In the AFL-CIO note, he emphasizes about two dozen accidents and alleged security problems reported in Tesla, SpaceX and a lifeless company since 2016 as the basis for its fears, some of which were the subject of the last investigations of Osha. In one incident reported to Osha Last year, a licensed electrician named Victor Joe Gomez sr. He was electric and killed after he was instructed to check the electrical panels at Gigafactory Tesla In Austin, TexasThat Osha was not previously disconnected earlier (the case remains open because Tesla is actively questioning it).
Two separate OSHA quotes in other Tesla factories included amputations of fingertips. At the SpaceX plant in 2022, the employee “suffered a fracture of the skull and head injury and was hospitalized in a coma for months”, in accordance with Osha’s final reportAfter experiencing what the agency described as a technical problem with a newly automated element of machines. Spacex did not question his Osha quote and a fine of USD 18,475.
Liz Shuler, president of AFL-CIO, claims that many Tesla employees have repeatedly claimed the federation that security is not priorities in a car company. AFL-CIO works with United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), but does not represent employees in Tesla or Spacex.
“There are clear serious safety threats in their facilities,” says Debbie Berkowitz, former chief of staff and senior adviser in Osha under Obama, referring to Tesla.
After the release of OSHA’s quote, employers have the right to challenge it, and Tesla does this often, according to the agency’s public database. Of the 46 cases of Tesla, in which Osha spent quotes in the last five years, the note cites twenty -seven years that remain open, because the car company actively questions them with the agency. Two SpaceX cases and one lifeless case of the company remain open for the same reason. Cases cannot be closed as long as Osha and companies agree the terms of the quote, which may include related fines and specific changes that the company must introduce to improve employee safety.
David Michaels, an assistant to OSHA secretary as part of Obama, says Wired that generally immense companies usually do not have financial encouragement to challenge OSHA citations, because they are usually accompanied by a fine costing only a few thousand dollars. However, the company is not obliged to solve a specific threat that led to the accident until the case is closed. To avoid solving these alleged problems, Michaels claims that generally some companies may be motivated to maintain open matters.
“Some employers decide that they do not want to reduce the threat, do not agree with the quote and spend many, many thousands of dollars fighting in this matter, and this will cost much more than just paying a small fine and limiting the threat,” says Michaels.
Currently, there is no evidence that Musk has access to any confidential databases in the work department that may contain personal data on informants. But former Osha administrators say that the agency keeps documentation that would anonymize the exposurers, as well as employees who participated in anonymous interviews with investigators.