Tesla’s recent firing spree raises more serious questions about the company’s treatment of its workers. Today at the Tesla plant in Fremont, workers, elected officials, members of community groups and many more rallied inside the showroom of the facility to ask the company to reinstate every worker who was fired without just cause in the recent round of terminations.
Among those rallying support for the workers were Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle, Maria Noel Fernandez of Silicon Valley Rising, Eugenia Gutierrez and the Alameda Labor Council and others, all who called on Tesla to be a better community partner and treat their employees with respect. A full copy of the letter the groups delivered can be read here.
Mike Williams, former production associate in the Fremont plant:
After working hard for this company for five years, I was fired without any explanation. I have my most recent performance review, and it says that I was “consistently strong.” I have had no write-ups, no complaints against me. I do not believe I was fired for performance.
Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle:
Today we are calling on Tesla, a major employer in our county, to consider the impact that firing hundreds of people has on our community. These people are not numbers on a spreadsheet – they are our mothers and fathers and neighbors. They deserve to be treated with dignity that honors them as working Americans. We are concerned that workers who raised their voices are among those fired, and we believe they should be reinstated.
According to the Fair Future at Tesla campaign, while the company will not release a number on how many were terminated, estimates range from 700 to over 1,000. Media reports have suggested that firing people for ‘performance,’ as opposed to laying people off, allows the company to sidestep complying with state law, including the WARN Act.
The firings come on the heels of an NLRB complaint, alleging Tesla retaliated against its own workers who are seeking better treatment and a voice on the job.
Learn more about our fight for a fair future at www.FairFutureAtTesla.org