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Elon Musk has challenged United Auto Workers to hold a unionization vote at Tesla’s California manufacturing plant — arguing the company’s employees are already well treated and compensation without labor representation.
“I’d like hereby to invite UAW to hold a union vote at their convenience. Tesla will do nothing to stop them,” Musk tweeted.
Musk issued the invitation after President Biden mentioned Ford and GM – but not Tesla – while discussing his administration’s push for investments in domestic manufacturing for electric vehicles during his State of the Union address.
After the speech, Musk responded to famed KISS musician Gene Simmons, who argued the Biden administration should “give Elon Musk/Tesla its due” as “game changers” in the electric vehicle sector. The White House has repeatedly snubbed Tesla, the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles, because it isn’t unionized.
Musk noted Tesla’s facility in California is “the largest auto plant in North America,” – adding that his company was “considering expanding it significantly.”
“Our real challenge is Bay Area has negative unemployment, so if we don’t treat and compensate our (awesome) people well, they have many other offers and will just leave!” Musk said.
UAW did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Biden has maintained close ties with the auto workers’ union since taking office and has repeatedly invited the CEOs of Ford and GM, both of which are affiliated with UAW, to White House events.
Musk later followed up by claiming that “Tesla factory worker compensation is the highest in the auto industry.”
Earlier, the Tesla founder lashed out after Biden failed to mention the company during his State of the Union address, telling CNBC that “nobody” was watching his speech.
Musk has referred to Biden as a “damp [sock] puppet in human form” who was “treating the American public like fools” by failing to acknowledge Tesla’s leading position in the marketplace.
Musk has faced scrutiny over Tesla’s handling of labor organizing efforts in the past. In 2019, a California judge ruled Tesla violated labor laws after Musk suggested that employees could lose their stock options if they unionized.
And in February, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Tesla over allegations of racial discrimination at its facility in the state.
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