Money Control Place
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Stocks
  • Investing
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Stocks
  • Investing

Money Control Place

Business

Black workers at California Tesla factory allege rampant racism, seek class-action status

by admin June 12, 2023
June 12, 2023
Black workers at California Tesla factory allege rampant racism, seek class-action status

Tesla may face a class-action lawsuit after 240 Black factory workers in California described rampant racism and discrimination at the electric automaker’s San Francisco Bay Area plant, including frequent use of racial slurs and references to the manufacturing site as a plantation or slave ship.

The testimonies filed Monday in Alameda County Superior Court comes from contractors and employees who worked on the production floor of the factory in Fremont, roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. The vast majority worked at the site between 2016 to the present. Lawyers suing Tesla, Inc. estimate at least 6,000 workers could be part of the class.

The individual testimonies are part of a 2017 lawsuit brought by Marcus Vaughn, who complained in writing to human resources and to Tesla CEO Elon Musk of a hostile work environment in which he was called slurs by co-workers and supervisors. No investigation was conducted and he was fired for “not having a positive attitude,” according to his lawyers.

The lawsuit is just one of several lawsuits alleging racism, harassment and discrimination at the Fremont plant.

Last year, California regulators sued Tesla in state court, alleging the company turned “a blind eye” to abuses and that Musk told workers to be “thick-skinned” about racial harassment. In April, a federal jury awarded another former Tesla employee $3.2 million for racial abuse he suffered.

Bryan Schwartz, one of Vaughn’s lawyers, said the case has dragged on for years as Tesla sought to force the lawsuit into arbitration. Instead, the California Supreme Court in April allowed Black workers to seek a public injunction in court that would require Tesla to change its work environment.

“To have this scope of egregious harassment right here in Silicon Valley, it’s disgusting,” Schwartz said, adding that it’s shocking that “Tesla has allowed this kind of pervasive harassment to go on as long as it has.”

Attorneys for Tesla did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

All of the declarants said they heard use of one particular racial slur, with more than half saying they heard supervisors and managers use that word, according to a declaration summarizing the statements.

Dozens also said higher-ups direct the racial slur toward them, the summary stated, and nearly half said they experienced or saw other Black workers tasked with more physically laborious work and disciplined more frequently.

Production associate Albert Blakes said in his statement that it was difficult to go to work, knowing he would face racist slurs, references to slavery and offensive graffiti for 12 hours at a time. He said he made a verbal complaint to human resources in late 2021, but never heard back and nothing changed.

“Something needs to be done to hold Tesla accountable for the racism that takes place at the Fremont factory to set an example that this racism is not tolerated in workplaces in California,” he said.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Six months after ‘zero Covid,’ U.S. firms in China still face ‘uncertainty on top of uncertainty’
next post
Here’s why the PGA Tour just merged with LIV Golf

Related Posts

Trump signs executive order to end collective bargaining...

March 29, 2025

As EV sales slow, some drivers could buy...

January 15, 2024

Tesla recalls 120,000 vehicles over potentially faulty doors...

December 23, 2023

Here’s when the 2024 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment...

December 20, 2023

Capital One-Discover merger could put a bigger squeeze...

February 21, 2024

Honda recalls thousands of Honda CR-V hybrids over...

December 21, 2023

Spirit Airlines, fresh from bankruptcy, is ready to...

March 14, 2025

FDA officially authorizes Zyn nicotine pouches for sale...

January 18, 2025

Doubt grows over Buy Buy Baby sale process...

June 30, 2023

Tesla denies report it’s looking to replace Elon...

May 3, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Latest

    • Joe Rabil’s Undercut & Rally Pattern: From DROP to POP

    • RRG Alert Tech Vaults to ‘Leading’—Is XLK Signaling a New Rally?

    • Coelacanth Energy

    • Jeffrey Christian: Gold, Silver, PGMs — Short-term Prices and Key Drivers

    • Ericsson, Rogers Launch Canada’s First Underground 5G Network for Smart Mining

    • Crypto Market Recap: Bitcoin Price Stalls as Fed Holds Rates Steady, Circle Shares Jump

    Categories

    • Business (1,259)
    • Investing (2,583)
    • Politics (3,699)
    • Stocks (1,669)
    • Uncategorized (20)
    • About us
    • Contact us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: MoneyControlPlace.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 moneycontrolplace.com | All Rights Reserved