Who is Elon Musk, Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2021?

We spoke to factory workers at Tesla about what it’s really like working for the richest man in the world.

They told us about a toxic, racist, and exploitative workplace culture that stems from the top. 🧵
Ex-Tesla worker Richard Ortiz spoke out about Musk’s illegal union-busting at Tesla.

Richard Ortiz tried to organize his coworkers at Tesla's CA factory. In response, Tesla "coercively interrogated" him three times, then fired him illegally.
Another veteran Tesla worker came forward to detail extraordinarily dangerous conditions at
@ElonMusk's auto factory.

"It was like a modern-day industrial sweatshop," said Dennis Duran, who worked at Tesla’s Bay Area plant for 5 years.
Marcus Vaughn is one of many Black workers filing legal action against Tesla.

Vaughn was called racial slurs by his manager and saw a fellow Black co-worker beaten with a chair.

After telling Musk & HR, he was fired for “not having a positive attitude.”
A current Black Tesla worker also came forward to expose the culture of racism and discrimination at @elonmusk’s company.

They spoke on the condition of anonymity. Tesla has retaliated against Black workers who spoke up.

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More from @MorePerfectUS

13 Dec
Horrifying details are emerging about the tornado disaster at Amazon's warehouse in Illinois, where at least 6 workers were killed on the job.

Before he died, Larry Virden reportedly texted his girlfriend: "Amazon won’t let us leave." He leaves behind four children.
29-year old Clayton Cope rushed to save the lives of his co-workers and warn them about the tornado. He was killed when the warehouse collapsed.

"At least I did get to say I love you," his mother told the local news.
The disaster calls into question some of Amazon's key business practices.

Only 7 of 190 people working at the facility were full-time staff.

Amazon’s dependence on contractors allows them to avoid liability for accidents and undercut union organizing.
nytimes.com/2021/12/12/tec…
Read 8 tweets
7 Dec
BREAKING: The 1400 striking Kellogg’s workers have courageously voted to reject the contract offer from the breakfast giant.

They walked out 9 weeks ago after years of 16-hour shifts, forced overtime, and uneven pay.

They’ve won some gains, but there’s one big sticking point.
Workers rejected several contracts before this one, blocking Kellogg’s attempt to cut off newer and future employees from attaining full-time pay and benefits.

Veteran workers told us they wouldn’t “sell our souls” and abandon their younger colleagues.
By voting down the contract, workers are showing unbreakable solidarity.

The deal called for a 3% raise for “legacy” employees, a category that now includes workers on the job for at least four years.

But they would not accept the continued division.
Read 4 tweets
18 Oct
SCOOP: Dollar General was caught illegally intimidating workers just days before a store in Barkhamsted, CT, is set to vote on whether to form the company’s first U.S. union.

District managers visited the store Saturday and threatened to close the store if workers voted YES.
.@UFCW will file charges with the NLRB against Dollar General for conducting illegal union busting activities.

The union vote is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 22.
Workers at the Dollar General store told @hamiltonnolan that they are seeking to unionize “as a result of poor treatment of employees by a Dollar General district manager.” inthesetimes.com/article/dollar…
Read 4 tweets
23 Sep
Why did Democrats who once supported allowing the government to cut prescription costs by negotiating drug prices with Big Pharma turn around and try to block it?

We followed the money trail behind @RepKathleenRice, @RepSchrader, and @RepScottPeters's reversal. Thread:
Last week, the House Energy & Commerce Committee voted against a provision in @POTUS's reconciliation bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Democrats Rice, Schrader, and Peters cast the deciding 'no' votes — defying their constituents' wishes:
Per @DataProgress, *over 90% of voters* in Rice, Schrader, and Peters' districts want drug price reform. Nationwide, drug price reform is incredibly popular across partisan lines — 82% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 90% of Democrats support it.
Read 10 tweets
22 Sep
NEW: Minnesota police are using brutal physical violence and “pain compliance” against water protectors and Line 3 pipeline protestors.

The torture tactics have left some activists with partial facial paralysis.
Enbridge Energy, the multinational corporation building the tar sands oil pipeline, is funding the police who torture, harass, and surveil protestors opposing Line 3.

Enbridge has now paid police & sheriffs in Minnesota $2 million to protect the pipeline.
Police have also used tear gas and rubber bullets against the unarmed protestors.

Tara Houska (@zhaabowekwe) with the @giniwcollective spoke to Vice about the extreme force law enforcement have used to squash Line 3 protests.
vice.com/en/article/4av…
Read 5 tweets
22 Sep
.@JoeBiden and Democrats' $3.5 trillion infrastructure package hangs by a thread due to conservative Democrats' refusal to abolish the filibuster. @AJentleson broke down for us how the filibuster has historically been used to impede progress and change.
Conservative politicians have historically used the filibuster to block civil rights, worker rights, and good jobs for all. Mitch McConnell has been particularly adept at wielding the filibuster to block progress, tanking campaign finance reform and worker protections.
The filibuster also played a starring role in creating the racial wealth gap in the United States — it was used by racist Southern Democrats to leave Black and Latino people out of the New Deal, and left domestic and agricultural workers out of minimum wage laws.
Read 5 tweets

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