He added, “Because the Employers have failed to prove that they would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of a preliminary injunction for that specific issue, I would instead reverse the district court’s decision granting injunctive relief.”
Critics Slam Fifth Circuit Ruling
The NLRB is an independent agency created in 1935 nigeria cell phone database to enforce the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB manages nearly all union elections in private companies and can create regulations and handle cases related to labor law violations. It has both prosecution and ALJ divisions. It is, therefore, unsurprising that the NLRB has been in the crosshairs of corporations, big and small.
Labor activists have expectedly slammed the Fifth Circuit Ruling as the NLRB took up several cases of unfair labor practices involving big corporate houses. In his tweet, Senator Bernie Sanders said that the Fifth Circuit ruling gives Musk and “other union busters the absolute power to exploit workers & violate labor law with impunity.”
Musk’s Companies Don’t Have a Boast-Worthy Record on Labor Relations
To be sure, Musk and, by extension, the companies that he leads, have never been shining examples of labor relations and have been in the NLRB’s crosshairs on more than one occasion.
The NLRB ruled that a tweet from CEO Elon Musk, which threatened employees with the loss of stock options if they voted for a union, was an unlawful threat. However, in a 9-8 vote, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the NLRB’s order last year as it found the tweet amounted to free speech as enshrined in the First Amendment.
In another case, the NLRB ruled that Tesla violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by barring employees from wearing pro-union t-shirts instead of their company-issued uniform shirts. The order was also unanimously vacated by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2023.
Tesla facing lawsuit alleging 'toxic workplace environment' KVUE
Tesla has also faced lawsuits over a toxic work environment and racial and sexual discrimination.
Some Shareholder Groups Have Spoken Against Tesla’s Labor Policies
Tesla’s labor policies have been concerning for some shareholder groups, and in June, Swedish pension fund AP7, which held around $1.36 billion stake in Tesla at the end of May, blacklisted the company and sold all its shares in citing labor rights violations by the company.
In its release, the fund said, “AP7 has decided to blacklist Tesla due to verified violations of labor rights in the United States. Despite several years of dialogue with Tesla, including shareholder proposals in collaboration with other investors, the company has not taken sufficient measures to address the issues.”