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Elon Musk and unions

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Elon Musk has commented negatively on trade unions[1] and has clashed with workers at companies he owns including Tesla, Twitter (now called X) and SpaceX. In 2025, Musk was appointed by president Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency, which was opposed by several trade unions. In 2023, Musk commented that he disagreed with "the idea of unions", describing it as a "lords and peasants" scenario.[2]

Investigations and lawsuits

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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had 24 open investigations into Musk's companies Tesla, Twitter (now called X) and SpaceX in 2025. These include alleged surveillance of Twitter employees during Musk's acquisition of Twitter and interference with union organizing at Tesla. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was investigating racial discrimination at SpaceX. In the first month of Donald Trump's second presidency, Trump fired board members without cause at several labor related agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission[3] and the Federal Labor Relations Authority,[4] denying these independent agencies the quorum needed to make board decisions.[3]

A coalition of US labor unions sued to limit the access of the Department of Government Efficiency (led by Elon Musk) to sensitive data in various government agencies.[5]

The AFL-CIO sued the Department of Labor to prevent DOGE from accessing its internal IT system, a request that was denied by US District Judge John Bates, because the AFL-CIO failed to show actual harm from the Department of Labor.[6]

Three federal labor unions representing government employees, including the American Federation of Government Employees, the Service Employees International Union and the Alliance for Retired Americans sued the Treasury Department for sharing financial information with DOGE,[7] as violations of the Privacy Act and the Internal Revenue Code.[8]

The American Federation of Teachers, and three more unions, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the National Federation of Federal Employees sued three government agencies for allegedly sharing data with the DOGE, including the Treasury Department for sharing tax refunds and social security information, the Office of Personnel Management (the federal government's HR system) for providing job applicant and federal employee data, and the Education Department for providing database of student loans.[9]

Tesla

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Main article: Tesla and unions
Five smiling workers are standing together. They are holding signs that say "union" wrapped in hearts. Behind them, is a concrete stand emblazoned with the Tesla logo.
Valentine's Day union drive at Giga New York in 2023

Tesla has had labor disputes in the United States, Germany and Sweden, including an ongoing strike in Sweden. Tesla, Inc. is an American electric car manufacturer that employs over 140,000 workers across its global operations as of January 2024.[10] All unionization efforts at the Tesla Fremont Factory and Gigafactory New York in the United States have been unsuccessful.[11] In Germany, Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg and Tesla Automation have elected works councils, but they have not signed collective bargaining agreements with the German trade union IG Metall.[12][13] The Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg works council is divided into pro-union and anti-union factions.[14] In Sweden, mechanics who are members of the trade union IF Metall have been on strike since October 27, 2023, making it the longest strike in Sweden since 1938.[15] The strike has since spread, with other Swedish, Danish and Norwegian unions calling for solidarity strikes.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Hartmann, Margaret (July 13, 2022). "The Donald Trump–Elon Musk Feud: A Complete History". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  2. ^ Greenhouse, Steven (December 20, 2023). "Elon Musk says letting workers unionize creates 'lords and peasants'. What?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Lipton, Eric; Grind, Kirsten (2025-02-11). "Elon Musk's Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-02-11.
  4. ^ Sainato, Michael (2025-02-11). "Trump continues clearout of top US labor officials with fresh firing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  5. ^ Niedzwiadek, Nick (2025-02-07). "Unions play catch up as DOGE rips through federal agencies". Politico. Retrieved 2025-02-11.
  6. ^ "Judge declines to block DOGE from Labor Department systems". Reuters. February 10, 2025.
  7. ^ Tan, Kwan Wei Kevin. "Federal employee unions are suing the Treasury and alleging Elon Musk's DOGE gained illegal and 'unprecedented' access to data". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-02-11.
  8. ^ Cameron, Chris (2025-02-04). "Unions Sue to Block Musk's Access to Treasury Payment Data". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  9. ^ Perez Junior, Juan (2025-02-10). "Unions sue to stop DOGE from accessing federal data". Politico. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  10. ^ "Annual Report Form 10-K 2023 Tesla Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. January 26, 2024. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  11. ^ Budman, Scott (2024-09-03). "Protesters Call out Tesla for Being Only American Car Company Not Represented by Union". NBC Bay Area. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  12. ^ "Tesla Lehnt Tarifverträge Für Beschäftigte Weiterhin Ab" [Tesla continues to reject collective agreements for workers]. Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 2024-01-07. Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  13. ^ Vetter, Philipp (2017-10-18). "Deutschland: Tesla Einigt Sich Auf Deutliche Gehaltssteigerung" [Germany: Tesla agrees on significant salary increase]. Die Welt (in German). Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  14. ^ "Neugewählter Tesla-Betriebsrat Bestätigt Michaela Schmitz Als Vorsitzende" [Newly elected Tesla works council confirms Michaela Schmitz as chairwoman]. Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 2024-04-05. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  15. ^ Kuhn, Gabriel (2024-05-08). "The Head of SAC: Tesla Faces a 'Stalemate' in Sweden as the Longest Strike in Decades Grinds On". Turning Point. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  16. ^ "Tesla Labour Dispute Ignites Nordic Sympathy Strikes". Reuters. December 7, 2023. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
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