Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - According to employees at Buffalo's Tesla factory, over 30 of the employees were fired on Wednesday, a day after a group of data annotators announced they want to unionize.
In a statement, Tesla said the terminations were the result of poor ratings on performance reviews that were conducted before the union campaign was announced. The list of employees being dismissed was finalized Feb. 3, and Tesla became aware of organizing activities Feb. 13, the company said.
“We learned in hindsight that one out of the 27 impacted employees officially identified as part of the union campaign,” Tesla said. “This exercise pre-dated any union campaign.”
However, Nick Piazza, a data annotation specialist at Tesla who WBEN has been speaking with, says that more workers continued to be released as he spoke with us via phone Thursday.
"From what we're understanding, they're saying that they're (the terminations) are performance-based," said Piazza. "People were told just last week that, your performance is doing okay, it's trending upward. Everything was cool. And then, after we announced the union, people start getting fired for this. So the timing is rather convenient."
"As far as I'm aware, with talking to my co-workers, it's been like a pretty consistent. Same story, same line: performance acceleration. People are getting fired because their performance isn't keeping up with expectations. But for a lot of them, it's not true, necessarily," said another worker we spoke with.
This has prompted the organizing members of Tesla Workers United to get the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United to file a complaint against Tesla with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the electric vehicle maker of unfair labor practices.
The complaint describes that Tesla terminated these individuals in retaliation for union activity.
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"The National Labor Relations Board protects employees to work together, talk together and meet together for purposes of wages and work conditions and the employers are prohibited from retaliating against those workers for engaging in that protected activity," said labor law expert and local attorney Robert Boreanaz. "So if it is found that Tesla has, in fact, retaliated against employees for engaging in this protected activity, then they will be liable for lost wages and other potential damages."
Boreanaz also notes, "From what I've been told, that the National Labor Relations Board, meeting here in Western New York, is going to consider asking a judge to stop Tesla from these kinds of terminations and restore them to employment. That is a step that the board normally does not take in these kinds of matters. If in fact, they do carry out that action, it really gives you a sign that the board is really feeling like Tesla, perhaps has violated the law here."
"We would implore that anyone that has been fired at this time to sign up on the union card, because we are currently looking at review for this time and treating it like retaliation," said the Tesla worker. "So if they have the union card, they can still vote if we get it to that point, even though they're not with the company anymore. As long as the National Labor Relations Board does side with us."
Boreanaz says that it's important to note that these workers have rights. "They do have protections under the law and they should one, hold their employers accountable and two, be responsible and comply with the law and they should be careful enough to cooperate with the National Labor Relations when their employers do violate the law."
Piazza says aside from frustration and anger, workers now feel more emboldened now more than ever to speak up for their rights.
"We're not going to back down," says Piazza. "We think it's time for all us of us to stand together."