Tesla has been charged with firing more than 30 employees in an effort to stifle a campaign by a group of workers in New York state who want to form a union.
Staff members were fired one day after the union made its efforts public, according to organizers in Buffalo.
Arian Berek, who was fired from the organizing committee, declared that he "strongly feels" that this is revenge for the committee's announcement and that it is shameful.
A request for comment from Tesla was ignored.
Elon Musk, a billionaire who has previously expressed open opposition to unions, is the head of the electric vehicle company.
The union listed 18 people it claimed were fired by the business "in retaliation for union activity and to discourage union activity" in the complaint it filed with government labor officials.
On the basis of a company chat, the organizers claimed that they thought more people had been fired and that they anticipated adding names to the complaint. How many of those dismissed had actively participated in the campaign or had merely expressed support was still being determined, according to their statement.
Tesla Workers United organizers, who are supported by the same union that started organizing efforts at Starbucks, claim that the Buffalo facility employs about 2,000 people.
To hold a vote on unionization, the group is currently lobbying Buffalo's Tesla employees. The organization received a letter from it on Tuesday outlining its plans and requesting that executives accept the ground rules for a "fair" election.
A day later, according to the campaigners, Tesla fired over 30 employees and sent out an email informing staff of a rule prohibiting the recording of business conversations without everyone's permission.
According to the organizers, both state and federal laws were broken by the rule.
Previously, the National Labor Relations Board determined that Tesla broke labor laws when it attempted to organize at its California auto plant.
"We're upset. We won't be slowed down by this. We will not be deterred by this. Organizing committee member and current Tesla employee Sara Costantino said, "They want us to be scared, but I think they just started a stampede.
