UAW Files Claim That Tesla Fired Workers Who Supported Union

(Bloomberg) -- The United Auto Workers filed an unfair labor practice claim against Tesla Inc. saying the company harassed, intimidated and eventually fired some workers who had supported unionizing.

The claim was filed Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging Tesla used a recent round of layoffs to dismiss some workers who openly supported the union, according to an emailed statement from UAW organizers. Tesla said earlier this month it laid off employees for performance reasons and didn’t say how many were affected.

Employees at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, started seeking assistance from the UAW earlier this year to form a union at the plant. A Tesla spokesman denied that workers were terminated for supporting the UAW and said about 20,000 unfair labor practice claims are filed with the NLRB annually as an organizing tactic.

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

--With assistance from Dana Hull

To contact the reporter on this story: David Welch in Southfield at dwelch12@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Anne Riley Moffat

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