Elon Musk's Brother Wants to Build Utopian Learning Gardens, Without Unions

Elon Musk’s Brother Wants to Build Utopian Learning Gardens, Without Unions

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On the Clock On the Clock is Motherboard’s reporting on the organized labor movement, gig work, automation, and the future of work. See More →

The non-profit Big Green, a pet project of Elon Musk’s billionaire entrepreneur brother Kimbal Musk to build vegetable gardens in underfunded schools in Detroit, Memphis, Chicago and other cities, is fighting a union drive led by its staff.

According to three unfair labor practice charges filed by the Communications Worker of America (CWA) union obtained by Motherboard, unionizing staff who build and maintain “learning gardens,” that grow fruits and vegetables, have been retaliated against for discussing and posting about their union on Instagram and Twitter, forbidden from communicating with each other or publicly about the union, and threatened with discipline up to termination for doing so. Luke O’Neil first reported about Big Green’s unionization effort.

“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.

Kimbal has not made any public statements about the union. But a close friend and confidant to his brother, he sits on the board of SpaceX and Tesla, the latter of which has a record of harassing workers for union activity, banning them from wearing union T-shirts and buttons, and interrogating them about union activism. Elon has made his opposition to a union at Tesla no secret on Twitter, and earlier this year, was ordered by the government to delete an anti-union tweet. Kimbal was also on the board of Chipotle, a company with a substantial allegations of worker abuse, including wage theft and child labor.

In early 2021, a small group of program coordinators at the company began talking in secret about unionizing after some workers were furloughed during the pandemic and lost their healthcare. Most workers loved their jobs but felt like management was often out-of-touch with the low-income communities they served—and did not give workers enough of a say in how they prioritized different initiatives, so they approached the Denver Newspaper Guild, a branch of CWA, for help unionizing. Soon, they went public on Instagram and Twitter.

“I want a union because I want to have transparency, allow space for our voices to be heard in the ways we interact with the community we gratefully service, as well as give support to members in all our regions,” Sarah Burns, a program coordinator in Memphis, wrote in a post on the union’s Instagram account.

On July 29, Odie Avery, a Detroit-based project manager for Big Green, posted a photo of clean-up day at a schoolyard garden he’d helped build on his public Instagram account, mentioning the union and tagging Kimbal Musk.

The post was captioned, “Our communities are the main reason my colleagues and I have formed @biggreenunion and we continue asking @biggreen and @kimbalmusk to live up to their ‘Big Green Promise’ and voluntarily recognize our unit. Only through collective action can we fully support the communities we serve.”

The next day, management called Avery into a Zoom conference and forbade him from talking about the union during work and going to any school events until September 30, which is the bulk of his job. The ban, he says, was punishment for posting about the union during work hours, posting a photo that featured a coworker who had not consented, and sharing proprietary information about the company’s relationship with the school which had not yet been made public.

“When they reprimanded me, I was told I’m not allowed to participate in any Big Green events until the end of the quarter, September 30,” Avery told Motherboard. “I can’t go to kick off days or to plant vegetables or maintain the gardens to make sure they’re clean and tidy.”

Avery told Motherboard that previously the company had encouraged employees to post about the company and their work on social media.

Another worker who posted on social media and spoke on a podcast called Street Fight Radio about the union campaign was also punished, according to one of the unfair labor practice charges obtained by Motherboard. “Big Green disciplined [redacted name] for speaking out about the unionization effort in an effort to chill public comment and undermine the unionization effort,” the charge reads.

“The rule about not talking about the union during work hours was never articulated,” Avery continued. “I feel like what they did to me specifically was an attempt to intimidate and scare everyone from speaking out in any way. They’re trying to make an example of us. To Big Green, it boils down to them wanting to pull the strings and call the shots without any pushback.”

All eleven employees in the proposed unit have declared support for the union, and are waiting for a green light from the National Labor Relations Board to set a date for their union election.

Big Green did not respond to a request for comment.

Filmmaker Tosca Musk moves her base to Georgia

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By Maria Saporta

The lure of Georgia’s film tax credits has attracted Tosca Musk to move her production company to Georgia.

And that’s not all.

Tosca Musk, the younger sister of entrepreneurs Elon and Kimbal Musk, also is moving her permanent residence to south Fulton County and locating her production office in Palmetto.

“Yes, we are in the process of moving our company to Georgia,” Musk wrote in an email. She currently is in Los Angeles, but she should be back in Georgia sometime in August.

Her film company and streaming service – Passionflix – adapts romance novels for films and television shows, according to Ali Straub Whitaker, director of marketing and public relations for the company. Whitaker and her family have already moved from Los Angeles to Peachtree City.

“A big reason for the move is the wonderful tax credits for filming in Georgia,” Whitaker said. “We all discussed it as a team. We wanted to be someplace where we could go with our families and have a better quality of life and where would it make sense for us to film.”

Musk co-founded Passionflix in 2017 with a couple of friends. It is a word play on Netflix, but it is a streaming service that appeals to women who enjoy romance novels and romantic films and television shows.

“Romance novels aren’t often turned into films,” Whitaker said. “But romance novels are the No. 1 genre in fiction.”

Passionflix’s projects include the television series – “Driven,” which just premiered its second season in Los Angeles on July 22. Other projects include the movie “Wicked” (2021); “Gabriel’s Inferno” (2020); “Dirty Sexy Saint” (2019); “The Protector” (2019); “The Matchmaker’s Playbook” (2018); and “Hollywood Dirt” (2017).

“Tosca Musk’s decision to relocate her company, Passionflix, to Georgia is a testimony not only to the success of the film tax credit, but also to the positive experiences she has had making films in numerous communities throughout Georgia including Madison, Augusta and Monroe,” said Lee Thomas, who heads up the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office. “We look forward to an ongoing partnership with her and welcome her as an extraordinary addition to Georgia’s vibrant film industry.”

Tosca Musk, 47, grew up in South Africa. She and her mother, Maye Musk, eventually followed Tosca’s older brothers to Canada. Elon Musk is founder and CEO of SpaceX, and he is a founder and CEO of Tesla Inc.

As Tosca Musk began to pursue her movie and television career, she moved to California where she has been until making the decision to move to Georgia.

But the siblings remain quite close, Whitaker said.

“Elon Musk and the whole family are huge supporters of Tosca,” Whitaker said. “They are a very close family.”

SpaceX: Why Blue Origin’s brain drain is good news for Elon Musk

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Tesla celebrates A.I. Day ; SpaceX waits for the moon; Elon Musk calls for universal basic income. It’s the free edition of Musk Reads #261 — subscribe now to receive two more emails later this week!

Last week, Musk Reads+ subscribers learned more about SpaceX’s historic Inspiration4 mission and what it means for space. This week, subscribers will hear from Netflix and its plans to cover the groundbreaking event.

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Musk quote of the week

“Tesla is much more than an electric car company.” — Elon Musk said August 19 at “A.I. Day.” During the event, Tesla engineers discussed Tesla’s newest A.I. research in detail, updating the public on things like Tesla Vision, the supercomputer Dojo, and a humanoid Tesla Robot. The robot part may or may not be a joke.

Tesla: So there’s this robot…

Tesla’s A.I. Day event on August 19 featured in-depth discussion of many of Tesla’s latest A.I. developments (that came with bold claims afterwards), but many viewers were captivated by Tesla’s most rudimentary invention. Enter the Tesla Bot, Tesla’s helper robot that is currently just a dancing human in a zentai suit.

Tesla Bot feels the rhythm at A.I. Day.

It’s difficult to overstate how strange Tesla’s robot “presentation” was. This wasn’t a presentation of any tangible technology, but currently just a concept accompanied by some fun EDM. I recommend you check out the video for yourself.

During his presentation, Musk said a humanoid robot would just be a step up from Tesla’s existing vehicles, which are, according to him, “semi-sentient robots on wheels.” The Tesla Bot would be “friendly” and designed to eliminate “dangerous, repetitive, boring tasks” like going to the grocery store.

Although Tesla hopes to complete a prototype by 2022, there has been some debate about whether or not Musk is doing his favorite thing second to engineering: trolling.

Elon Musk seriously and/or facetiously confirms a fan’s suspicions that Tesla Bot will go to Mars.

If we take Musk’s word for it, though, the Tesla Bot will “aspirationally [improve] the probability that the future is good.” There are worse things. Read more about the Tesla Bot on Inverse.

In other real Tesla news…

Musk’s SolarCity trial wraps up

The Model Y reaches Europe

SpaceX: Good news for SpaceX brings bad news for Bezos

SpaceX’s lunar lander contract with NASA has been put on hold yet again because of Blue Origin. This time, the Bezos-led company is suing NASA in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims over its decision to choose one lunar lander provider instead of two.

NASA hopes to resolve the suit by November 1, which, in addition to previous Blue Origin-borne delays, non-existent spacesuits, and a global pandemic, makes its intended 2024 flight window highly unlikely.

And all the government drama and infographics don’t seem to be working in Blue Origin’s favor. Since NASA awarded SpaceX the lunar contract, Blue Origin lost “at least” 17 top staffers, CNBC reports, with at least one of them leaving to join SpaceX instead, Insider writes.

Speaking of SpaceX, the company is gearing up for an ambitious future filled with “regular orbital missions” and has its first launch in two months scheduled for August 28.

We’ve been overwhelmed by your support and kind words for our work. (Thank you!)

“This is to inform you that I read every one of your letters sent to me! Being a very ‘avid space nut,’ I’ve always been fascinated by space travel. Even built my first rocket in ‘60 for a ‘science project’ and got 2nd prize!

One day, I hope to meet Elon Musk, but that’ll never happen as I’m old, feeble, and mid 70’s now! Lol. (Ed. note: Musk, if you’re reading this, hit up Mike!)

I wish Elon the very best, and I can hardly wait ‘til his new batteries come out and he lands on the moon!”

— Mike Renner, Musk Reads subscriber

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In other Musk-related news…

T-minus the internet

A ranked list of everything Musk-related and online, handpicked weekly with bionic precision.

Did you know that Musk’s sister, Tosca Musk, owns a streaming company dedicated to romance called Passionflix? I didn’t!
Did you know that Musk’s girlfriend, Grimes, used TikTok to tell teenage Elon Musk haters that they were spreading “fake news”? Yeah, I guess I did.
In spite of all its challenges (some of them self-created), Blue Origin is still pushing for democratic spaceflight. Its next launch, which will feature an art installation by Ghanian artist Amoako Boafo, is scheduled for August 25. Read more.
Ahead of his September 15 all-civilian SpaceX flight, billionaire Jared Isaacman plans to bring hops to space so a brewery on Earth can make beer with it. Tastes like the ozone layer.
This coloring YouTube channel aimed at children made a video entitled “Elon Musk Tesla Cybertruck Drawing and Coloring for Kids!” First graders like EVs, right?
A.I. researcher Lex Fridman broke down Tesla’s A.I. Day highlights on his YouTube channel, providing commentary on things like neural networks, Autopilot, and supercomputer Dojo. For the record, he thinks the Bot is cool.
And even if the Tesla Bot isn’t real, robot nurse Grace certainly is. Read more.
And so are all the other robots joining healthcare workers on the front lines. Read more.
NASA’s Curiosity Rover drove around a Martian mountain. Watch now.
And a piece of Musk history: In 1999, Elon Musk founded X.com, his first claim-to-fame (but not his first company — that was the forgotten Zip2), beginning a long career defined by entrepreneurship. In 2001, Musk was fired from X.com, which was then a newly-made PayPal. You can read the full separation agreement, if you’d like. Three years later, Musk founded SpaceX, so it’s okay.

The ultra-fine print

This has been Musk Reads #261, the weekly rundown of essential reading about futurist and entrepreneur Elon Musk. I’m Ashley Bardhan, assistant to Musk Reads.

Why subscribe to Musk Reads+? You’ll be supporting in-depth, high-quality journalism about the world’s most ambitious change-maker, Elon Musk. Tesla investors, SpaceX critics, and anyone with an interest will find something they love in our offerings. Independent journalism is essential now more than ever, and your contributions will help us continue in our mission to deliver interviews and analysis you won’t find anywhere else.

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