The United Auto Workers union, upon receiving historic new tentative agreements from each of the Detroit Three automakers, closed up its picket lines at the end of October. The union had been on strike for more than six weeks.
The contracts, which highlight billions of dollars in new plant investments, feature 25% raises for workers, in addition to cost of living adjustments, better benefits, job security and a reduction of employment tiers. Workers will receive 11% pay raises immediately upon ratifying the contracts, with the remainder coming over the four-and-a-half-year term of each contract.
Union President Shawn Fain hailed the victory as a turning of the tide in "the war on the American working class."
Related: How the UAW auto union landed its record contracts: A timeline of events
Hot on the heels of its sweeping victory, the UAW is wasting no time in expanding its mission. In a Monday statement, the union said: "When we return to the bargaining table in 2028, it won’t just be with the Big Three, but with the Big Five or Big Six."
The statement came a few weeks after Fain referred to Tesla TSLA, Toyota and Honda workers as the "UAW members of the future."
Speaking to Bloomberg Thursday, Fain said that the UAW will try to unionize Tesla, despite CEO Elon Musk's historically anti-union stance. And Fain is confident that he'll win.
Elon Musk vs. The Union
“We can beat anybody,” Fain said. “It’s gonna come down to the people that work for him deciding if they want their fair share ... or if they want him to fly himself to outer space at their expense."
“I believe it’s doable," he added.
A UAW organizing committee reportedly spoke to Tesla workers at the company's Fremont, California plant, which employs around 20,000 people. The committee reportedly discussed the benefits of collective bargaining, offering to fund unionization efforts at the electric vehicle leader.
Tesla did not respond to TheStreet's request for comment.
This is not the first time the UAW has tried to take on Tesla; two former UAW presidents previously met with Musk. Fain said these meetings broke down because of the UAW's then-corruption; after a series of scandals with executive leadership, two of the union's three former presidents were sent to prison. Fain was elected to the position this year.
Fain doesn't expect to meet with Musk prior to a potential negotiation, saying: "Maybe we'll meet at the bargaining table, once we've organized."
Pay raises, which Deepwater's Gene Munster thinks will keep Tesla non-union in the long run, won't keep the UAW from organizing the company, Fain said.
Related: Elon Musk's Tesla has a new union problem on the heels of historic union win
“Hopefully we get down there, we organize them and they become UAW members — and they can realize the full power of membership and get an even better contract,” he said.
Tesla's non-union history
Tesla workers have made several attempts to unionize over the years, none of which have been successful. Earlier in the year, Tesla fired a group of employees shortly after they attempted to unionize, the group claimed. Tesla called the claim that it had fired the workers as part of an anti-union retaliation a "false allegation."
In a separate case, a Federal appeals court in March found that Tesla had illegally fired a worker involved in unionization efforts in 2017; the ruling additionally found that Musk had illegally threatened workers with withholding stock options in a tweet, which he was asked to delete.
He has not yet complied.
"Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union," he wrote at the time. "But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?"
Tesla shares ticked up slightly on Friday.
Related: Former Ford CEO has a blunt warning for the electric vehicle industry
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