Yvonne Beasley, and Anjeanette Damon

Reno Gazette-Journal

Union construction workers walked off the job at the Tesla gigafactory near Reno on Monday to protest what they describe as an out-of-state contractor bringing in workers from Arizona and New Mexico.

"Nobody is working today," said protester Gerald Gonzales.

About 100 workers were picketing, many of whom have spent months working on the gigafactory project, according to the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada.

Tesla gigafactory ahead of schedule, but off-track on job, investment projections

The action was to protest Nevada money being used to import site workers from New Mexico, said Todd Koch, the union group's president.

"We are trying to call attention to the fact that they are using $1.4 billion in Nevada money to staff jobs with workers from New Mexico and Arizona," said Russ James, business development specialist with the Painters Union.

James said they are trying to make this a local vs non-local jobs issue rather than union vs non-union issue. The contractor they are protesting, however, is a non-union contractor, according to protesters on the site and a Tesla spokesperson.

The contractor from New Mexico, Brycon Corp., has been bringing lower paid workers to the site, Koch said.

"We know they're working for Brycon, and driving around the job site we see a lot of license plates from Arizona and New Mexico," Koch said.

Koch said Nevada workers are available for the jobs.

Tesla said the issue "is not with how Tesla treats its workers," according to a company spokesperson.

"Their issue is that of the many third party contractors that are involved in the construction of the Gigafactory, many are union but the one at issue is not," Tesla said in a Monday email.

"The union is also claiming that this contractor is somehow favoring out of state workers. In reality, more than 50 percent of the workers used by this contractor and more than 75 percent of the entire Gigafactory workforce are Nevada residents, demonstrating the project’s strong commitment to Nevada."

According to the last quarterly report from the Governor's Office of Economic Development, 74 percent of construction workers on the project were considered Nevada residents. To qualify for the tax incentives, Tesla and its partner Panasonic at least 50 percent of gigafactory workers must be Nevada residents.

In 2014, Nevada lawmakers approved a $1.25 billion tax incentive package for the gigafactory.

According to an earlier RGJ report, construction jobs at the Tesla-Panasonic battery gigafactory haven’t kept pace with projections.

In January, a Tesla spokesman said the projections had been based on the “best information available” when it applied for the incentives in October 2014. Since then, Tesla has adjusted its original construction plans so the factory could open earlier than anticipated.

James said union workers are planning to stop work for the day. Union leaders will see how Tesla reacts before deciding when to return to work, James said.

"We would like to see them change their business strategy," James said.

At least one worker, who said he just returned to work last week, is hoping the stoppage doesn't go on for too long.

"I'm hoping this doesn't go on again tomorrow," he said.

More detail will be posted on this developing story as it becomes available.