Steven Loveday
Musk has said in the past that the union has tried and failed, and he will not do anything to stop them from trying again.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn't a fan of unions, and he's made that clear many times in the past. However, his recent issues with President Joe Biden have, once again, amplified the situation. However, Musk made it clear that Tesla won't do anything to stop the UAW from holding a vote. In fact, Musk went so far as to invite the union to come to Tesla and attempt to organize.
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The tweet thread started when Gene Simmons, the lead singer of the rock band Kiss, quoted one of Musk's tweets. Simmons agreed with Musk, saying he makes a solid point, and steering the message toward President Biden.
The Musk tweet that Simmons quoted was originally a reply from Musk to Biden. The Tesla CEO was pointing out yet again that Tesla deserves credit where credit is due, and he specified precisely why.
Vocal Tesla fan and investor James Stephenson replied that Tesla employees already decided not to unionize. It wasn't Musk's choice, but the workers' choice.
As you can see, Musk replied about the situation surrounding jobs in the Bay Area. He also shared that he's officially inviting the UAW to hold a union vote at Tesla at its convenience.
Perhaps President Biden isn't aware that there were earlier attempts to organize Tesla, but we have no way of knowing for sure. It seems someone of his caliber in politics would be made aware, but clearly, there are many more important situations a president has to deal with.
At any rate, the interesting part here will be the aftermath. If the UAW takes Musk up on his offer, this should appease President Biden. It shows an attempt to try to unionize. However, if the attempt fails due to Tesla's employees voting it down, then what will Biden say? He can't really blame Tesla and hold it accountable for not being part of the UAW if its workers don't want to unionize.
Going along with what James tweeted above, the President can't tell those workers that their vote doesn't count or that they voted "wrong." And, the UAW can't force or coerce Tesla to unionize if its workers don't support it. You'd better bet that people will also be keeping a close eye on Tesla and Musk, since the company and its executives also can't work to "convince" employees of how they should vote.
The tweet thread started when Gene Simmons, the lead singer of the rock band Kiss, quoted one of Musk's tweets. Simmons agreed with Musk, saying he makes a solid point, and steering the message toward President Biden.
The Musk tweet that Simmons quoted was originally a reply from Musk to Biden. The Tesla CEO was pointing out yet again that Tesla deserves credit where credit is due, and he specified precisely why.
Vocal Tesla fan and investor James Stephenson replied that Tesla employees already decided not to unionize. It wasn't Musk's choice, but the workers' choice.
As you can see, Musk replied about the situation surrounding jobs in the Bay Area. He also shared that he's officially inviting the UAW to hold a union vote at Tesla at its convenience.
At any rate, the interesting part here will be the aftermath. If the UAW takes Musk up on his offer, this should appease President Biden. It shows an attempt to try to unionize. However, if the attempt fails due to Tesla's employees voting it down, then what will Biden say? He can't really blame Tesla and hold it accountable for not being part of the UAW if its workers don't want to unionize.
Going along with what James tweeted above, the President can't tell those workers that their vote doesn't count or that they voted "wrong." And, the UAW can't force or coerce Tesla to unionize if its workers don't support it. You'd better bet that people will also be keeping a close eye on Tesla and Musk, since the company and its executives also can't work to "convince" employees of how they should vote.
Read These Related Tesla Stories:
Elon Musk Believes Biden's EV Policy Is "Controlled By Unions"
Tesla Giga Berlin Workers Reportedly Planning To Organize A Union
It will be even more interesting if Tesla's workers end up deciding to unionize, as that would come as a huge surprise. What say you?
Source: Elon Musk (Twitter)
Elon Musk challenges UAW to hold a union vote at Tesla's California factory
Mariella Moon
Elon Musk says Tesla will do nothing to stop United Auto Workers (UAW) from holding a union vote at the company's Fremont, California factory. In a tweet, the company chief said Tesla's real challenge in the Bay Area is negative unemployment, so it treats and compensates its "(awesome) people well" or they'd just leave otherwise.
Mariella Moon
Elon Musk says Tesla will do nothing to stop United Auto Workers (UAW) from holding a union vote at the company's Fremont, California factory. In a tweet, the company chief said Tesla's real challenge in the Bay Area is negative unemployment, so it treats and compensates its "(awesome) people well" or they'd just leave otherwise.
Getty Images An aerial view shows the Tesla Fremont Factory in Fremont, California on February 10, 2022. - Tesla can hardly make enough electric vehicles to meet booming demand, but behind the world's most valuable auto brand is its troubled California factory that makes most of those cars. The Fremont plant near San Francisco has seen a spate of sexual harassment lawsuits, years of racism allegations -- including a California civil rights agency complaint this week -- and even a murder last year
(Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Musk posted the tweet in response to Kiss co-lead singer Gene Simmons who sided with the executive when he called out the President for not mentioning Tesla in his State of the Union Address. The President only praised Ford and General Motors for investing billions of dollars in their efforts to release electric vehicles, thereby generating thousands of jobs in the process. As Bloomberg notes, Biden is a labor union supporter and often snubs Tesla, which has a non-unionized workforce, in his speeches and interviews.
In a follow-up tweet, Musk claimed that Tesla factory workers have the highest compensation in the auto industry, posting an interview of GM CEO Mary Barra as his source. In the interview, news anchor and journalist Andrew Sorkin said Tesla's non-unionized workers were earning more than their unionized counterparts. Barra said she'd have to see more information, since one must also take benefits and not just wages into account, but that what Sorkin said wasn't the case last time she checked.
The UAW has been working to unionize Tesla for years, and Musk has criticized those efforts from the start. When a Fremont production worker claimed poor working conditions and low pay in 2017, Musk reportedly sent out a letter to employees with a point-by-point takedown while also slamming UAW. He said the union's true allegiance is to the "giant car companies, where the money they take from employees in dues is vastly more than they could ever make from Tesla."
In the same year, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against the automaker after investigating complaints of unfair labor practices. According to the NLRB, workers said Tesla "coerces and intimidates" them with a confidentiality agreement that prevents them from discussing unionization. In 2018, the NLRB found that the company violated labor laws when it fired union activist Richard Ortiz and ordered it to compensate him for loss of earnings and benefits.
The labor board also ordered Musk to delete a tweet that might sound like a threat to employees. In the tweet, Musk similarly invited efforts to unionize. "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so [tomorrow] if they wanted," he wrote. However, he also said: "But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?" NLRB chair Wilma Liebman explained at the time that to an employee, that may sound like they'll no longer have stock options if they vote to unionize.
In a follow-up tweet, Musk claimed that Tesla factory workers have the highest compensation in the auto industry, posting an interview of GM CEO Mary Barra as his source. In the interview, news anchor and journalist Andrew Sorkin said Tesla's non-unionized workers were earning more than their unionized counterparts. Barra said she'd have to see more information, since one must also take benefits and not just wages into account, but that what Sorkin said wasn't the case last time she checked.
The UAW has been working to unionize Tesla for years, and Musk has criticized those efforts from the start. When a Fremont production worker claimed poor working conditions and low pay in 2017, Musk reportedly sent out a letter to employees with a point-by-point takedown while also slamming UAW. He said the union's true allegiance is to the "giant car companies, where the money they take from employees in dues is vastly more than they could ever make from Tesla."
In the same year, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against the automaker after investigating complaints of unfair labor practices. According to the NLRB, workers said Tesla "coerces and intimidates" them with a confidentiality agreement that prevents them from discussing unionization. In 2018, the NLRB found that the company violated labor laws when it fired union activist Richard Ortiz and ordered it to compensate him for loss of earnings and benefits.
The labor board also ordered Musk to delete a tweet that might sound like a threat to employees. In the tweet, Musk similarly invited efforts to unionize. "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so [tomorrow] if they wanted," he wrote. However, he also said: "But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?" NLRB chair Wilma Liebman explained at the time that to an employee, that may sound like they'll no longer have stock options if they vote to unionize.
As Electrek notes, Tesla offers its stock compensation program to most of its employees, and the company's rising stock prices makes it a very valuable benefit.
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