Tesla boss and richest man in the world Elon Musk has a long history of opposing unionization and paying lower total compensation. The electric car company in Texas is non-union, and Musk would like to keep it that way. The pioneering EV maker has caused the rest of the American auto industry (and indeed globally) to change their own practices. It’s had a ripple effect that helped lead to the current UAW strike.
In order to remain competitive with Tesla, legacy automakers are using this transition as an excuse to build new EV-specific plants in union-hostile states like Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. These factories are not subject to union rules because the automakers are partnering with foreign battery company entities. Tesla spends $45 per hour for its non-union labor, including benefits, while Ford, GM, and Stellantis are paying $63 per hour for similar work.
Because Tesla doesn’t have a unionized workforce, it doesn’t need to negotiate to reduce workers on a given line, working diligently to automate as much of the process as possible. With innovative technologies like mega-sized one-piece castings, several staff are able to be wiped out of the process altogether. Not to mention electric cars take around 30% fewer person hours to assemble anyhow, as they don’t have complex engines or transmissions.
Since 2017, unfair labor practice charges have been brought against Tesla with the National Labor Relations Board. Amid several attempts to unionize Tesla’s Fremont, California factory, Musk has been cited for threatening tweets and firing employees involved in organizing activities, among other incidents. Musk has told the UAW it is welcome to hold a union vote at Tesla, but his actions speak louder than those words.
While Musk is currently touting that Tesla pays higher hourly wages than UAW plants, in a recent tweet saying, “Tesla and SpaceX factories have a great vibe. We encourage playing music and having some fun.” He continued, “We pay more than the UAW btw, but performance expectations are also higher.”
For many employees, Tesla’s “performance expectations” can be considered abuse, with reports of 12-hour work days, workers fainting from dehydration, wading through sewage, and other serious safety concerns. That’s before you get to the actual abuse of rampant racism, sexual misconduct, and worse. Reports indicate that some Tesla plants have some thirty times as many OSHA safety violations as other U.S. car factories, and that doesn’t count all of the misclassified and underreported injuries within the company.
Tesla has gotten away with over a decade of labor abuses and underpaid workers to gain its EV advantage over the rest of the American automotive industry. In the rush to catch up, the Big Three have seen huge profit growth and gained efficiencies. Rather than pass these boons on to their employees, they’re taking the Tesla route and taking advantage of their workforce. That’s perhaps the root cause of this UAW strike. While Musk himself didn’t cause the vote to strike against GM, Ford, and Stellantis, he’s a big part of the reason it got this bad.
Meanwhile, Tesla is trying to use the strike to recruit union workers away from Big Three companies. The promise of Tesla’s slightly higher wages come with the hidden backhand of longer hours, harder work, dangerous conditions, and unhealthy workplace practices. It sure seems like Tesla workers need to find a way to unionize themselves and negotiate not only for better working conditions but a larger portion of the Tesla profit pie. I can think of a union president who might be happy to fight for them.