Tesla Inc. workers at the Gigafactory in Buffalo, New York are launching a campaign to form a union, seeking better pay and job security, Bloomberg reported.
The employees reportedly sent an email to Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk with their intent to unionize, which would be a first for the luxury electric vehicle maker, if successful.
In a letter to the management, the workers wrote, "Unionizing would further accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy, because it will give us a voice in our workplace and in the goals we set for ourselves to accomplish."
The workers at the plant, who label data for Tesla's Autopilot and self-driving technology, are organizing with the Workers United labor union, and also seeking a reduction in production pressures which could harm their health.
The employees alleged that Tesla tracks their computer keystrokes to monitor how they work, due to which some employees refrain from taking bathroom breaks.
Al Celli, a member of the union's organizing committee stated that people are tired of being treated like robots.
The company has also been asked to sign the Fair Election Principles that would prevent the firm from retaliating against workers involved in organizing a union.
In the past few years, workers at Tesla's car factories, specifically at Fremont Factory in California, had tried to unionize. The Workers United labor union, which helped Starbucks employees at various cafes across the country to unionize, has been behind Tesla employees' efforts.
Meanwhile, Musk has been against Tesla employees forming a union. The National Labor Relations Board or NLRB in March 2021 had ruled that Tesla had violated labor laws by firing an employee over alleged union support. The Board also ordered Musk to delete a tweet in which he suggested that Tesla employees who unionize could lose their stock options.
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