A federal appeals court upheld an earlier finding that Tesla and its boss, Elon Musk, violated labor laws by firing an employee involved in union organizing.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the NLRB’s ruling in Friday’s ruling, allowing the board of directors to enforce its 2021 ruling, which sought the reinstatement of former Tesla employee Richard Ortiz with debt payments and ordered Musk to delete the tweet.
“This is a happy day that my rights are finally protected,” Ortiz said. “I’m looking forward to returning to work at Tesla and working with my colleagues to complete the task of building a union.”
Ortiz became involved in union efforts at Tesla’s Fremont, California plant after three company employees testified before the California legislature against pro-union legislation at the company’s request. Ortiz shared information about these employees on a private union on Facebook. group. .
He eventually removed the position, but one of his colleagues filed a complaint with the company. Ortiz was fired in October 2017 for lying about where he got information about the staff to protect a union mate, which Ortiz admitted to a Tesla investigator.
The Court of Appeal upheld the NLRB’s finding that Tesla violated labor laws in firing Ortiz, saying the company did not provide “sufficient grounds to override” the board’s decision that Ortiz’s “union activities were a motivating factor” in firing him.
She also stated that Musk’s May 2018 tweet could be interpreted as “a threat to unilaterally revoke stock options if employees unionize.”
“There’s nothing stopping the Tesla team at our auto plant from voting,” Musk tweeted, adding, “They could do it if they wanted to. But why pay union dues and give up share options for nothing? Our safety record is at twice as good as it was.” When the plant was in the UAW, and everyone already had access to healthcare.”
Source: Hill
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