Public Medium post about unionizing..

[mmd]

Interesting note at the end of the gizmodo article
http://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-responds-to-claims-of-low-pay-injuries-and-a-1792190512

"Gizmodo was unable to find anyone by the name of Jose Moran currently working for Tesla on any social media, and his Medium post does not give any contact information."

That is outrageous! Our TMC fellow poster could locate him within minutes! Linkedin is the first place i look for someone. There was another Tesla employee who complained about Model S headliner quality. She was quickly located there also.

l looked him up on Linked In.
Jose Moran
Production Lead
Tesla Motors San Jose State University
Fremont, California
UnderBody Team Lead, Body Center
Company NameTesla Motors
Dates EmployedSep 2012 – Present Employment Duration4 yrs 6 mos LocationFremont, California
• Create standardized Work Instructions and perform Daily Work Instruction Verification audits.
• Facilitate process training and manage a daily process rotation schedule.
• Ensure exceptional 5S conditions.
• Confirm safety and PPE compliance.
• Microsoft Office skills.

 

[ecarfan]

Something just dawned on me... I bet Elon is even more aggressive in pushing automation and robots, the machine that builds the machine concept... If the workers are going to behave like this, replace them with robots. They never complain, don't take breaks, and can't unionize...

And that trend, of increasing industrial automation, has been ongoing for over a century and continues to accelerate in every industry. It is unstoppable. If a job can be automated and result in decreased costs, it will be. Unions can't stop that trend.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I would move production to Nevada... California is a tough business state to work in as a manufacturer and I would never allow a union to pollute my business. However I do think they should give the guys performance stock that vests over time and provides them a bonus based on the performance of the business.

 

[diesel]

If the cost of living is too high around a business, guess what the problem is?

Intel is putting a $7 billion factory in Arizona, not California. I wonder why? Because it's a "dry heat"? Or something else?

Quite telling that when Tesla had a choice as to where they would put GF1 it wasn't near Fremont. Unfortunately as long as they require a large workforce at Fremont they will have to balance profitability with the cost of living for their employees.

 

[McRat]

...The 5,273,170 population increase since 2000 seems at odds with your anecdotal evidence of your "customers" deserting California:
...

Perhaps. My customers are medium to large businesses involved with manufacturing.

Some are still headquartered here, but have moved their production facilities.

 

[youlikeadajuice]

This is quite simple. No. Do you see what the UAW did to the American auto industry???

Unions are not the answer, they have become nothing more than shelters for those who don't really want to work but believe they are entitled to compensation and benefits at the level of those who do. Call that controversial if you want, some of you may be offended by it, but in my lifetime I have never seen a union do right by it's members.

Jeff

I'm not speaking for the UAW, but to say all unions are not the answer and that all union workers are lazy and entitled is an arrogant and ignorant comment. I'm a union member and I bust my butt working. The union keeps me from getting abused, which sounds like the major point of the Tesla worker from the Medium post. Long hours with no appropriate compensation and unsafe working conditions. I'm not saying my union, or others are perfect, but it's helped me a great deal.

 

[Waiting4M3]

...replace them with robots. They ... can't unionize...

Jeff

Not yet

 

[iwannam3]

With low wages you get high turnover and unhappy employees that don't give a rats rear end about doing a quality job. Hence all the mis-aligned parts, scratches, etc etc that the customers find on delivery and demand the SC fix. Seems like the factory floor is GM mode, ignore the defect and push it down the line, not Toyota where they stop the line for any little defect and improve the system to eliminate that defect in the future..

 

[Xenoilphobe]

This is by and large good. It makes more room for the millionaire tech folks who pay the higher tax rates so the rest of us poor folk can still have a reasonable standard of living. The 5,273,170 population increase since 2000 seems at odds with your anecdotal evidence of your "customers" deserting California:


RT

This might have something to do with the population increase in California.

Many more undocumented immigrants reside in California (topping 2.5 million) and Texas (more than 1.5 million) than any other state, according to Pew data. However, Nevada has the largest proportion of undocumented immigrants—7.2 percent of the state population and nearly 10 percent of its workforce.

 

[bonnie]

If the cost of living is too high around a business, guess what the problem is?

Intel is putting a $7 billion factory in Arizona, not California. I wonder why? Because it's a "dry heat"? Or something else?

Because they already have a large factory complex in Chandler, AZ. Lots of cheap land there. Another large manufacturing center is next to Portland - but it's far more land-locked. Same with Santa Clara, CA.

I could also comment on how this announcement to invest $7 billion in an Arizona factory was already made in 2009, but I suspect it's far more fun for supporters to believe Trump made this happen. If you want to read an inspiring speech, look for Paul Otellini's speech announcing the investment in 2009. Intel decided to invest that money when the economy was tanking. And now Trump is taking credit. I guess that's the way the game is played, but it's too bad.

FYI - Intel has factories all over the world - it's a global company. So I suspect Intel is spinning this now as a new investment to please Trump -- because so much of the manufacturing is world wide and it's smart business right now to make Trump believe you're toeing his line.

 

[jeffro01]

I'm not speaking for the UAW, but to say all unions are not the answer and that all union workers are lazy and entitled is an arrogant and ignorant comment. I'm a union member and I bust my butt working. The union keeps me from getting abused, which sounds like the major point of the Tesla worker from the Medium post. Long hours with no appropriate compensation and unsafe working conditions. I'm not saying my union, or others are perfect, but it's helped me a great deal.

If you say so. I have been working with unions all my life, whether indirectly via family members as a youth, or directly as an adult as it pertains to policy and such and I have yet to see a union that wasn't a parasite on the organization it was working for.

I believe that you believe you work hard and bust your "butt" working, but my experience tells me otherwise. Over the years I've adopted a phrase that is a bit controversial so I can understand if someone reports my comment and it gets moved, nor is it directed at ANYONE personally.

"Unions are a cancer on any organization"

Jeff

 

[iwannam3]

That cancer is pretty bad, 8 hour day, overtime, health insurance, safety, freedom from intimidation and retaliatory firings, seniority etc etc Best be cancer free and subject to the boss'es whims, he knows what's best for you.

 

[Eclectic]

The problem with unions is that in highly innovative and quick moving company like Tesla, union rules stifle innovation. Mr. Musk knows that he would be subject to all sorts of union red tape if this goes through. It's not that union workers are lazy (they aren't), it's that union management is the ultimate bureaucracy with a very nasty political edge. And as someone who deals with the National Labor Relations Board for legal matters, I can assure you that the last thing you want to be is a company that is subject to their oversight.

 

[McRat]

...
I could also comment on how this announcement to invest $7 billion in an Arizona factory was already made in 2009...

You could but you would be wasting your time. The UAW destroyed all the California Jobs it could prior to 1990. 2009 is yesterday in this time scale.

The kicker? The UAW ended up shooting themselves in the foot. The arrogance of the leadership had them believe that union shops under their banner would have to negotiate with them. They honestly did not believe companies would just close their doors.

But thanks for throwing Trump in the discussion. Perhaps a thread on tire inflation for sustained operation over 100mph needs some Trump Love too! Do a search.

 

[EV-lutioin]

In the end, the best way to prevent the UAW from strong-arming Tesla is for Tesla to take care of their employees, which they seem to be doing already. If the work environment is healthy, the mission strong and the pay fair, it should be easy to prevent unionization.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

That cancer is pretty bad, 8 hour day, overtime, health insurance, safety, freedom from intimidation and retaliatory firings, seniority etc etc Best be cancer free and subject to the boss'es whims, he knows what's best for you.

Seniority and employer-based health insurance are both bad things.
The rest of the stuff are good things.

 

[Blu Zap]

The net, net here is that Silicon Valley companies have created environments for their employees that are beyond the imaginations of union leaders. Sure as an unrepresented employee you give up certain protections, but on the other hand the spiffs and benefits are incredible. Then there is the "turn on a dime" speed that unions inhibit. Also, SV workers aren't in it for a lifetime, like Detroit workers used to be.
I've managed operations in SV and know if you stay ahead of it and take care of your employees exceptionally, unions are not a threat.

 

[azred]

That is outrageous! Our TMC fellow poster could locate him within minutes! Linkedin is the first place i look for someone. There was another Tesla employee who complained about Model S headliner quality. She was quickly located there also.

I suspect Jose Moran is really an alternative person.

 

[CuriousG]

Something just dawned on me... I bet Elon is even more aggressive in pushing automation and robots, the machine that builds the machine concept... If the workers are going to behave like this, replace them with robots. They never complain, don't take breaks, and can't unionize...

Jeff

It's only a matter of time before PETR (People for the Ethical Treatment of Robots) is formed.

 

[azred]

If the cost of living is too high around a business, guess what the problem is?

Intel is putting a $7 billion factory in Arizona, not California. I wonder why? Because it's a "dry heat"? Or something else?

I wouldn't be trusting in what Intel's slippery CEO says. He had Obama speak at the same what was then new $1.5 billion facility five years ago getting mucho publicity for Intel, then promptly mothballed it without ever opening it. Now the sleazeball credits Trump with the second coming of the same "new" plant when in reality it just took Intel five years to reprogram the space. I'll be glad to see Arizona get this expansion, if it really happens. But the timeline is several more years out, so Intel has plenty of time to delay it again perhaps just in time to credit the next President.