In 2017 and 2018, Tesla hired a consultant, MWW PR, to monitor employees in a Facebook group and more broadly on social media amidst a push to unionize employees.
MWW PR was assigned to loosely monitor for any discussions of unfair labor practices at the EV maker, and any discussions about a sexual harassment lawsuit.
While dated, the documents detailing the employee surveillance are useful for anyone looking to better understand the view of the automaker’s priorities when viewing social media.
Some have noted the irony of Musk now extolling freedom of speech on social media as he undertakes a takeover of twitter, after hiring a company to spy on employees on social media.
MWW PR’s responsibilities under the arrangement were to spy on a Tesla employee Facebook group, monitor Facebook for commentary on any organizing efforts, and to spy on known organizers online. Using that data, it was assigned to develop labor communication plans, media lists, and media pitches.
At the time, a global communications director for Tesla, Dave Arnold had been employed at MWW PR for 4 years from 2011 through 2015, as vice president. He had previously served as as a communications director for former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.).
Tesla and Elon Musk have clashed with unionizers for years. Tesla fired Richard Ortiz, a union activist, in 2017. The National Labor Relations Board ordered Tesla to reinstate Ortiz and to have Musk delete a tweet deemed to have violated federal labor laws. Tesla appealed the administrative court’s ruling and never deleted the tweet.
An MWW PR spokesperson said, “MWW consulted with Tesla in 2017-2018 on a broad employee communications engagement during a period of rapid growth at the Company. It is a common practice to review media coverage and public social conversation about a company to gain insights into issues and perceptions of stakeholders about the brand.”
Jennifer M. Grygiel, a Syracuse University associate professor who researches propaganda and social media, said companies should not interfere with worker’s rights, especially their right to discuss, form or join a union.
“Any organization can engage in ‘social listening,’ using publicly available social media data to gain insights for product development, or to understand voters, public and employee sentiment and more,” she said. “But there are laws in the US that protect the rights of people to organize. If you’re a PR firm, or a manager who has to infiltrate a semi-private group? That’s dishonest. And I doubt Tesla would send a PR firm to figure out how to support workers involved in organizing.”
