United States labor board files complaint against Tesla over worker rights

In a letter to Tesla dated April 18, the NLRB warned that because of the nature of the alleged unfair labor practices, an injunction against the company may be appropriate, the reports said.

In complaint filed yesterday, the NLRB has listed several instances in which it alleged it had determined Tesla tried to interfere with union creation activities by employees at the company's Fremont, California vehicle factory. "These allegations, which have been filed by the same contingent of union organisers who have been so outspoken with media, are entirely without merit".

Tesla is facing a series of new charges from the National Labor Relations Board as pressure mounts to fill orders for its first mainstream vehicle, the Model 3.

Some employees at Tesla's auto plant in Fremont, Calif., have reportedly been working for nearly a year with the United Auto Workers in an effort to form a union - a move Tesla management is opposed to.

According to the National Labor Relations Board complaint, Tesla violated workers' rights by requiring them to sign a confidentiality agreement that could bar them from talking about their working conditions and safety issues at the company's facility in Fremont, Calif.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the USA has filed a complaint against Elon Musk's Tesla over charges that the automobile maker violated worker rights at its Fremont facility in California. This is despite signing a document indicating they may face termination or criminal prosecution for speaking publicly about what they observed at work or their working conditions.

Tesla said the filings were baseless, and called UAW's actions and tactics an attempt to demonise the company, due to the failure of the union to gain traction in Fremont and elsewhere.

A factory worker supporting the union said that the complaint filed against Tesla will be able to help the people realize that they have the right to speak up whenever they see something that is not right.

The UAW is trying to unionize the 10,000 Tesla workers at the Fremont plant, alleging the company has a poor safety record - a charge it vehemently denies. "I'm proud of my coworkers who filed these charges and stood up for us".

Production associate Jonathan Galescu says his co-workers "need to know we have rights, and that we can speak up about what we are seeing and experiencing". "We will obviously be responding as part of the NLRB process".

Tesla adds that the UAW has "strayed from the original mission of the American labor movement" and points to "declining membership" and "corruption charges" as reasons for the union to feel "pressured to continue its publicity campaign against Tesla".