Europe’s largest union is trying to gain control of the works council of Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory near Berlin, in a labor relations showdown marked by lawsuits and mutual accusations of defamation.
The works council, an elected body of employees that negotiates everything from working hours to salary agreements with a company’s management, is considered an entrenched aspect of the German business world, particularly in the automobile industry.
But it was a bone of contention at the Tesla plant in Grünheide, about 30 kilometers southeast of Berlin, even before the doors opened almost four years ago.
There have been regular clashes at the plant – which employs about 10,000 workers and is the American electric car maker’s only production site in Europe – between the turbo-capitalist approach of Tesla management and the German tradition of a social market economy, which is based on worker representation and collective bargaining.
Voting for the elections to the works council, which is now controlled by non-union members, began on Monday and will end on Wednesday.
The standoff has been portrayed as a battle of wills between the century-old IG Metall union and Musk, who alleges it is threatening economic growth. The union has framed the fight as nothing less than an existential threat to the rights of European workers and accuses Musk, the world’s richest man, of wanting to “break the union.”
IG Metall says Tesla offers inadequate working conditions and fires employees it accuses of shirking work. He maintains that a collective agreement is needed to protect workers.
Tesla, in turn, says the union is only interested in expanding IG Metall’s membership. He rejects the idea that working conditions are poor and says he pays above-average wages.
Musk has said the outcome of the dispute could determine the future of the plant and whether investment plans go ahead.
The dispute escalated last month when Tesla management accused an IG Metall member of illegally recording a works council meeting. The union denies the accusation. Both parties took legal action against each other over the claims.
The Brandenburg state government has been asked to mediate, but the regional Economy Ministry has urged the parties to reach an agreement on their own. He said he would encourage Tesla to adopt a collective bargaining agreement.
IG Metall has nominated 116 candidates for the works council in an effort to win a simple majority of 19 out of 37 seats. It won 16 seats in the last vote two years ago, when the council had 39 seats.
The dispute, in which labor experts have portrayed Tesla management as unusually confrontational, has created even more negative headlines for the automaker, which is struggling with its sales in Europe in part due to stiff competition from cheaper Chinese electric vehicle models.
In Germany, there has been a consumer backlash against Musk in response to the support he has given to the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
