Union swag at Tesla is in. The Nationwide Labor Relations Board (NLRB) mentioned that Tesla’s current dress code policy was unlawful. Particularly, the half the place it solely allowed workers to put on Tesla or different pre-approved black tee shirts. That coverage meant union swag was not allowed — a hindrance to anybody attempting to arrange or present union solidarity.
Tesla’s coverage went into impact in 2017, and workers have been reportedly told they couldn’t wear shirts baring the United Auto Workers logo. Tesla tried to justify its costume coverage to the board claiming that its black shirts forestall harm to vehicles and it wanted to keep up “visible administration” of its workers. The NLRB rejected this.
“With immediately’s choice, the Board reaffirms that any try to limit the carrying of union clothes or insignia is presumptively illegal,” mentioned NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran. Particular circumstances live on and permit employers to use minor restrictions, similar to measurement and placement of the union insignia.
A prominent example of a “special circumstance” classification is how Wal-Mart argued that customer-facing workers wanted to keep up skilled apparel. Whereas it is likely to be troublesome for union supporters at Tesla to put on a pink shirt (the widespread colour for union solidarity) with the UAW brand, Tesla can not limit them from carrying the brand itself.
Tesla enforced a rule prohibiting the carrying of t-shirts with any brand moreover the Tesla brand throughout a union drive.
The employer would permit workers to put on their very own black t-shirts with supervisory approval, however not black t-shirts with a union brand.
— NLRB (@NLRB) August 29, 2022
Labor organizing at Tesla wasn’t halted by the costume code. In 2019, a choose dominated that the corporate had been sabotaging unionization efforts. The NLRB additionally forced Musk to delete anti-union tweets from 2018. In March of this 12 months Tesla CEO Elon Musk even invited the UAW to hold a union vote. That was much less a name for safeguarding labor rights on the firm and extra an apparent dare on Twitter to show unionization isn’t vital at Tesla. “I’d like hereby to ask UAW to carry a union vote at their comfort. Tesla will do nothing to cease them.” Musk mentioned on the time.
Whereas no vote has occurred, organizers ought to have a better time exhibiting solidarity because of the NLRB’s newest ruling.
