Elon Musk Brother Farmer Hates Unions

San Francisco CA

Description

"Big Green has advised employees seeking to join a union that they may not communicate with each other or the media regarding their terms and conditions of employment [and] threatened employers with discipline up to and including termination in the event they speak to each other or publicly regarding their workplace concerns," one of the charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board on August 2, reads. In July, the non-profit sent a letter to all staff in response to their request for voluntary union recognition, saying that the company would not recognize the union, according to a current staff member and a CWA union organizer. Big Green's anti-union stance coincides with a series of outwardly progressive institutions and companies, including art museums, universities, public interest law firms, and green energy companies, taking measures to ensure their employees don't unionize. On its website, Big Green states that its aim is to "help kids dig into their education, thrive with real, nutritious foods and healthy habits, and become active participants in strengthening their communities." Kimball Musk made his fortune in Silicon Valley, with a series of ventures alongside his brother. In recent years, he has focused on his "real food philosophy," by establishing a network of agricultural and educational ventures in an attempt to transform the country's food system to local, health, and organic farms. "Our big vision to change food in America to impact all kids, and particularly the most underserved with healthy, vibrant futures, is becoming a reality," Kimball said of Big Green in 2018. During the pandemic, Kimbal's sustainable restaurant chain, Next Door, which collected income from workers into a "family fund" for emergencies, laid off workers without severance, and the "family fund" mysteriously disappeared.