Representatives of workers groups held a gathering Monday outside of Tesla’s Fremont factory as part of an effort to gain more information about reports that some Tesla workers have tested positive for coronavirus since the plant reopened in late May.
Attendees said they wanted Tesla to publicly divulge what it has learned about employees that have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, and commit to providing stronger protections for its production line workers.
“It feels outrageous, and it feels like Tesla doesn’t care about human life,” said Carlos Gabriel, of Hayward, Gabriel said he started working as a production associate at Tesla in January, and stopped working when the company shut down its assembly lines in March. However, he also said he too worried about the company’s safety policies to come back to work, even though Alameda County health officials gave Tesla the green light to begin assembling vehicles last month.
“We were told to return at the end of May, but I don’t feel safe about the situation, yet,” Gabriel said. “They need to prove they really care about their workers.”
A group called the Workers Solidarity Action Network (WSAN) helped organize the gathering. Steven Zeltzer, of WSAN, was critical of Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, saying the high profile executive “wants to keep the (company’s) profit rising” at the costs of his employees’ safety. Zeltzer said his group wants Gov. Gavin Newsom to hire 1,000 new inspectors for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/Health) to ensure that Tesla, and other companies, are adhering to health guidelines aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus in the workplace.
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment about its workers coronavirus concerns.
Last week the Washington Post reported that some Tesla employees had tested positive for COVID-19 since returning to work after the plant’s manufacturing operations were shut down for two months as part of the multi-county shelter-in-place rules mean to slow the spread of coronavirus across the region.
CalOSHA said in a statement given to this news organization that on June 11, it opened inspections at Tesla’s main plant, and a second location at its facility at 901 Page Avenue, in Fremont.
“The investigations are active and ongoing,” Cal/OSHA said, adding that the department “takes seriously its mandate to investigate workplace accidents, fatalities and complaints at workplaces throughout California.”
Asked about the gathering during a press conference Monday afternoon, Newsom said department of labor head Julie Su is providing leadership on that front. “She is entrusted to oversee the work done over at OSHA and, more broadly, that work is as important now than ever,” Newsom said. “Particularly as we battle this pandemic and try to mitigate the spread.”
Last week Lauren Selby, Tesla’s head of worker safety, sent an email to company employees saying that the company knew of some employees who had contracted coronavirus from outside the workplace, but there had been no transmissions from contact between workers at Tesla’s factory.
Tesla employs approximately 10,000 people at Fremont. In May, the company got approval from Alameda County health officials to restart vehicle production at its plant after Chief Executive Elon Musk earlier opened the plant in violation of the shelter-in-place rules that were put into effect in March.
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