A Tesla employee told the National Labor Relations Board on Monday that he was asked to leave company premises after distributing information about organizing, according to Reuters. The statement was part of a hearing on whether Tesla has violated workers’ rights.
The NLRB started looking into Tesla after workers and the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America submitted complaints to the board. Hearings will be ongoing throughout the week and will reconvene in September.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been vocally anti-union in the past.
No, UAW does that. They want divisiveness & enforcement of 2 class “lords & commoners” system. That sucks. US fought War of Independence to get *rid* of a 2 class system! Managers & workers shd be equal w easy movement either way. Managing sucks btw. Hate doing it so much.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 22, 2018
The hearings come as Tesla is struggling to meet production goals on the Model 3, the most affordable car in its lineup. The company was supposed to be producing 2,500 cars per week in the first quarter of the year. It missed that mark, but now the company promises to hit 5,000 cars per week in the month of July.
Pressure is mounting for Tesla to deliver on its goals.
Tesla has denied accusations that it discourages organized labor. In a statement to the NLRB last year, it said: “At Tesla, we strive to be a fair and just company, the only kind worth being. Performance reviews result in promotions and occasionally in employee departures. No one at Tesla has ever or will ever have any action taken against them based on their feelings on unionization. It’s worth remembering that each year, roughly 20,000 ULPs are filed with the NLRB by unions like the UAW as an organizing tactic.”