Employee Letter to Tesla Board

Employee Letter to Tesla Board

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The second is that we are facing a set of challenges – challenges that are holding us back from working as effectively and efficiently as we would like. We have raised these issues repeatedly , but they remain unresolved. Your guidance navigating them would be invaluable as we work to become the most profitable and productive auto company in the U.S .

One of the most serious issues concerns our health and safety . In 2015, the last full year for which data is available, w e ha d an injury rate that was far higher than the industry average. For that year , data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that our injury rate was higher than that of sawmills and slaughter houses. Accidents happen every day. Severe incidents frequently impact moral e and cause delays in production. We are losing great workers who are valuable to both our production team and to their families while they spend time on medical leave, recovering from preventable injuries. Legal obligations aside , it is bot h financially prudent and morally imperative for management to inform workers of the risks we face on the job.

The results of third - party health and safety audits that have been conducted at the facility in the past three years should be readily available to workers and Board members , so that we may understand the risks that experts have identified and monitor progress toward improvement. If it is to be effective, f rontline Tesla workers need to have access to, and a voice in, the company’s safety plan (kno wn in California as the Injury and Illness Prevention Program) , and the ability to review accurate data about the progress we are making toward those goals. Along with access to good information about hazards and injuries, a second cornerstone of a good health and safety program is worker participation in identifying solutions. Effective health and safety programs in manufacturing empower workers to make decisions about equipment, rotation schedules, ergonomics and more. We urge you to make our safety your priority as Board members, to demand information from management about health and safety issues in the factory, and to hold management accountable to best practices.

The second challenge we have revolves around the process through which workers are evaluated and promoted . There is currently no clear policy for how workers like ourselves might advance at Tesla. There are no guidelines for what is expected of us, or what defines success. Many of us have worked hard for years with the vague promise of a raise , to no end . We experience a great deal of workforce turnover due to the financial insecurity that we face at Tesla, and we strongly believe that a defined understanding of success and reward will have an impact on product quality . Petitions have been delivered to management asking for clarity on this issue, but we have heard nothing. We encourage you to ask management to provide answers to our questions, so we can move forward with the knowledge that hard work will be rewarded, and so we can plan for our families’ future s .

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The second challenge we have revolves around the process through which workers are evaluated and promoted . There is currently no clear policy for how workers like ourselves might advance at Tesla. Many of us have worked hard for years with the vague promise of a raise , to no end . 

Isn't that clear? You don't get promoted at Tesla. You are just worked to near death and then thrown out by making you quit.

Thanks, Elon.