021
Logo of the electric-vehicle maker Tesla is seen near a shopping complex in Beijing

BERLIN (Reuters) – A works council being set up by Tesla staff at the company’s new Gruenheide plant near Berlin risks being unrepresentative as most of the employees hired so far are middle or senior managers, Germany’s largest union warned on Tuesday.

IG Metall said seven Tesla employees, none of whom were its members, had called a meeting for Monday to choose a committee to run elections https://reut.rs/3oVsGf8 for a council that would remain in position for at least two years.

“We’re happy there’s been a starting shot,” Birgit Dietze, head of IG Metall’s regional office for Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony where Tesla’s factory https://reut.rs/30XbqxO is located, told Reuters.

“What’s important is that the workers’ council is really there for all employees … for us it’s a little too soon.”

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under German labour law, employees must be at a company for six months before they can run in a works council election – meaning any body formed in the near future is likely to be dominated by management figures, the union said.

Dietze said a new election can only be called after two years, and only then if the workforce has more than doubled. IG Metall says Tesla has hired about one in six of the 12,000 workers due to be recruited for the site so far.

The U.S electric vehicle maker is operating at Gruenheide under pre-approval permits as it awaits the green light from local authorities to start production. Tesla hopes to receive final approval by the end of 2021.

Chief Executive Elon Musk has sparred with organised labour in the past and was ordered https://reut.rs/3xhTFFk in March to delete a tweet from 2018 threatening to strip U.S. employees of their stock options if they formed a union.

IG Metall set up an office near the Gruenheide plant earlier this year to provide support. Dietze said the union would not have advocated setting up a works council until a wider pool of workers had been hired.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by David Clarke)

Tesla employees in Germany plan works council


Tue, November 23, 2021, 9:38 AM·1 min read

BERLIN, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Employees at Tesla's huge new factory near Berlin will elect a works council to represent their interests, a German trade union said on Tuesday.

The IG Metall trade union said seven employees had taken the first step towards setting up a works council, planning to choose an election committee on Nov. 29.

"A works council ensures that the interests of the workforce have a voice and a weight. This is in line with the democratic work culture in Germany," said Birgit Dietze, IG Metall district leader in Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony.


The Tesla plant near Berlin will employ 12,000 workers, although only about a sixth of that have been hired so far, meaning the election of a works council will not take place soon, IG Metall said.

IG Metall has said applicants have told it that Tesla, whose CEO Elon Must is known for his rocky relationship with organised labour, is offering pay 20% below the collectively bargained wages offered at other German automakers.

Tesla is also shaking up conventional German contracts by offering packages with stock options and bonuses rather than predetermined holiday pay.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a phone call or email request for comment.

Earlier this year, Musk was ordered to delete a 2018 tweet threatening that U.S. employees would lose their stock options if they formed a union.

Musk has made his irritation for German laws and processes known, saying in a letter to authorities in April that the country's complex planning requirements were at odds with the urgency needed to fight climate change.

 (Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach Writing by Emma Thomasson Editing by Mark Potter)



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