Tesla raising factory worker pay in U.S., as UAW aims to organize

Tesla The company will roll out “market-adjusted” pay increases to many factory workers across the United States this month, according to a notice posted at the company’s auto assembly plant in Fremont, California.

Bloomberg first reported on the poster.

A Fremont employee confirmed that 2024 salary information is posted on the website and that the company recently implemented a raise. The person asked not to be named because he did not have permission to speak to the media.

CNBC reported last month that workers at Tesla’s battery factory in Sparks, Nevada, were told their hourly wages would rise in January. The pay increases for hourly workers in Nevada are about 10%, depending on the position and do not include bonuses that some employees can receive.

The new raises come after the United Auto Workers union announced a major victory for the Big Three automakers in Detroit as they aim to build at least one Tesla factory. The UAW is circulating a Authorization card Online, the names and signatures of Tesla workers are being collected to gauge their interest in forming a union.

Led by Shawn Fain, the UAW sought company recognition of the union, or a vote when a plant gained about 70 percent of its workers.

“Following Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and nearly every other car company in its historic victory over the Big Three, Tesla is now following in the footsteps of Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and nearly every other car company in raising wages as workers around the world Non-union autoworkers are starting to stand up for themselves, Fein said in a statement emailed to CNBC by a spokesperson. “While these raises are significant, they are still well below what companies and autoworkers can afford. the value of. “

The union has not disclosed how many Tesla workers have signed authorization cards so far.

Tesla’s director of people operations and projects did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla CEO Musk has long been in conflict with labor unions. At the 2023 New York Times DealBook Summit in November, he said “I don’t agree with the idea of ​​unions” and claimed that unions created “a kind of lords and peasants kind of thing.”

The National Labor Relations Board found Tesla violated federal labor laws on more than one occasion. In 2018, for example, Musk tweeted that workers at Tesla’s Fremont factory would lose their stock options if they unionized. A federal appeals court ruled his tweets constituted an unlawful threat.

President Joe Biden Said before He supports efforts to organize workers in factories that do not yet recognize unions. The group includes Tesla and Toyota.

Tesla has also faced challenges from unions in Europe, including strikes and boycotts involving service workers last year.

New York Times At least 15 unions are reported to have joined mid frequency metal The strike “seeks to force Tesla to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that sets wages and benefits that reflect Swedish industry standards.” The Associated Press reports that large pension funds in Scandinavia have asked Tesla reconsider its approach Work with unions and collective agreements.

Tesla shares closed down 2.9% on Thursday after reports of a U.S. wage increase and news that the automaker will halt production in Germany for two weeks due to supply chain issues caused by the Red Sea attack.

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