Tesla slapped with labor complaint by UAW

The United Auto Workers on Wednesday hit Tesla with a federal labor complaint, claiming the electric vehicle maker consistently harassed and recently fired union supporters despite their strong performance records.

The UAW claims the company has intimidated and harassed employees, and targeted union supporters in their recent round of dismissals. The labor group charges the company swept up many pro-union workers when it fired several hundred workers in the last two weeks.

A Tesla spokesman said the company respects workers rights to discuss organizing and protesting.

“Performance reviews result in promotions and occasionally in employee departures,” the spokesman said. “No one at Tesla has ever or will ever have any action taken against them based on their feelings on unionization.”

He added that complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board are a common practice for union organizers.

Tesla workers are not represented by a union, although the UAW has supported workers seeking to organize at the plant.

Tesla fired hundreds of workers this month, including engineers, factory workers, and sales and administrative staff. The company said the dismissals, which employees have estimated to be between 400 and 700 workers, were based on annual performance reviews. Tesla refused to say how many employees have been fired.

Tesla is trying to expand production of its new Model 3 sedan, but only produce 260 cars last quarter. It has a backlog of about 450,000 orders for the lower cost electric vehicle.

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