A U.S. labor board official dismissed allegations against Tesla, involving the illegal dismissal of employees from the Autopilot department at its Buffalo, New York factory.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional official ruled out the complaint filed by Workers United, the union attempting to organize workers at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Buffalo, reports Reuters.
Workers United had accused Tesla of firing several workers from its Autopilot team shortly after the announcement of a union campaign earlier this year. Tesla, however, maintained that the terminations were based on performance evaluations, not related to union activities.
Despite dismissing the firing claims, the NLRB official found substantial grounds for two separate accusations. These include Tesla’s implementation of an unlawful technology usage rule and soliciting worker grievances to undermine union support, stated NLRB spokeswoman Kayla Blado on Monday. If unresolved, these issues could lead to a formal complaint against Tesla, followed by a hearing before an administrative judge.
Both Tesla and Workers United have not yet responded to requests for comments.
This case in Buffalo is a segment of a broader initiative to unionize Tesla’s nationwide facilities, which has led to multiple complaints filed with the labor board alleging illegal tactics to suppress unionization.
In related news, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, fresh from securing new contracts with the Detroit Three automakers, announced plans to intensify efforts to organize U.S. auto plants of Tesla and other non-union companies. This month, President Joe Biden expressed his support for the UAW’s endeavors to unionize workers at Tesla and Toyota.
In a separate but related incident, an NLRB judge in April ruled against Tesla supervisors at a Florida service center for unlawfully prohibiting discussions on pay and working conditions. Additionally, a U.S. appeals court recently overturned an NLRB decision accusing Tesla of violating labor laws by restricting workers at its Fremont, California, assembly plant from wearing UAW T-shirts.
Tesla also faces an ongoing appeal in a separate case, where an NLRB ruling declared CEO Elon Musk’s 2018 tweet about losing stock options if employees unionized as a violation of federal labor laws. Tesla has consistently denied any wrongdoing in these cases.
