Tesla: Buffalo Employees Were Fired for Poor Performance Unrelated to Union

UPDATE (2/17): Tesla on Thursday released a statement(Opens in a new window) that denies the terminations were retaliatory and argues that the framing is a “false allegation” by the union committee.

Tesla says the timing of the dismissals coincided with a regular, bi-annual performance cycle that takes place at all Tesla locations globally, and that the affected individuals were identified on Feb. 3. “We became aware of organizing activities approximately 10 days later,” Tesla said in a statement that is attributed to “The Tesla Team.”

“Approximately 4% of the employees on the Autopilot labeling team in Buffalo were exited as a result of this performance review cycle,” one of which was part of the union organizing, according to Tesla. That particular team grew at “an average rate of around 10 employees a week” recently—from 437 employees to 675 employees in the last six months.

In regards to the union organizer’s comments about strict monitoring and disincentivizing bathroom breaks, Tesla says: “The reason there is time monitoring for image labeling is to improve the ease of use of our labeling software. Since its purpose is to calculate how long it takes to label an image, there is nothing to be gained by delaying bathroom breaks. The claim that Tesla pressures employees to do so is categorically false.”

Tesla did not say whether it will recognize the union. But on Twitter—where Tesla CEO Elon Musk also serves as CEO—Tesla Workers United says it’s being shadowbanned, or hidden from search. In a quick search for the group’s name and Twitter handle this morning, it’s not appearing in drop-down suggestions or in search results.

(Credit: PCMag/Twitter)

Original Story 2/16:
Tesla fired 30 employees at its Buffalo, New York, plant just one day after they announced their intention to unionize under a newly formed coalition called Tesla Workers United.

Unions organizers say the move is retaliatory and an attempt to “cull the herd.”

“This is a form of collective retaliation against the group of workers that started this organizing effort,” Jaz Brisack tells Bloomberg(Opens in a new window). Brisack is an organizer with Workers United, the group that is spearheading efforts in Buffalo (and also helped Starbucks workers unionize).

Tesla Workers United has filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board; the filing says the dismissals are “in retaliation for union activity and to discourage union activity.”

Such actions are illegal under the National Labor Relations Act, passed in 1935, which established(Opens in a new window) the right to self-organize and prohibits retaliatory actions against workers doing so. If the NLB finds the claim valid, it could lead to the reinstatement of the affected employees, though only after multiple months of litigation.

The Buffalo employees say Tesla’s actions specifically targeted the union. Several terminated employees were present in labor-related discussions, and at least one, Arian Berek, was on the organizing committee.

“I feel blindsided, I got COVID and was out of the office, then I had to take a bereavement leave,” Berek tells NBC WGRZ(Opens in a new window). “I returned to work, was told I was exceeding expectations and then Wednesday came along. I strongly feel this is in retaliation to the committee announcement and it’s shameful.”

The day prior to firing Berek and the others, the committee circulated leaflets at the plant with links to the Tesla Workers United website(Opens in a new window), where they can join organizing efforts and even sign formal union cards.

Google Doc where employees at the Buffalo plant can join the union efforts.
(Credit: Tesla Workers United website)

“We’re angry. But this won’t slow us down or stop us. They want us to be scared, but they just started a stampede. These firings are the exact reason why we need a union @tesla. We believe we can do this, but more importantly we believe we WILL do this,” Tesla Workers United tweeted(Opens in a new window) today.

The Buffalo facility was mentioned in yesterday’s White House statement regarding the national charging network buildout, as it will be primarily responsible for creating the thousands of Tesla Superchargers the company plans to make available to non-Teslas by 2024.

“We are only asking for a seat in the car that we helped build,” organizers said on Tuesday when announcing the union, as reported(Opens in a new window) by Reuters. The group’s main ask at this point is that Tesla agrees to their efforts to organize without retaliating by signing the Fair Election Principles.

Although Tesla has not commented on the recent firings, CEO Elon Musk has taken a vocal anti-union stance. In 2021, a bipartisan group of US labor board members ruled that Tesla violated federal law by “coercively interrogating” union supporters and firing one at the Fremont, California, location. Tesla has denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the ruling.