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

WeWork, once valued at $40 billion, warns of...

August 11, 2023

Google says U.S. faces a power capacity crisis...

February 13, 2025

Frontier Airlines does away with change fees in...

May 19, 2024

Autoworkers go on strike at plants at each...

September 15, 2023

Trump Media sues Brazil Supreme Court judge who...

February 20, 2025

Soaring egg prices are threatening a classic holiday...

March 1, 2025

United to pause pilot hiring, citing Boeing’s delivery...

March 9, 2024

Saving money to buy a house? Your dollar...

October 22, 2023

Tiger Woods announces split with Nike, leaving brand’s...

January 9, 2024

Prices held steady in October as inflation slowed...

November 16, 2023

    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

    • S&P 500 Breaking Out Again: What This Means for Your Portfolio

    • Q2 2025 Interim Financial Statements

    • Horn Island Mining Lease Application Registered

    • Gold Majors Ride Price Surge to Strong Q2 Earnings

    • 1911 Gold Corporation Engages Suzette Ramcharan for Investor Relations Services

    • Blue Sky Uranium Closes 3rd and Final Tranche of Non-Brokered Private Placement

    Categories

    • Business (1,332)
    • Investing (2,780)
    • Politics (3,699)
    • Stocks (1,759)
    • 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