People have strong feelings about unions, either pro or against them. But, whatever you think about them, they’re legal, and workers have the capacity to organize themselves in unions if so they wish. A short documentary about Richard Ortiz shows Tesla has been ordered more than once to stop illegally fighting unions in its factories.
The documentary was filmed by More Perfect Union – apparently, an initiative to make union stories more visible. It had Ortiz himself tell his story, which makes it way more credible than having just a name written anywhere.
Ortiz states in the video that he started working for Tesla in 2015. He used to work for NUMMI, the factory run by Toyota and GM, which Tesla ended up buying to build Fremont. He made $30 to $35 an hour at NUMMI. At Tesla, people made $20 for 12-hour shifts, six days a week – if they had a premium.
According to Ortiz, he decided to start unionizing efforts at the Tesla factory after getting tired of seeing his fellow workers having issues. He said he has seen people throwing up in buckets not to ask for sick leave and lose their jobs. The turnover was so fast people did not make plans: they were afraid they could be suddenly fired. In Ortiz’s words, Tesla is “using them up and spitting them out.”
Ortiz was also concerned with safety. He said they would sometimes have a single employee perform two jobs at the same time. Running back and forth to take care of everything would cause unnecessary hazards. According to him, Tesla wouldn’t deal with safety complaints. It would just take notes, and you’d never hear about that again.
In 2017, he was invited to a UAW meeting where he told the union leaders why any effort in Fremont would not work. Despite knowing what the outcome would be, Ortiz signed up to lead a unionizing campaign there. At the same time, Musk slammed the movement and promised employees frozen yogurt, according to a Buzzfeed article published on February 24, 2017.
Ortiz started distributing flyers about the unionizing efforts after or before his shifts. Tesla would then have begun to harass them. On the first day, an additional security staff, “fit and finished,” “very military-type,” would have coercively interrogated him on May 24, 2017. Then, two girls from the HR department would have done the same on September 21. Ortiz said he was questioned about union activities.
The metalworker was then moved to make parts in an isolated part of the factory. In October, Ortiz published something in a Facebook group for Tesla workers and was again interrogated on October 12 and finally fired on October 18, alleging underperformance. UAW then started a legal battle against Tesla.
On March 25, 2021, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) ordered Tesla to reinstate Ortiz, Elon Musk, to erase a 2018 tweet that asked “why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing,” and to recognize its wrongdoings in the case to all employees. The company appealed the decision to a federal court.
Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare.
Meanwhile, Ortiz pledged to get back to unionizing efforts as soon as he gets his job at Tesla back. If the PRO Act (Protecting the Right to Organize Act) becomes law, Musk could also be fined for his efforts in avoiding the unionizing of Tesla factories. By the way, the tweet he was ordered to erase is still online, as you can see above.
Although this legal dispute is still far from ending in the U.S., Tesla will someday start making cars in Germany, possibly somewhere between May and November 2022. To Brandenburg's minister Jörg Steinbach, the company promised it would comply with the country’s labor laws. IG Metall has already said it is prepared to confront Testa in case it doesn’t. Perhaps it should talk to UAW to see how things are going at the EV maker’s home market.
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