The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that Germany's biggest union is accusing Tesla of fostering a toxic working environment at the carmaker's factory near Berlin, as tensions mount ahead of a contested works council election. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says Tesla is overworking employees and putting pressure on staff who have fallen ill, IG Metall said Wednesday. The union applied for an injunction at a labour court over what it said were false allegations that one of its members recorded a works council meeting on a laptop. It asked prosecutors to investigate a local Tesla manager for defamation. Tesla's management is attacking unions in Germany "with unprecedented aggression," said Jan Otto, a regional IG Metall leader. The comments showcase escalating friction ahead of a crucial works council election at Tesla's German factory next month. IG Metall is hoping to win a majority at the vote to implement the kind of wage agreement that are standard in Europe's biggest economy. Philipp Schwartz, an IG Metall member running in the Tesla works council election, said, "They no longer want to be looked down upon as if they were machines that can be replaced when they no longer function as desired."