Tesla workers in New York said Tuesday they will launch a campaign to form a union, setting the stage for the latest labor challenge for CEO Elon Musk.
In a letter to Tesla management, the employees announced their plan to unionize with Workers United Upstate New York.
The union, if formed, would be a first for Tesla, which has so far managed to avoid unionization at its US facilities, unlike other major automakers.
Musk has in the past been vocal in his opposition to unions and faced the ire of the US National Labor Relations Board when he was ordered to delete a 2018 tweet that said employees would lose their stock options if they formed a sindicate.
“We believe unionization will give us a voice in our workplace that we feel has been ignored to this point,” the workers said in a news release Tuesday. “We are just asking for a seat in the car that we helped build.”
The letter, first reported by Bloomberg News earlier that day, quoted employees asking Tesla to respect their right to organize a union and calling on the world’s most valuable automaker to sign on to the Fair Pick Principles.
The employees said the right to organize a union is a fundamental civil right and the principles would prevent Tesla from threatening or retaliating against workers for organizing a union.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
