back to article Tesla accused of union buster bluster at Buffalo factory

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is taking Tesla back to the hearing chamber, this time to settle whether it interfered with the organizing rights of employees at its factory in Buffalo, New York. In its complaint [PDF], the NLRB alleges that Tesla's Acceptable Use Policy for Workplace Technology, put into place …

  1. Winkypop Silver badge

    Why bosses abhor unions

    Unions do and can get things improved.

    But, like universal health care, American’s are shit scared of anything that has a scent of “socialism”.

    Your mileage will vary.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Not Americans, American CEOs.

      It gets in the the way of profits, you see. So American CEOs are actually the spiritual sons of all those bosses in those Dickens stories about the UK during the Industrial Revolution. Workers would lose limbs to the dangerous textile machines, and get fired for it because they couldn't work any more.

      Compassion ? That's just a word in the dictionary.

      American CEOs think the same way, and Musk is ahread of the pack.

      1. aerogems Silver badge

        Minor correction: It gets in the way of profits this quarter which means their bonus may be at risk, so CEOs hate unions. However, as a lot of Europe has shown, the relationship between management and unions doesn't have to be an adversarial one. They can coexist peacefully and have a good working relationship that is mutually beneficial. It's just that those benefits are more of a Q4 sort of thing, and it may well be time for CEOs and board members everywhere to play musical chairs and shuffle the deck so they all wind up at different companies.

      2. Bitbeisser

        That are those US Americans that lack reading comprehension of word 6 characters long or more. For them "social" and "socialism" is just the same, the don't comprehend the difference...

      3. Alf Garnett

        The evil corporate executives gleefully maiming and killing workers nonsense is getting old. Can you come up with a new idea?

    2. SnailFerrous

      Re: Why bosses abhor unions

      But, like universal health care, American’s are have been trained to be shit scared of anything that has a scent of “socialism”.

      Fixed that for you.

      1. Snake Silver badge

        Re: Why bosses abhor unions

        They've been trained very well...the morons.

        A $10 mil tax break to a corporation to put up a building in their district? Good capitalism.

        A $10 mil program to help individuals, say the homeless? Socialism!

        I'm so SICK of this country.

      2. Androgynous Cow Herd

        Re: Why bosses abhor unions

        It's true.

        I learned that socialism is bad in public school.

    3. aerogems Silver badge

      Re: Why bosses abhor unions

      It's sort of like Obamacare. You ask people if they support the individual aspects of unions (can only be fired for cause, better pay, an advocate if you're accused of doing anything wrong) and virtually everyone will say they support all those things. Then you say, "Well those are all things unions provide" and suddenly they get confused, then angry because you confused them.

      1. Snake Silver badge

        Re: like Obamacare

        The capitalists have perfectly brainwashed masses into believing that anything that hurts elites must fundamentally also be bad for society as a whole. The masses have bought it lock, stock and barrel, willingly voting for policies that hurt the middle class as long as there's a promise of benefiting business.

        40 years of this. A stagnant quality of living. But let's keep voting the same way, maybe if we do the same thing we'll get different results this time.

  2. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

    break areas

    Having to provide break areas - Musk must love that. He's employing them to work, not take breaks!

    1. Howard Sway Silver badge

      Re: break areas

      Wonder if he's ever fired anyone for spending too much work time on social media sites? Or, more specifically, his social media site....

      1. aerogems Silver badge

        Re: break areas

        Almost without question. This is a manbaby who is known to rage fire people for the "sin" of simply crossing into his line of sight when he's in a bad mood.

  3. MachDiamond Silver badge

    Workplace Tech

    Company's don't want their installed tech to be used by employees to look for new jobs either. It's not a great idea to be sending messages through company servers to advocate doing things the company isn't going to like. It's the same when it comes to using the network to visit certain web sites.

    There's also been negative articles about restrictions when it comes to employees bringing and using cell phones while at work. For a "tech" company, allowing photos and video recording isn't seen as a good thing.

  4. Bebu
    Windows

    Like home

    Musk seems to think its 1960s Suid Afrika.

    He will soon be tossing people from third floor windows.

    ZA has moved on a little bit since then but like the stereotypical expatriot Musk hasn't.

    Although looking at contemporary US he might have a point.

    1. aerogems Silver badge
      Pirate

      Re: Like home

      He will soon be tossing people from third floor windows.

      If he knows what's good for him, he won't cut in on Putin's action.

  5. Yorick Hunt Silver badge
    IT Angle

    "Tesla accused of behaving like every other USian megacorp."

    ... And?

  6. trevorde Silver badge

    Meanwhile at SpaceX

    (engineer 1) Has anyone seen Elon?

    (engineer 2) No, I haven't seen him for weeks. Isn't he over at Xitter or Tesla?

    (engineer 1) Quick! Let's form a union!

    1. aerogems Silver badge

      Re: Meanwhile at SpaceX

      You forgot

      (engineer 1) That must be why I've been able to get my work done lately.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Unions are only ever good for the executive officers

    Unions are only ever good for the executive officers. Who get to compulsorily deduct money from my pay to pay their salaries /s

    1. SnailFerrous

      Re: Unions are only ever good for the executive officers

      Most unions, the members elect their leadership. Don't recall ever getting a vote on who the head honchos are for any company I've worked.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Unions are only ever good for the executive officers

        It's your own damn fault you didn't choose you parents and siblings carefully enough to get on the board.

  8. aerogems Silver badge
    Facepalm

    So let's see...

    * Disastrous Cybertruck launch

    * Slowing demand

    * Multiple lawsuits alleging racial discrimination

    * A CEO who's barely even a part-time employee

    * A CEO who is spending most of his time being a right-wing troll on social media and putting customers off the brand

    * Multiple government agencies investigating various company actions

    * Various other things I don't have the time or energy to list individually

    Yeah, that's totally worth a $56bn pay package.

    Any actually independent board of directors would have kicked this fuckwit to the curb ages ago. I cannot fathom why shareholders haven't revolted already and demanded Xitler's head on a platter. Calling for new elections for board members if they failed to deliver. Tesla is never going to be able to match the major auto makers. It's just not going to happen. They could, however, potentially carve out a small, but profitable, niche as a luxury EV brand. They just need to dump their zero CEO and hire themselves a hero who can actually save the company from either the oblivion of bankruptcy or becoming just one more brand in the stable of one of the major auto makers like so many other car manufacturers before them.

    1. Denarius Silver badge

      CEOs ?

      @aerogems: you have not worked for USA IT outsourcerers in last 30 years have you ?

      nearly all CEOs and boards seem to be incestuous business and political alliances worse than the old aristocrats, at least here in Oz. AFAIK, the EU rules on a maximum number of boards a parasite can sit on is A Good Thing

  9. Lars
    Happy

    What about Sweden

    Does anybody know how that "conflict" in Sweden has developed.

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