Tesla tackles work safety in quarrel with U.S. union

Tesla announces its safety record is well above the industry average, as it tackles questions about how well workers are protected. The company is also accusing the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union of running a campaign against it.

Facing calls from journalists about work safety in its Fremont factory, Tesla notes that the “story” is based on anecdotes and that the company has reached a safety record that is much better than the industry average.

“Earlier this year, the United Automobile Workers (UAW) announced it was attempting to organise workers in Tesla’s Fremont factory. The latest phase of their campaign involves a concerted and professional media push intended to raise questions about safety at Tesla. Safety is an issue the UAW frequently raises in campaigns it runs against companies, and a topic its organisers have been promoting on social media about Tesla,” the company wrote in an update on its site.

Tesla also says that last year it added a third shift to reduce the overtime burden on each team member and to improve safety. The company notes that in 2015 it established an Ergonomics Team exclusively focused on improving health and safety and reducing the ergonomic risk for current and future production.

“The third shift, ergonomic improvements and increased safety awareness have collectively led to a 52% reduction in lost time incidents and a 30% reduction in recordable incidents from the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017. In addition, through the end of Q1 2017, the factory’s total recordable incident rate (TRIR), the leading metric for workplace safety, is 4.6, which is 32% better than the industry average of 6.7. This data shows that there has been a dramatic improvement in employee safety, we are now significantly better than industry average, and we continue to improve each day. A few anecdotes in a factory of over 10,000 people can always be given, but these are the facts,” Tesla added.

The company said its goal is to ‘have as close to zero injuries as humanly possible and to become the safest factory in the auto industry.’

In February, Jose Moran, a Tesla employee in Fremont wrote online that in 2016, six out of eight people in his work team were out on medical leave at the same time due to various work-related injuries.

“Preventable injuries happen often. In addition to long working hours, machinery is often not ergonomically compatible with our bodies. There is too much twisting and turning and extra physical movement to do jobs that could be simplified if workers’ input were welcomed. Add a shortage of manpower and a constant push to work faster to meet production goals, and injuries are bound to happen,” he said.

Moran also complained about the money workers are paid and said the workers should come together and form a union.

The United Automobile Workers union praised Moran’s online piece and later stated that Tesla wrongfully accused them of paying the man.

“Mr. Moran is not and has not been paid by the UAW. We would hope that Tesla would apologise to their employee, Mr. Moran, for spreading fake news about him. We can confirm that Mr. Moran and others at Tesla have approached the UAW, and we welcome them with open arms,” UAW wrote.

Tesla is facing one of its most challenging periods, as it has to deal with over 400,000 Model 3 orders.