Tesla doesn’t want a union. Elon Musk has pushed unions out of Tesla’s U.S. plants. But at the electric carmaker’s Gigafactory in Grünheide near Berlin, IG Metall is now on the ground: More than a thousand employees declared their support for IG Metall during a flash protest. They openly wore stickers on their work clothes reading: “Together for safe and fair work at Tesla.”
And they spoke out about what they believe is wrong at Tesla—in German, Polish, Arabic, English, Turkish, and Kurdish.
Safe and fair working conditions? RTL and *Stern* had already reported on glaring safety deficiencies and workplace accidents in an undercover documentary. Even during the flash protest, three ambulances pulled up that morning. Workers reported accidents, metal dust, 45-second production cycles, and shift work lasting until 6 a.m. on Saturday, only to start again at 6 a.m. on Monday. It’s normal for a third of the workforce to be on sick leave here. When that happens, the rest simply have to cover multiple workstations. But the assembly line keeps running just as fast.
The Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin-Brandenburg.
And all of this is paid well below the collective bargaining rate. Tesla management says they pay virtually in line with the collective bargaining agreement. But there are no vacation or Christmas bonuses, and no allowances for the late shift. Instead, there are stock packages. And T-shirts—one for every new milestone of 1,000 cars produced. Currently, 5,000 cars roll off the assembly line each week (five T-shirts). The goal is 10,000, and in the future, even nearly 20,000.
Pressure on Sick Workers—Hundreds Fired
But how? As early as the year after production began (in March 2022), hundreds were fired. There are no official figures on this. The works council rubber-stamps most of the layoffs. Tesla itself had initiated the works council election even before production began. In a highly uneven election campaign, a female manager made it to the top of the works council.
Even if the work makes you sick—just don’t get sick: Tesla requires employees who have been sick frequently to have their doctors waive their duty of confidentiality. Otherwise, there’s no pay. And those who are sick too often get fired faster. For temporary workers, it’s a very streamlined process: When their access card no longer works at the gate, they’re effectively terminated.
“Finally, you’re here,” say many Tesla employees at the gates, at the train station, and on the shuttle during the flash protest. Many are already members of IG Metall. Of course, quite a few walk by and wave them off. One says he’s already on a list “for promotion.”
“Are you really inside?” some ask. IG Metall had managed to arrange for several IG Metall activists to enter the factory—escorted by security—to address the workers at seven agreed-upon meeting points.
Tesla Pulls a Trick with Pea Soup
But the meeting points, cafeterias, and “food trucks” are—except for a few instigators—almost deserted. That’s because today there’s free pea soup for everyone at management’s informational events about the evil IG Metall.
“Tesla management is trying by any means necessary to make it harder for IG Metall to connect with the workforce. But the employees know how to assess the situation,” explains Dirk Schulze, district director of IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony. “They’re tired of the pressure being put on them and the slander directed at their union, IG Metall. And they certainly won’t be fobbed off with a free lunch.”
IG Metall’s flash protest at the main gate of the Tesla Gigafactory.
“I poured out the soup—it didn’t taste good anyway,” says an employee the next day in the office of IG Metall’s Tesla team at the small Fangschleuse train station, where many come and go. More and more people are now coming to the IG Metall meetings. They’ve shaken off their fear. The soup stunt showed them one thing above all: management is now afraid of them. Immediately after the flash protest, Tesla announced pay raises.
The next goal is to elect a genuine works council.
“You are IG Metall at Tesla,” explains Jannes Bojert, head of IG Metall’s Tesla team. “This is about your working conditions. That’s why you decide which issues we’ll tackle together and what needs to change at Tesla. The more of your colleagues who join the movement now, the more we can achieve.”
