Co-published by Fast Company
In Robert Jimenez’s day, California was second only to Michigan in auto manufacturing, and homeownership was a much more attainable aspiration. “We are what’s left of the middle class,” he says.
Co-published by Fast Company
The United Auto Workers union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Tesla for firing pro-union workers at its Fremont, California auto assembly plant.
Co-published by Fast Company
Why would Tesla suddenly fire hundreds of workers at its one and only automobile plant? Could it be because it wanted to exchange vocally pro-union workers with temps that are cheaper to employ and easier to control?
Co-published by The American Prospect
Workers at Tesla’s Fremont, California electric car factory have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Elon Musk’s company of illegal surveillance, coercion, intimidation and prevention of worker communications.
Co-published by The American Prospect
Although its products epitomize the future, assembly line workers say Tesla’s labor conditions are mired in the past. BY DAVID DAYEN
I met Brian Smith and his grandmother Jean on a Sunday morning in South Los Angeles. Brian was a recent graduate of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11’s “boot camp” training program designed to prepare new members for the rigors of the trade. I had first come across Brian at the Wilshire Grand Center construction site as he waited for an elevator so he could move his cart of materials to a higher floor. It was only his third day on the job – he seemed enthusiastic but unsure of what the future held.
Brian told me that a union electrician from the neighborhood had come to his home in his off time to help his grandmother with some wiring. Brian, who had been working as a marketer in the music industry, was looking for something more stable – a career he could depend on. The Local 11 electrician invited him to look into his trade.