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Tesla, a multi-million-dollar company known for its union-busting tactics, has fired over 40 workers at their plant in Buffalo, NY in an attempt to halt a fast-growing union drive.

At Tesla plants across the country, workers have reported issues with low pay, wage theft, and safety violations. Workers at the Tesla Gigafactory 2 plant in Buffalo, NY have reported similar issues, such as workers living paycheck-to-paycheck, a lack of pay transparency, purposefully confusing management structure, insufficient sick time, inability to provide automatic pay raises that were promised, and a lack of say in day-to-day operations.

A group of Buffalo Tesla workers (referred to as Tesla Workers United), launched their union drive on Valentine’s Day this year. This union drive began in November 2022 when the Buffalo Tesla factory closed due to a record-breaking blizzard and Tesla management refused to pay workers unless they used their sick or vacation time that was not already spent. When workers tried to express concerns via official communication channels, those channels were shut down by Tesla management. This led to workers creating their own lines of communication and discussing the need to form a collective voice – a union.

Tesla Workers United plan to be represented by Workers United Upstate New York, a prominent union group in the Buffalo area. Workers United successfully organized the historic first Starbucks union in the United States, which was formed in Buffalo, NY in 2021. Similarly, Buffalo Tesla workers are coming together to form the first-ever Tesla union in the United States. As we saw with Starbucks workers (who now have over 250 unions across the United States), the union drive by Buffalo Tesla workers could be a catalyst for far-reaching union activity across Tesla plants nationwide.

According to a February 14th statement by Tesla Workers United, workers believe that unionizing and creating a more collaborative work environment fulfills Tesla’s existing mission toward sustainability:

“Unionizing will further accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, because it will give us a voice in our workplace and in the goals we set for ourselves to accomplish… Our union will further Tesla’s principles and objectives, including by helping to serve the conscience of the organization and by ensuring and deepening our culture of trust and respect.”

Tesla workers are correct to point out that Tesla’s supposed mission towards sustainability and environmental benefit is at best performative if workers are being abused and refused a voice. Profits should never be a priority over people and the planet.

Unfortunately, Tesla has already implemented harsh union-busting tactics against its workers in Buffalo. Just one day after workers launched their union drive, Tesla fired dozens of workers. Tesla representatives have made excuses that firings were part of regular performance reviews, yet workers made clear that performance reviews were not scheduled until March and rarely include mass layoffs.

Amidst all of this, Tesla has half-heartedly affirmed that they support the right of their workers to unionize. This is clearly a hollow affirmation, given Tesla has refused to sign the Fair Election Principles. If Tesla agrees to sign the Fair Election Principles, they must: 1. not threaten or retaliate against workers for organizing a union, 2. agree to a quick and fair election process, and 3. facilitate Tesla Workers United to hold meetings and post information.

Tesla Workers United have also experienced censorship as they try to gain community support for their campaign on Twitter, which is owned by Elon Musk (Tesla CEO). According to a recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) charge, Tesla Workers United’s Twitter page (@united_tesla) was restricted from appearing on Twitter’s search function. Purposefully stopping or discouraging Tesla Workers United from communicating with fellow workers and the public via Twitter is against the National Labor Relations Act.

This is not the first time Tesla has used illegal union-busting tactics. In 2018, Musk took to Twitter to intimidate Tesla employees against unionizing. Specifically, Musk threatened to revoke employee stock options:

The NLRB ordered Tesla to delete Elon Musk’s unlawful tweet, but the Tesla CEO has never removed the message. But that’s not all.

In 2021, the NLRB found that Tesla had illegally fired an employee attempting to unionize at a Tesla plant in Fremont, California. In 2022, the NLRB ruled that Tesla had illegally prohibited workers from wearing union insignia or apparel in the workplace. Just recently, workers in a new Tesla factory in Austin, TX reported rampant wage theft and falsified safety records.

Given Tesla’s (and Elon Musk’s) history of abusing and intimidating workers, it’s inspiring to see that organizers have decided they aren’t going to take it anymore. Already, Tesla workers at the Buffalo plant are receiving outstanding support for their collective efforts. People in Buffalo, NY, and nationwide are realizing that it is the workers that make Tesla successful – NOT mega-rich CEOs like Elon Musk.

Elon Musk has done nothing but put workers in danger and violate their basic human rights. Musk has a bloated net worth of almost $200 billion dollars and has made clear that he will do much more to protect his perverse fortune than to support the workers that make his company run.

Workers unionizing in Buffalo are proving to workers everywhere that: when we organize, we can beat the boss!

If you’d like to donate to fired workers at Buffalo’s Tesla plant, follow this link.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has launched a propaganda poster contest to mark the 75th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s call for patriotic emulation (1948 – 2023).

The contest is open for both amateur and professional Vietnamese painters, at home and abroad.

The entries should highlight emulation movements, which have been held over the past 75 years, particularly movements on reducing poverty, paying gratitude to national contributors, and building new-style rural areas.

The designs, which must be presented in 54 x 79 cm, should also portray exemplary models, who stood out in the implementation of the movements.

Entries must be recent creations, which have never been entered in other contests and have not been disseminated in any form.

Entrants should submit their designs to [email protected], or send them directly (or by post) to the Hanoi Department of Culture, 86A, Lane Le Van Huu 3, Ngo Thi Nham Ward, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, before April 7, 2023.

Winners of the contest will be announced and honoured at a ceremony scheduled in June this year.

(KPL/VNA) Vietnam targets becoming a developed, high-income country with an equal, democratic, and civilised society by 2050 under the national master plan for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050.

The country will strive for annual GDP growth of 6.5-7.5% between 2031 and 2050, along with per capita GDP of 27,000-32,000 USD and an urbanisation rate of 70-75% by 2050.

Hanoi began a tree planting project toward net zero emissions at a ceremony held in Me Linh district on February 26.

As part of the ceremony at the national special relic Hai Ba Trung temple, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) and Hanoi authorities planted the first tree of the project. More than 1,000 mature trees worth nearly 1.5 billion VND (63,038.4 USD) was presented to the district at the event.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh said the capital is the first destination of the 15 billion VND project run by the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) and the MoNRE. As part of efforts to realise Vietnam’s commitments made at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), the project will be implemented in five years until 2027.

The organising committee is expected to conduct research and planning to plant trees in other localities across the country this year.

A Vinamilk representative said the project focuses on building scientific tree-planting plans to maintain the highest percentage of trees living and growing without wasting natural resources.

Ho Chi Minh City is planning to apply for the title of UNESCO World Book Capital (WBC) in 2025, according to Lam Dinh Thang, Director of the municipal Department of Information and Communications. He said that the city has advantages and potential to develop the publishing industry and reading culture in the community.

There are 39 domestic and foreign publishers, more than 140 distribution units, and nearly 1,000 private bookstores in the city. It also has 1,500 local libraries and more than 1,100 school libraries, creating a favourable environment to meet the reading needs of all people.

For years, the publishing industry and reading culture in the city have been thriving strongly. From 2015-2020, the city published about 2 million copies of books on average each year with an annual growth rate of 10%.

Facing the strong development trend of digital technology, the electronic publishing market in the city has grown tremendously. In 2022, the number of electronic publications in the city increased more than three times compared to 2021, with more than 4 million users, equivalent to 3.4 million copies of books being read.

Moreover, with effective models implemented in recent years, for example, the book streets, the city is considered the "bright spot" of the whole country in the development of reading culture.

The title of WBC has been held each year since 2001 by a town or city committed to acting to create a culture of reading. It can provide an important impetus to experiment and innovate in the ways that literacy and reading are promoted, as well as to invest in key infrastructure, not least libraries.

Madrid in Spain was named the first WBC in 2001, Accra of Ghana in 2023, Strasbourg in France in 2024. UNESCO has launched the call for cities interested in holding the title in 2025, with applications due to be submitted no later than April 16./.

Hanoi will spend 437 trillion VND (18.3 billion USD) on housing development in the 2021-2025 period.

Under a housing development plan between 2021 and 2025 which has been approved by the municipal People’s Committee, the city targets the average housing floor area per person to be 29.5 sq.m. The size of dwelling in the urban areas is 31 sq.m per person and 28 sq.m per person in rural areas.

The capital city also plans to develop 0.55 million sq.m of floor areas for resettlement purposes and speed up the renovation of old buildings, especially those deemed dangerous for living.

Regarding commercial projects, the city will strive to complete 109 projects that are capable of finishing in 2021-2025 with 19.4 million sq.m of floor.

Hanoi will continue to remove makeshift houses and raise the permanent housing rate in the city to 90%.

Of the total investment of 437 trillion VND, 5.8 trillion VND will be used for social housing, resettlement housing projects, and apartments upgrading. The investment will be sourced from the city’s budget.

The city will also mobilise social resources for the development of commercial houses and other real estate projects.

The municipal People’s Committee requested agencies comply with the city's housing development plans to ensure a balance between housing supply and demand as well as fulfil the set targets.

Legal documents will be reviewed to remove difficulties and problems relating to housing and construction investment management of infrastructure works, it said.

The city will also issue preferential mechanisms and policies to support construction investment for technical and social infrastructure works in social housing and resettlement areas towards civilisation and modernity in order to ensure the quality of life and affordable for local residents

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/521217

Builders of Fangchenggang-Dongxing railway, an important railway linking China and Vietnam, said about 90 percent of the construction of the railway has been completed. They expected it to be fully completed before the end of the year.

The first heart and kidney transplant on one patient in Vietnam was successfully performed on February 15 by doctors of the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital, the hospital announced on February 24.

The transplanted organs were taken from a brain-dead donor.

Associate Professor Nguyen Huu Uoc, director of the hospital’s Cardiovascular and Thoracic Centre, said the patient who received the organs is a 37-year-old man living in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai. He suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy, heart failure and severe arrhythmias, leading to end-stage renal failure.

He underwent hemodialysis continuously for five to six years and often received emergency treatment at major cardiovascular centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Thua Thien-Hue province.

Due to ineffective treatment, he was instructed by doctors to have a heart and kidney transplant.

In mid-2022, he was introduced to the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital. After careful evaluation, the hospital's experts agreed to perform a simultaneous heart and kidney transplant for the patient with donated organs from a brain-dead donor.

Transplanting both organs at the same time is a big challenge, requiring doctors to be well prepared, Uoc said.

In six months since the transplantation decision was made, no donated brain-dead organ truly matched, and the patient had to continue to visit hospitals for heart and kidney treatment.

In early February 2023, one woman who had a brain death due to a severe traumatic brain injury after a traffic accident donated multiple organs with family consensus.

The transplant surgery lasted for 10 hours from 9am to 7pm on February 15 with the participation of doctors from five centres and clinical departments.

It took the team three hours to take out the organs, five hours to transplant the heart and two hours to transplant the kidney.

“The transplantation was performed successfully thanks to skillful cooperation between heart, kidney transplant and anaesthesia resuscitation technicians as well as careful preparation of medical facilities and advanced equipment,” said Professor Tran Binh Giang, the hospital’s director.

The patient’s heart and kidney recovered fully on February 24, eight days after the transplant.

He can sit up, eat and communicate without special assistance.

He will undergo further post-transplant treatment in the next few weeks.

This was the first time Vietnamese doctors have successfully performed a transplant of heart and kidney organs on one patient.

Vietnamese doctors have performed two organ transplants on one patient three times.

Two years ago, the Vietnam-Germany Hospital doctors conducted a liver and kidney transplant on a patient.

Vietnam’s railway network planning expects to have 16 new national lines with a total length of about 4,802km by 2030.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the planning for 2021-2030 will also upgrade seven existing lines, whose total length amounts to 2,440km.

By 2050, the number of new rail lines will be 25, which together are 6,354km long.

The completely upgraded and expanded network following the planning will connect strategic economic areas and corridors, urban centres, international sea ports, border gates, and airports nationwide, said a leader of the ministry.

Rail transport boasts several advantages. It requires less land areas, leaves little impact on the environment, and carries a large amount of goods and passengers. It is also fast, safe, and low cost.

However, the railway investment budget is enormous, while the State budget resources are limited. Due to the low financial efficiency of railway investment, it is difficult for the sector to attract capital from society.