There’s currently a labor protest underway against Tesla’s contractor at the Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada.
A local news station is reporting that a group of local construction workers are claiming that one of the Gigafactory contractor is bringing workers from New Mexico to work at the Gigafactory construction site.
Todd Koch, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada, speaking to KOLO:
“This legislation was passed with limited protection for Nevada’s construction workers. Nevada’s tax dollars should be used to provide jobs for Nevada construction workers not New Mexico construction workers.”
Koch is referencing the incentive package that Tesla received from the state in order to secure the construction of the factory in Nevada.
The number of workers from out-of-state hasn’t been reported, but under the agreement, it was always clear that not all workers will be from Nevada due to the important number of workers required.
Pictures via KOLO TV
A Tesla spokesperson responded to the claims:
“Today’s activity stems from the local Carpenters Union protesting against one of the third party construction contractors that Tesla is using at the Gigafactory. Their issue is not with how Tesla treats its workers. Their issue is that of the many third party contractors that are involved in the construction of the Gigafactory, many are union but the one at issue is not. The union is also claiming that this contractor is somehow favoring out of state workers. In reality, more than 50% of the workers used by this contractor and more than 75% of the entire Gigafactory workforce are Nevada residents, demonstrating the project’s strong commitment to Nevada.”
In its latest progress report with the state, Tesla confirmed that in Q4 2015 there was a weekly average of 894 construction workers at the Gigafacotry and that 74% were from Nevada.
Featured Image Tesla Gigafactory by Joshua Mcdonald 24/02/16 – Amazing new aerial pictures of the Tesla Gigafactory suggest lots of activity at the plant – February 2016 [Gallery]
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Carpenters’ Union, huh? This sounds familiar.
The guys who were camping outside Tesla’s factory in Fremont turned out to have nothing do with the local workforce, and their allegations were complete fantasy.