We have heard ad nauseum that Tesla is not a union shop. And, why.
The Union obstacle is bigger than just “within TSLA”.
Reportedly all GM and F plants in the US are Union? Stellantis, too?
TSLA is Agile in large part due to workers with innovative ideas NOT having to go through the union and/or chain of command.
Legacy automakers’ profit margins, development of new lines, innovation, etc, are constrained by Union rules.
Advantage TSLA? Maybe.
Maybe not?
As union workers imagine their sinecure jobs being “taken” by Tesla, I expect more aggressive vandalism to Tesla owners and Tesla property. I’ve seen references to vandalism at Tesla charging stations and infrastructure. For example see 16:45 minutes in the video below.
Electrified / Dylan Loomis (spelling?). At about 3:30 to 8 minutes, describes union controlled ports. Yeah. The choke points where stuff is imported, are UNION CONTROLLED.
Dylan says that the unions will renegotiate the port contracts on July 1st, 2022, and PERHAPS weaponize union slowdowns and strikes pre and during negotiations.
Ie supply chain issues, due solely to Union narcissism.
How difficult would it be to selectively slow down port processes for, say… Tesla, but not for others?
On the political front, Unions own a chunk of the US Swamp. Unions are linked, and not just in the automaker factories. As an example, many delivery companies (UPS, FedEx, etc) are teamster shops. What if the drivers “strike” over driving EVs “in solidarity” with their u-bros in the legacy factories?
And - organized semi-truck drivers have, within the last week, wrought havoc in Toronto.
It’s gonna be an interesting ride.
ralph