Tesla Workers Start a Drive to Unionize Solar-Panel Factory (New York: wages, maintenance)

[Thundarr457]

From Bloomberg 12/13:

Employees at Tesla Inc.’s solar-panel factory in Buffalo, New York, are kicking off a union-organizing campaign, a fresh challenge to the automaker that has so far successfully resisted similar efforts by the United Auto Workers at its sole car plant in Fremont, California.

The campaign would involve about 300 production and maintenance employees at the western New York facility and is a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the United Steelworkers, who began hearing from workers earlier this year, according to local USW organizing coordinator Dave Wasiura. “They want a fair wage that’s reflective of the state investment that the company received,” he said in an interview.

Wasiura said the unions have created a committee of pro-union employees in the plant and are working toward securing support from a strong enough majority of the workforce to file for a unionization election with the National Labor Relations Board.

A Tesla spokesperson said that Tesla pays workers an average of $16.20 an hour and gives them benefits and an equity stake in the company. Tesla also pays performance bonuses, and said that the hourly wages are better than the average production worker makes in the Buffalo region.

"We offer wages and benefits that exceed those of other comparable manufacturing jobs in the region, and we recently increased our base pay even further," Tesla said in a statement. "In addition, unlike other manufacturers, every single employee is an owner of Tesla, as everyone receives stock upon hire and for good performance, which results in significantly more compensation beyond our already high wages."

Workers want better pay, according to the union. “I wanted to work at Tesla because I wanted a job in green energy, a job that can change the world,” said Rob Walsh, another organizing committee member. “But I also want a fair wage for my work.”

[VA Yankee]

Well there goes that opportunity for growth and jobs, once the union gets their finger in it costs will skyrocket and Tesla will go elsewhere...

[drinkthekoolaid]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

Well there goes that opportunity for growth and jobs, once the union gets their finger in it costs will skyrocket and Tesla will go elsewhere...

As soon as the tax breaks expire and the union demands more tesla will close up and move leaving thousands without work.

[Thundarr457]

Agree 100% with the above 2 posters. This is why businesses don't locate in NY State.

From NBC News, most unionized states:

1. New York

Amount of workforce unionized: 24.1 percent
Union workers: 1,904,425
Change in union membership 2001 to 2011: -9.7 percent (32nd largest decline)
Change in union membership 2010 to 2011: -0.4 percent (29th largest decline)
Total employed 2011: 7,915,811 (3rd most)
New York does not have the most union workers in the country (that goes to California), but it has the largest percentage of workers that are in unions. It also has the largest percentage of its public workforce, and the second-largest percentage of its private workforce, who are in a union. The state has roughly 1.4 million workers in the public sector, of which more than 1 million are union members. The 72 percent membership in public unions is nearly double the national average of 37 percent. The number of union members in New York took a massive hit last year as the state lost 54,300 union workers, more than any state but California. The majority of this decline came from the public sector.

[HowardRoarke]

I figured SolarCity would be a nothingburger. Just a matter of time, it's an unsustainable business model, and just another bad investment which will backfire. The company promised the sky to Buffalo, with the backing of state taxpayers, but has failed to deliver.



$16.20 is kinda low in my book, but at any rate the cost of creating those jobs has been astronomical.