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DFEH lawsuit against Tesla

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Dilly

Active Member
Feb 24, 2020
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Norfolk
Having read the California DFEH lawsuit alleging racial abuse at the Fremont factory I cannot help but be ashamed to have bought a car that was built there.

 
Sadly it's not unique to Tesla
Toyota:
Nissan/Renault:
GM

Even your vacuum cleaner isn't exempt from shoddy practices :
 
It wasn't absolutely clear whether that was forced or a case of safety in numbers.
It may be worth reminding folk that Musk was born in South Africa...

Tesla insists it's a matter of individual responsibility. Anyone who violates the law would be dealt with because the company does not tolerate it.

DFEH, on the other hand, says there is enough evidence that it is a systemic problem that the company has "failed to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation."

Segregation could be volunteer such as in San Francisco China Town.

In Tesla's case, it could be done with a good intention of safety: It's possible that management thinks that trouble makers (complainants) should be grouped together in the "slaveship" or "the plantation" for their own safety and also that to make sure these underrepresented groups won't destroy the bright rising career of white co-workers. However, that would be a violation of the law as now the victims are portrayed as bad culprits who do not have "thick skin" to tolerate the abuse and they lack a big heart to forgive their co-workers.
 
I don’t doubt you’re right
I think what appalled me as much as anything, was the segregation within the factory.
I thought the U.S. had consigned that to history.

Especially in California.

I mean, I’d not have been all that surprised if the factory was in a Southern state, but California?
 
Especially in California.

I mean, I’d not have been all that surprised if the factory was in a Southern state, but California?

White supremacy is alive and strong in California. See the map:

1644617664625.png


2021 California Governor recall was able to be on the ballot is also because of the strength of racism and White supremacy.

If they were not that strong, they would never be able to be qualified for the ballot.

They believe racial diversity destroys America and California so Governor Newsom had to go.

They believe the homeless (mostly black and brown) destroy the rich neighborhoods.


Luckily, although White Supremacy is strong but not strong enough to take over the state of California.
 
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Having read the California DFEH lawsuit alleging racial abuse at the Fremont factory I cannot help but be ashamed to have bought a car that was built there.


The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) intends to file a lawsuit against Tesla alleging systematic racial discrimination and harassment. This follows a three-year investigation during which the DFEH—whose mission is supposedly to protect workers—has never once raised any concern about current workplace practices at Tesla. Rather, the lawsuit appears focused on alleged misconduct by production associates at the Fremont factory that took place between 2015 and 2019.

Tesla strongly opposes all forms of discrimination and harassment and has a dedicated Employee Relations team that responds to and investigates all complaints. We also have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team whose work is shown in this public report. Tesla has always disciplined and terminated employees who engage in misconduct, including those who use racial slurs or harass others in different ways. We recently rolled out an additional training program that reinforces Tesla’s requirement that all employees must treat each other with respect and reminds employees about the numerous ways they can report concerns, including anonymously. Above all, Tesla continues to seek to provide a workplace that is safe, respectful, fair, and inclusive—all of which are vital to achieving our mission.

Tesla is also the last remaining automobile manufacturer in California. The Fremont factory has a majority-minority workforce and provides the best paying jobs in the automotive industry to over 30,000 Californians. No company has done more for sustainability or the creation of clean energy jobs than Tesla. Yet, at a time when manufacturing jobs are leaving California, the DFEH has decided to sue Tesla instead of constructively working with us. This is both unfair and counterproductive, especially because the allegations focus on events from years ago.

Over the past five years, the DFEH has been asked on almost 50 occasions by individuals who believe they were discriminated against or harassed to investigate Tesla. On every single occasion, when the DFEH closed an investigation, it did not find misconduct against Tesla. It therefore strains credibility for the agency to now allege, after a three-year investigation, that systematic racial discrimination and harassment somehow existed at Tesla. A narrative spun by the DFEH and a handful of plaintiff firms to generate publicity is not factual proof.

Once the DFEH files its lawsuit, Tesla will be asking the court to pause the case and take other steps to ensure that facts and evidence will be heard. To date, despite repeated requests, the DFEH has declined to provide Tesla with the specific allegations or the factual bases for its lawsuit. Attacking a company like Tesla that has done so much good for California should not be the overriding aim of a state agency with prosecutorial authority. The interests of workers and fundamental fairness must come first.
 
It wasn't absolutely clear whether that was forced or a case of safety in numbers.
It may be worth reminding folk that Musk was born in South Africa...

I think it's a USA problem - rooted in informal housing segregation. NB. many people are ignorant of the anti-apartheid attitudes of many white South Africans, especially of "English" heritage.

From some commentary, it related to less promotion / movement between different production areas. There are accusations between Spanish-speaking and Afro-American staff & from white staff displaying confederate flag tattoos. My understanding is that much of USA is informally and INCREASINGLY segregated in terms of housing. This leads to secondary effects on schools, education, friendships, churches, healthcare and even ways of speaking. People brought up like that won't suddenly change when they come to work. Bigot before, bigot after.

Tesla employ around 4% ex-military, unsure if that helps or hinders. Marines generally don't allow confederate flag tattoos, other services do.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/report-oa...-metro-areas-that-have-become-more-segregated Fox news affiliate reporting on The Roots of Structural Racism Project | Othering & Belonging Institute "This report refocuses attention on the roots of structural racism: racial residential segregation"

  1. Out of every metropolitan region in the United States with more than 200,000 residents, 81 percent (169 out of 209) were more segregated as of 2019 than they were in 1990
  2. Rustbelt cities of the industrial Midwest and mid-Atlantic disproportionately make up the top 10 most segregated cities list, which includes Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Trenton
  3. Out of the 113 largest cities examined, only Colorado Springs, CO and Port St. Lucie, FL qualify as “integrated” under our rubric
I don't know the history of Fremont - but it seems badly segregated. Could this be a legacy of past industries, the joint GM/Toyota plant (and presumably many workers) that Tesla inherited?

Fremont has around 3% Black/Afro-Americans - I don't know where else is commutable. Fremont, California - Wikipedia at 57%, a very high percentage of people from Asian backgrounds.

Demographic profile[56]20102018 estimate[57]
Total Population​
214,089 – 100.0%237,807
One Race​
201,505 – 94.1%94.5%
Not Hispanic or Latino​
182,391 – 85.2%86.5%
White alone​
56,766 – 26.5%24.9%
Black or African American alone​
6,743 – 3.1%3.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone​
458 – 0.2%0.4%
Asian alone​
107,679 – 50.3%57.4%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone​
1,064 – 0.5%0.9%
Some other race alone​
388 – 0.2%
Two or more races alone​
9,293 – 4.3%5.5%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)​
31,698 – 14.8%13.5%

On the study’s list of most to least segregated large cities, Detroit was named at the top. Oakland was listed as 14th most segregated and Fremont was 34th.

Another story - nearby I guess - https://www.ktvu.com/news/students-at-lowell-high-school-fed-up-with-racist-culture-demand-changes

Students said the problems go back years and have never been properly addressed.

African American students make up 1% of the student population at Lowell. Students said many black kids don't want to attend for fear of being mistreated.

Students at Lowell are demanding teachers and staff undergo more sensitivity training. They also want changes to the curriculum, including more ethnic studies classes.

School board member Alison Collins supports a controversial proposal to eliminate Lowell's selective admissions process in favor of a random lottery system.

She also supports a resolution to create a community-wide committee looking at race-related issues in the district

"It is not just about this egregious incident. It's about a pattern of behaviors and experiences for students for years," Collins said.

"We are trying to convey the message that black students matter. This is an issue for the district. It doesn't just happen at Lowell," said Hines-Foster.

Re: South Africa

In 1988, after obtaining a Canadian passport, Musk left South Africa because he was unwilling to support apartheid through compulsory military service and because he sought the greater economic opportunities available in the United States.

I remember his brother talking about attending anti-apartheid demos and saying how scary they were, running from the police. I don't know enough, but I suspect Musk's family was more connected to the English speakers who were generally not supportive of apartheid. He attended Anglican Sunday school which supports that.

great many English speakers remained apathetic and that Verwoerd had not succeeded in uniting the white population

Schools - all English medium
Bryanston High School - Wikipedia extra languages, Afrikaans, French & Zulu

I think this quote is telling:-
The dual-medium institution would last ten years. By 1920, the divide between English and Afrikaans speakers had become apparent nationwide; this was reflected in the need for a separate Afrikaans high school in Pretoria
 
I don’t doubt you’re right
I think what appalled me as much as anything, was the segregation within the factory.
I thought the U.S. had consigned that to history.
And do you believe everything you read in the papers? And don't forget to factor in the effect of rapacious members of the US legal profession some of whom are running for political office.
 
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@Tam That is very, very saddening.

Yes. It is sad but that’s the reality of the world.

Good and evil have been co-existing but which one should we encourage is the issue.

In the past, many normally good angelic neighbors were suddenly turned into the Nazi fervors of murdering humans.

Milgram Shock Experiment revealed that every single participant taking on the role of “teacher” were administering shock a “learner” to a dangerous level of 300 volts and 65% at the most dangerous shock level of 450 volts (they had the options from 15 to 450 volts).

Thus, leadership and laws are important in encouraging good and punishing evil.

The question is how Tesla applies the above principle of good and evil?

One example that the lawsuit spells out how it’s a systemic problem: Tesla’s investigations of complaints are not compliant with law: This is a company’s policy/practice/protocol so it is hard to deny it:

Deflect and evade responsibility: Tesla only investigates complaints from its own employees but when racism happened on its own ground but involves contracted workers, it passes the buck to the contracted employment agencies.

There’s a written document from a Tesla executive preaching the staff to be “thick-skinned” about race harassment on page 5, note 21.

In summary, it is sad but it’s encouraging news because the violations are now exhibited in daylight which hopefully will change Tesla to be a good company that will have a systemic policy to do good and discourage evils.
 
Yes. It is sad but that’s the reality of the world.

Good and evil have been co-existing but which one should we encourage is the issue.

In the past, many normally good angelic neighbors were suddenly turned into the Nazi fervors of murdering humans.

Milgram Shock Experiment revealed that every single participant taking on the role of “teacher” were administering shock a “learner” to a dangerous level of 300 volts and 65% at the most dangerous shock level of 450 volts (they had the options from 15 to 450 volts).

Thus, leadership and laws are important in encouraging good and punishing evil.

The question is how Tesla applies the above principle of good and evil?

One example that the lawsuit spells out how it’s a systemic problem: Tesla’s investigations of complaints are not compliant with law: This is a company’s policy/practice/protocol so it is hard to deny it:

Deflect and evade responsibility: Tesla only investigates complaints from its own employees but when racism happened on its own ground but involves contracted workers, it passes the buck to the contracted employment agencies.

There’s a written document from a Tesla executive preaching the staff to be “thick-skinned” about race harassment on page 5, note 21.

In summary, it is sad but it’s encouraging news because the violations are now exhibited in daylight which hopefully will change Tesla to be a good company that will have a systemic policy to do good and discourage evils.
Not sure about every, I seem to remember a Czech man point out refused (possibly from the start).
From wiikipedia:

Thomas Blass of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County performed a meta-analysis on the results of repeated performances of the experiment. He found that while the percentage of participants who are prepared to inflict fatal voltages ranged from 28% to 91%, there was no significant trend over time and the average percentage for US studies (61%) was close to the one for non-US studies (66%