Workers at a Tesla plant in Buffalo, New York have announced plans to unionize.  

"We believe unionizing will give us a voice in our workplace that we feel has been ignored to this point," the workers said in a press release on Tuesday. "We are only asking for a seat in the car that we helped build."

Some of the same organizers behind the recent spate of unionizations at Starbucks locations are behind the effort, according to a Bloomberg News report.  

In addition to more power in the workplace, the workers expressed a desire to take a more active role in the direction of the company, which they see as a crucial player in the green transition. 

"We believe that by having a union at Tesla, we will further the mission of sustainability and foster a progressive environment for us all," the statement read. "Unionizing will further accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, because it will give us a voice in our workplace and in the goals we set for ourselves to accomplish."

The group is also  calling on Tesla to sign a Fair Election Principles agreement ensuring that the company will not interfere with their legal right to organize. 

For context, Google signed such an agreement, while Amazon did not. Recent labor negotiations at the latter company have been significantly more contentious. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for his part, has been upfront about his anti-union stance. Indeed, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that a 2018 tweet from Musk was actually an implicit threat against workers. 

Tesla appealed the decision, and has been embroiled in a legal case ever since. 

Share: