[freebeard]

hotair.com: As UAW prepares to expand strike, they announce Tesla as their next target

But the NY Times published a story today suggesting that while Tesla may benefit from the strike there may be a hidden downside as well. And that downside is that Tesla becomes an even more important target for unionists.

The U.A.W., which has failed to organize Tesla’s factory workers in the past, is gearing up for another attempt, a top union official said.

“There is a group of Tesla workers who are actively talking about forming a union and creating the best representation they can for themselves and their co-workers through collective bargaining,” said Mike Miller, the director of the U.A.W.’s Region 6 .... but Mr. Musk seemed to acknowledge the union threat last week, saying on X that his workers were better off than employees of G.M., Ford and Stellantis. “We pay more than the U.A.W.,” he said, although he added that “performance expectations are also higher.”

The traditional automakers quarreled with Mr. Musk’s math, saying that they pay their workers substantially more and that a big raise would only widen the gap and undermine their ability to invest in electric vehicle and battery factories. Ford says its hourly employees make an average of $112,000 per year including benefits, compared with about $90,000 at Tesla.

The Ford figures do not include stock options that Tesla grants employees, and that can be worth a lot.

Not linking to NYT because they pop up a window about their terms of service.