Elon Musk's contempt for unions is common knowledge. He's not shy about it.
The unions know this and it feeds their determination to convince Tesla (TSLA) employees to organize at least in one of the factory of the manufacturer of high-end electric vehicles.
Musk's relationship with the powerful United Auto Workers (UAW) can be summed up in this 2018 Twitter exchange between the billionaire and a social media user.
"Hi Elon, why would they lose stock options? Are you threatening to take away benefits from unionized workers?" the user asked the tech mogul.
"No, UAW does that," Musk responded. "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."
A New Slogan Linked to Corruption
However, in recent weeks, there appeared to be an easing of tensions between President Joe Biden's administration and Musk, in which some sort of idealogical truce over organized labor seemed to prevail.
In early March, Musk even challenged unions to organize Tesla, inviting the UAW to organize his company, either in an attempt to goad the labor union or to force the issue to a conclusion.
The tech tycoon said that he's able to maintain the Tesla workforce because the company compensates and treats its employees well. Because of this, Musk claimed, he's not worried about union organizing at his company.
"I’d like hereby to invite UAW to hold a union vote at their convenience. Tesla will do nothing to stop them," Musk wrote on March 3 on Twitter.
The reconciliation between Musk and the current administration seemed to be on the right track: Labor Secretary Marty Walsh visited Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin on March 13, one of his spokespersons told TheStreet.
It was Musk himself who showed Walsh around. The two men then reportedly discussed various topics for 75 minutes, ranging from job creation in Austin, Texas, to innovation and inflation. Musk, who posed in photos with Walsh, said he wanted to continue the conversation.
But all of these efforts may have been for naught given Musk's latest statements regarding the UAW.
"UAW slogan – “Fighting for the right to embezzle money from auto workers!” Musk Musk Tuesday evening, March 29, commenting on news article posted on Twitter by one of his fans and an investor in Tesla.
The story in question is about a former official at Detroit branch of the UAW who has pleaded guilty to charges that he embezzled more than $2 million in union money.
After that first post revising the union's slogan, Musk then launched into a scathing criticism of the UAW in a subsequent post, drawing a parallel between the UAW and Tesla.
According to this parallel from the richest man on earth, who is criticized for his anti-union stance, Tesla cares more about the interests of workers than their would-be defender.
"The UAW stole millions from workers, whereas Tesla has made many workers millionaires (via stock grants). Subtle, but important difference," Musk added.
Ongoing Legal Battle with Workers' Defenders
It looks like we are going back to square one. That is to say, May 2018.
The National Labor Relations Board ordered Tesla to make Musk delete a tweet that, on May 21, stated, "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."
The NLRB said the tweet could be seen as Tesla's chief threatening workers with the loss of stock options if they formed a union.
Tesla appealed the decision, arguing that the constitutional right to free speech under the First Amendment “protects an employer’s robust speech about the downsides to unionization.”
At the same time, the NLRB also ordered Tesla to reinstate a union activist who was fired, and concluded Tesla broke the law by retaliating against another union activist, “coercively interrogating” union supporters and restricting employees from talking to reporters, according to Fortune.
Tesla has denied wrongdoing in that case and is also currently appealing those decisions.
There is no timetable for when rulings will be issued in each case.
It is this tug-of-war tension between Tesla and the unions that is said to be at the root of the chilly relationship between the pro-labor Biden administration and Tesla, according to multiple reports.
