A recent article in the San José Mercury News described a complex process of global capitalist exploitation that took a Slovenian citizen, Gregor Lesnik, from his homeland to Tesla’s Fremont, Calif., assembly plant and then to a hospital and back to Slovenia.
Lesnik is one of thousands of immigrants from impoverished Eastern European countries, many from Slovenia and Croatia (formerly part of Yugoslavia), who come to the U.S. in hopes of earning enough to live in their homeland. The Mercury News article exposed how Tesla contracted with Eisenmann, a German manufacturer of industrial systems, which in term used Vuzem, another subcontractor, to supply cheap foreign labor to expand Tesla’s Fremont factory.
Vuzem stands accused of violating numerous visa and labor laws in an effort to get foreign workers into the U.S., where they earn as little as $5 an hour. Lesnik nearly died on the job when he fell three stories from the roof of the Tesla factory. He is now seeking damages in spite of Tesla and Vuzem’s refusal to pay and attempts to intimidate him into dropping the suit.
These efforts went as far as having someone pose as a nurse and request that Lesnik follow them onto a plane back to Slovenia. While Mr. Lesnik’s story is shocking, he is just one of many thousands of immigrants who face similar circumstances.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has a reputation of using brilliant innovation to secure the rapid success of his electric car company. Yet the Mercury News exposé shows that Musk relies on exploitation of the working class to drive the success of his company, which at this early stage of its development is anything but assured. While much of the blame in this case rests with Tesla, the company could not have done it on its own. It is but a part of an expanding global supply chain that seeks to exploit cheap foreign labor.
This story starts on the far side of the globe. Following restoration of capitalism, including dissolution of Yugoslavia at the hands of German and the U.S. imperialism, much of Eastern Europe suffers from low per capita income and high unemployment. Prior to the fall of Yugoslavia, its citizens enjoyed free health care, education and high living standards. The destruction of Yugoslavia destroyed these rights provided by the socialist government to its people. In a mad dash to plunder the resources and economy of these nations, the West plunged their economies into disarray as massive inflation led to starvation and a shortage of basic medical supplies.
Prior to the U.S./NATO attack, Yugoslavia had many productive factories, including an auto industry. Now, residents of the region like Gregor Lesnik are forced to travel to the U.S. to work in the same industry.
Deliberate complexity enables abuse
Tesla contracted with Eisenmann, which in turn contracted the work out to Vuzem. If this sounds complicated, that’s because it is supposed to be. With the hiring and payment of a labor force passing through multiple hands, finding and punishing the individuals responsible becomes that much more difficult. Multiple companies around the world must be investigated and charged rather than just one. Tesla can claim innocence and blame Eisenmann, which in turn can blame Vuzem, and so on.
Vuzem is notorious for abusing visa and labor laws in a way to allow its underpaid workforce to enter the U.S. and work “legally.” Vuzem has its workers apply for B1 visas, which only allow individuals to work in the U.S. if they are engaged in “highly skilled labor” in short supply. While supervising a team of auto workers on an assembly line might qualify, working on the line would not.
This did not stop Vuzem from coaching their contract workers to claim they were engaged in highly skilled labor on their applications, only to work unskilled or semi-skilled construction and assembly line jobs. This ensured Vuzem could pay these workers far less than U.S. workers, even well under the minimum wage.
Poor regulation by design
This particular aspect of the visa process is hardly regulated by the U.S. and violations are common. This is, of course, again by design. The U.S. government, controlled by corporate interests, would be loath to do anything that might raise labor costs for their corporate sponsors. Finally, the imported workers typically remain silent over these abuses for fear of losing what little pay they are getting and being deported. It is vital to see how the U.S. military, banks, CEOs, and government bureaucrats all work together in a system designed to maximize the exploitation of the working class, both foreign and domestic.
This flow of desperate labor from nations devastated by U.S. imperialism to the U.S. is a common story. It could have just as easily been told about Mexico or Honduras. By employing foreign labor, the capitalist class further divides the working class against itself. We can see this in the mass appeal of Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric that pits the white working class against the brown.
It is not enough to fight for the rights of workers in a single industry or even nation. If the U.S. working class had opposed and stopped the NATO invasion of Yugoslavia, the workers in that region would not have been forced to flee in order to survive. That would be to the benefit of all workers.
It is imperative that anyone involved in the struggle for workers’ rights understand the need for internationalism. We must echo Marx’s proclamation: “Workers of the world unite.”
