[volkman10]

A group of Tesla workers in New York is trying to form a union, which would be a first for Elon Musk's electric car company.

They have sent a letter to the firm outlining the plans and asking leaders to agree to ground rules for a "fair" union election.

Mr Musk, who has opposed organizing efforts at his company in the past, has not responded publicly to the effort.

About 2,000 people work at the plant in Buffalo,.

The campaign is backed by Workers United, the union that helped launch the recent surge in unionisation at Starbucks.

In order to have an election, they must demonstrate backing from at least 30% of workers for a vote. If they succeed, Tesla will be obliged to negotiate with staff over pay and conditions.

There has been an uptick in labour organising in the US in recent years, with Apple, Starbucks and Amazon among the big companies facing campaigns.

But successful efforts remain rare.


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Tesla has seen off other campaigns - though its methods have drawn fire from labour officials.

[volkman10]

Tesla workers at a plant in Buffalo, New York, handed out Valentine’s Day themed leaflets on Tuesday, that read:



The cards were part of the workers’ now public efforts to start a union within Tesla, a company that has been aggressively opposed to their formation.

Tesla workers seek unionization with help from Starbucks organizers in NY.

Autopilot analysts say they are being treated like robots and that working conditions are currently harming their health.

Employees say that, in addition to fighting for pay that is more in line with similar jobs at other companies, they are fighting for a reduction in production pressures that they say are harmful to their health and lead some employees to skip bathroom breaks.

People are tired of being treated like robots.

We have such a rush to get things done that I don’t know if it’s actually being well thought out. It’s just, ‘Let’s get this out as fast as we can

For this effort, the workers aren’t turning to the United Auto Workers union, though, which represents Ford, GM, and Stellantis workers in the United States. Instead, they have turned to the Service Employees International Union affiliate Workers United, which helped Starbucks employees unionize recently.

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