Elon Musk and trade unions

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had 24 open investigations into Musk's companies Tesla, SpaceX, and X Corp. (formerly Twitter) {{As of|2025|Jan|lc=y}}. These include alleged surveillance of Twitter employees during Musk's acquisition of Twitter and interference with union organizing at Tesla. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was investigating racial discrimination at SpaceX. In 2024, SpaceX countersued the NLRB in response to the NLRB's investigation into alleged retaliation against employees who spoke out critically.{{Cite news |last=Hsu |first=Andrea |title=Accused of violating worker rights, SpaceX and Amazon go after labor board |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/11/18/nx-s1-5192918/spacex-amazon-nlrb-labor-board-elon-musk |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=NPR |language=en}}

In the first month of Donald Trump's second presidency, Trump fired top board members at several labor agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Federal Labor Relations Authority,{{Cite news |last=Sainato |first=Michael |date=2025-02-11 |title=Trump continues clearout of top US labor officials with fresh firing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/11/trump-labor-flra-firing |access-date=2025-02-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} denying these independent agencies the quorum needed to make board decisions.{{Cite news |last1=Lipton |first1=Eric |last2=Grind |first2=Kirsten |author-link2=Kirsten Grind |date=2025-02-11 |title=Elon Musk's Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/us/politics/elon-musk-companies-conflicts.html |access-date=2025-02-11 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

A coalition of US labor unions sued to limit the access of the Department of Government Efficiency (led by Elon Musk) to sensitive data in various government agencies.{{Cite web |last=Niedzwiadek |first=Nick |date=2025-02-07 |title=Unions play catch up as DOGE rips through federal agencies |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/07/unions-doge-musk-lawsuit-federal-agencies-00203222 |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=Politico |language=en}} The AFL-CIO launched a campaign called the Department of People Who Work for a Living, a reference to DOGE.{{Cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |author-link1=Maggie Haberman |last2=Swan |first2=Jonathan |author-link2=Jonathan Swan |date=2025-02-05 |title=A.F.L.-C.I.O. Pushes Back on Elon Musk's Campaign Against Federal Workers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/us/politics/afl-cio-federal-workers-musk-doge.html?searchResultPosition=2 |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Two labor unions representing government employees, American Federation of Government Employees, the Service Employees International Union, and the Alliance for Retired Americans, a non-profit representing retired union members, sued the Treasury Department on February 3, for sharing financial information with DOGE,{{Cite web |last=Tan |first=Kwan Wei Kevin |title=Federal employee unions are suing the Treasury and alleging Elon Musk's DOGE gained illegal and 'unprecedented' access to data |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/union-groups-sue-accuse-treasury-giving-doge-access-data-2025-2 |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} as violations of the Privacy Act and the Internal Revenue Code.{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Chris |date=2025-02-04 |title=Unions Sue to Block Musk's Access to Treasury Payment Data |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/us/politics/elon-musk-treasury-payment-data.html |access-date=2025-02-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

The AFL-CIO sued the Department of Labor on February 5,{{Cite news |last=Rainey |first=Rebecca |date=2025-02-05 |title=Union Group Sues to Block DOGE Labor Department Data Access (1) |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/union-coalition-sues-to-block-doge-labor-department-data-access |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250211120613/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/union-coalition-sues-to-block-doge-labor-department-data-access |archive-date=2025-02-11 |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=Bloomberg Law |language=en}} to prevent DOGE from accessing its internal IT system, a request that was declined by US District Judge John Bates two days later, because the AFL-CIO failed to show actual harm from the Department of Labor.{{Cite news |date=February 10, 2025 |title=Judge declines to block DOGE from Labor Department systems |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-declines-block-elon-musks-doge-labor-department-systems-2025-02-08/ |work=Reuters}}

The American Federation of Teachers, and three more unions, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the National Federation of Federal Employees sued three government agencies on February 10, for allegedly sharing data with the DOGE, including the Treasury Department for sharing tax refunds and social security information, the Office of Personnel Management (the federal government's HR system) for providing job applicant and federal employee data, and the Education Department for providing database of student loans.{{Cite web |last=Perez Junior |first=Juan |date=2025-02-10 |title=Unions sue to stop DOGE from accessing federal data |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/10/unions-doge-musk-lawsuit-federal-data-00203489 |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=Politico |language=en}}

{{Main|Tesla and trade unions}}

File:Tesla_workers_united.jpg union drive at Giga New York in 2023]]

Tesla has had labor disputes in the United States, Germany and Sweden, including an ongoing strike in Sweden. Tesla, Inc., an American electric car and solar panel manufacturer, has more than 140,000 workers employed across its global operations as of January 2024.{{cite web |date=January 26, 2024 |title=Annual Report Form 10-K 2023 Tesla Inc. |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828024002390/tsla-20231231.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129182309/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828024002390/tsla-20231231.htm |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |access-date=February 8, 2024 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission}} Tesla CEO Elon Musk has expressed his opposition to unions on Twitter (now called X). The National Labor Relations Board held that one tweet was unlawful, but was overturned by a federal appeals court.{{cite news |last1=McGill |first1=Kevin |date=29 October 2024 |title=Elon Musk wins a court battle over a 2018 post during a labor dispute |url=https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-uaw-twitter-nlrb-tesla-5fab2a42b9543f7702deed80d79c7d02 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241029221955/https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-uaw-twitter-nlrb-tesla-5fab2a42b9543f7702deed80d79c7d02 |archive-date=October 29, 2024 |access-date=30 October 2024 |publisher=Associated Press}} All unionization efforts at the Tesla Fremont Factory and Gigafactory New York in the United States have been unsuccessful.{{Cite news |last=Budman |first=Scott |date=2024-09-03 |title=Protesters Call out Tesla for Being Only American Car Company Not Represented by Union |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/east-bay/fremont-tesla-labor-day-protest/3641285/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909115258/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/east-bay/fremont-tesla-labor-day-protest/3641285/ |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-15 |work=NBC Bay Area}} In Germany, Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg and Tesla Automation have elected works councils, but they have not signed collective bargaining agreements with the German trade union IG Metall.{{Cite news |date=2024-01-07 |title=Tesla Lehnt Tarifverträge Für Beschäftigte Weiterhin Ab |trans-title=Tesla continues to reject collective agreements for workers |url=https://www.rbb24.de/wirtschaft/beitrag/2024/01/brandenburg-gruenheide-tesla-gegen-tarifbindung.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120172559/https://www.rbb24.de/wirtschaft/beitrag/2024/01/brandenburg-gruenheide-tesla-gegen-tarifbindung.html |archive-date=January 20, 2024 |access-date=2024-09-15 |work=Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg |language=de}}{{Cite news |last=Vetter |first=Philipp |date=2017-10-18 |title=Deutschland: Tesla Einigt Sich Auf Deutliche Gehaltssteigerung |trans-title=Germany: Tesla agrees on significant salary increase |url=https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article169760888/Tesla-gibt-deutschen-Mitarbeitern-deutliche-Gehaltserhoehung.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831121644/https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article169760888/Tesla-gibt-deutschen-Mitarbeitern-deutliche-Gehaltserhoehung.html |archive-date=August 31, 2018 |access-date=2021-12-24 |work=Die Welt |language=de}} The Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg works council is divided into pro-union and anti-union factions.{{Cite news |date=2024-04-05 |title=Neugewählter Tesla-Betriebsrat Bestätigt Michaela Schmitz Als Vorsitzende |trans-title=Newly elected Tesla works council confirms Michaela Schmitz as chairwoman |url=https://www.rbb24.de/wirtschaft/beitrag/2024/04/brandenburg-gruenheide-tesla-betriebsrat-konstituierende-sitzung-schmitz-vorsitzende.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240825144831/https://www.rbb24.de/wirtschaft/beitrag/2024/04/brandenburg-gruenheide-tesla-betriebsrat-konstituierende-sitzung-schmitz-vorsitzende.html |archive-date=August 25, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-25 |work=Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg |language=de}} In Sweden, mechanics who are members of the trade union IF Metall have been on strike since October 27, 2023, making it the longest strike in Sweden since 1938.{{Cite web |last=Kuhn |first=Gabriel |author-link=Gabriel Kuhn |date=2024-05-08 |title=The Head of SAC: Tesla Faces a 'Stalemate' in Sweden as the Longest Strike in Decades Grinds On |url=https://turningpointmag.org/2024/05/08/the-head-of-sac-tesla-faces-a-stalemate-in-sweden-as-the-longest-strike-in-decades-grinds-on/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614234038/https://turningpointmag.org/2024/05/08/the-head-of-sac-tesla-faces-a-stalemate-in-sweden-as-the-longest-strike-in-decades-grinds-on/ |archive-date=June 14, 2024 |access-date=2024-06-14 |work=Turning Point}} The strike has since spread, with other Swedish, Danish and Norwegian unions calling for solidarity strikes.{{Cite news |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Tesla Labour Dispute Ignites Nordic Sympathy Strikes |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-labour-dispute-ignites-nordic-sympathy-strikes-2023-12-07/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210062434/https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-labour-dispute-ignites-nordic-sympathy-strikes-2023-12-07/ |archive-date=December 10, 2023 |access-date=September 27, 2024 |work=Reuters}}

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{{Elon Musk}}

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Unions

Category:Anti-union sentiment

Category:Department of Government Efficiency

Category:Second Trump administration controversies