Musk vs Unions in Sweden

[The Infidel]

I don't mind EV's. I don't mind Tesla cars, but would never own one myself as I like buttons in my car, but I don't like Union breakers and it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling that Elon Musk still not quite understands his problems in Sweden when he refused his workers a collective agreement, something that is very common in Scandinavia. It ended with the union of his workers went on strike and many other unions are joining in support, even from Norway.

Tesla doesn't have any factories in Sweden, but they do a lot of repairs there.

Musk has now imported union breakers from other countries to replace the ones on strike, but I don't think that's a longtime solution in Sweden. Unions are very strong there and they will absolutely not yield. Not now, not ever. A collective agreement is a vital part of being in a union.

I have a few news sources in Norwegian, but had to google for English ones. Here's one I could find:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-st ... 42528.html

By Marie Mannes

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's biggest union on Tuesday threw its weight behind a six-month-old strike by mechanics at Tesla, escalating the U.S. carmaker's latest dispute with organised labour.

At the heart of the strike is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement allowing the metal workers' union to negotiate deals for the workforce as a whole.

Last month, Musk said the labour storm had passed in the country where Tesla's Model Y is the top-selling car, but he was contradicted by IF Metall, which said its strike continued.

The union told Reuters that about 44 of its members - roughly a third of Tesla's Swedish mechanics - had downed tools at the company, which does not produce vehicles in Sweden but services them locally.

"The strike is ongoing and we have no signs of reaching an agreement in the near future," IF Metall head Marie Nilsson said. "We have had a few sittings with the Swedish management during April, but ... Tesla has shown little willingness in discussing an end to the conflict."

More than a dozen unions have launched action in support of IF Metall, with Unionen the latest and biggest.

"It is fundamentally important to protect our collective agreement system," Martin Wastfeldt, head of negotiations at Unionen, told Reuters.

Unionen began a blockade on Tuesday affecting all work for Tesla at DEKRA Industrial AB, which conducts equipment inspections.

If Tesla seeks to circumvent the blockade by hiring other providers, Wastfeldt said Unionen was prepared to do more.

This might involve Unionen members at the company that produces licence plates for Tesla in Sweden, or administrative, human resources and finance staff at Tesla itself.

Access to licence plates has been one focal point of tensions, with Tesla suing unions that have sought to halt postal service to the automaker.

On Tuesday, the union for Service and Communication employees, Seko, said it was taking steps to close a loophole in the blockade being used by Tesla.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike. It has previously said its Swedish employees have as good, or better, terms than those the union is demanding.

The conflict is key for the company, whose tough stance globally on unions could be undermined if it buckles in Sweden, or if the strike spreads to bigger markets like Germany.

WAR CHEST

While the numbers on strike in Sweden are small, the stakes are high.

Allowing companies to operate in Sweden without collective agreements would undermine unions and threaten the Swedish social model, potentially dragging in the government.

"For IF Metall, it is very important not to lose. They simply cannot do that," trade union expert Anders Kjellberg said.

Sweden's unions take heart from past successes - Unionen signed up payment services group Klarna to a collective agreement last year - and their firepower, with more than 10 billion crowns ($921 million) in IF Metall's strike fund alone.

But while union action has caused some disruption, Tesla's new vehicle registrations in Sweden have broadly kept pace with the market.

Since February, Tesla has brought in about 25 temporary staff from other European countries, some for multiple short-term stays.

While it is unclear whether this is linked to the strike, it contrasts with the previous year, when no such workers were brought in, a review of labour registrations showed. Tesla did not respond to a request to clarify.

Kjellberg noted some possible ways out of the impasse.

Amazon, for example, has a third-party company manage its Swedish warehouses signed up to collective agreements, allowing the U.S parent company to avoid doing so.

"It could last for months or even years, because IF Metall can't give up," Kjellberg said. "But in time, it is possible both parties will want to find a solution."

($1 = 10.8617 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Marie Mannes; Editing by Niklas Pollard, Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)

[Zaune]

"It could last for months or even years, because IF Metall can't give up," Kjellberg said. "But in time, it is possible both parties will want to find a solution."

Unfortunately, in Musk's case that solution might be to move the factory to another country out of sheer spite.

[Solauren]

"It could last for months or even years, because IF Metall can't give up," Kjellberg said. "But in time, it is possible both parties will want to find a solution."

Unfortunately, in Musk's case that solution might be to move the factory to another country out of sheer spite.

Possibly followed by him going after the union, in every country he thinks he could win, for 'lost income, relocation expenses, slander, libel, and whatever else' he thinks he can.

[Lord Revan]

"It could last for months or even years, because IF Metall can't give up," Kjellberg said. "But in time, it is possible both parties will want to find a solution."

Unfortunately, in Musk's case that solution might be to move the factory to another country out of sheer spite.

Possibly followed by him going after the union, in every country he thinks he could win, for 'lost income, relocation expenses, slander, libel, and whatever else' he thinks he can.

I dunno about Sweden but I'm pretty sure it would be laughed out the courts here, Nordic countries aren't like USA when it comes to unions.

[Solauren]

Unfortunately, in Musk's case that solution might be to move the factory to another country out of sheer spite.

Possibly followed by him going after the union, in every country he thinks he could win, for 'lost income, relocation expenses, slander, libel, and whatever else' he thinks he can.

I dunno about Sweden but I'm pretty sure it would be laughed out the courts here, Nordic countries aren't like USA when it comes to unions.

Oh, I have no doubt he'd lose in most Nordic countries. I can just see him finding a court he could sue them in that would side with him, even one that couldn't enforce it's decision, just so he can say he has a decision in his favor.

[Zaune]

He can still force the union to fork out for the billable hours involved in getting the suits dismissed, and even with his issues with Twitter and the unfolding Cybertruck shitshow he can probably afford to weather that financial hit better than them. At least up until he lands himself in actual legal trouble, anyway. I don't know what Swedish law has to say about vexacious litigation, but I imagine getting hit with sanctions for abuse of process wouldn't make him popular with the shareholders or the board, so he might not be stupid enough to take it that far.

[wautd]

At least up until he lands himself in actual legal trouble, anyway.

Speaking about legal trouble, I'm amazed at how Musk is still getting away with so much of his scams.
I wouldn't be shedding a tear when that greedy con artist meets the same fate as the likes of Jeffrey Skilling and Elizabeth Holmes

[Broomstick]

Musk is an authoritarian at heart. He simply can't stand the notion that the peasants who labor for him have any real rights.

[B5B7]

I don't mind EV's. I don't mind Tesla cars, but would never own one myself as I like buttons in my car, but I don't like Union breakers and it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling that Elon Musk still not quite understands his problems in Sweden when he refused his workers a collective agreement, something that is very common in Scandinavia. It ended with the union of his workers went on strike and many other unions are joining in support, even from Norway.

Tesla doesn't have any factories in Sweden, but they do a lot of repairs there.

Musk has now imported union breakers from other countries to replace the ones on strike, but I don't think that's a longtime solution in Sweden. Unions are very strong there and they will absolutely not yield. Not now, not ever. A collective agreement is a vital part of being in a union.

I have a few news sources in Norwegian, but had to google for English ones. Here's one I could find:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-st ... 42528.html

By Marie Mannes

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's biggest union on Tuesday threw its weight behind a six-month-old strike by mechanics at Tesla, escalating the U.S. carmaker's latest dispute with organised labour.

At the heart of the strike is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement allowing the metal workers' union to negotiate deals for the workforce as a whole.

Last month, Musk said the labour storm had passed in the country where Tesla's Model Y is the top-selling car, but he was contradicted by IF Metall, which said its strike continued.

The union told Reuters that about 44 of its members - roughly a third of Tesla's Swedish mechanics - had downed tools at the company, which does not produce vehicles in Sweden but services them locally.

"The strike is ongoing and we have no signs of reaching an agreement in the near future," IF Metall head Marie Nilsson said. "We have had a few sittings with the Swedish management during April, but ... Tesla has shown little willingness in discussing an end to the conflict."

More than a dozen unions have launched action in support of IF Metall, with Unionen the latest and biggest.

"It is fundamentally important to protect our collective agreement system," Martin Wastfeldt, head of negotiations at Unionen, told Reuters.

Unionen began a blockade on Tuesday affecting all work for Tesla at DEKRA Industrial AB, which conducts equipment inspections.

If Tesla seeks to circumvent the blockade by hiring other providers, Wastfeldt said Unionen was prepared to do more.

This might involve Unionen members at the company that produces licence plates for Tesla in Sweden, or administrative, human resources and finance staff at Tesla itself.

Access to licence plates has been one focal point of tensions, with Tesla suing unions that have sought to halt postal service to the automaker.

On Tuesday, the union for Service and Communication employees, Seko, said it was taking steps to close a loophole in the blockade being used by Tesla.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike. It has previously said its Swedish employees have as good, or better, terms than those the union is demanding.

The conflict is key for the company, whose tough stance globally on unions could be undermined if it buckles in Sweden, or if the strike spreads to bigger markets like Germany.

WAR CHEST

While the numbers on strike in Sweden are small, the stakes are high.

Allowing companies to operate in Sweden without collective agreements would undermine unions and threaten the Swedish social model, potentially dragging in the government.

"For IF Metall, it is very important not to lose. They simply cannot do that," trade union expert Anders Kjellberg said.

Sweden's unions take heart from past successes - Unionen signed up payment services group Klarna to a collective agreement last year - and their firepower, with more than 10 billion crowns ($921 million) in IF Metall's strike fund alone.

But while union action has caused some disruption, Tesla's new vehicle registrations in Sweden have broadly kept pace with the market.

Since February, Tesla has brought in about 25 temporary staff from other European countries, some for multiple short-term stays.

While it is unclear whether this is linked to the strike, it contrasts with the previous year, when no such workers were brought in, a review of labour registrations showed. Tesla did not respond to a request to clarify.

Kjellberg noted some possible ways out of the impasse.

Amazon, for example, has a third-party company manage its Swedish warehouses signed up to collective agreements, allowing the U.S parent company to avoid doing so.

"It could last for months or even years, because IF Metall can't give up," Kjellberg said. "But in time, it is possible both parties will want to find a solution."

($1 = 10.8617 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Marie Mannes; Editing by Niklas Pollard, Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)

How is he getting the union breakers into Sweden? Don't you have to meet visa requirements? Most countries won't let people in to work except where strict conditions are met. Is it because Musk is saying that they have a job waiting for them? Wouldn't that make immigration suspicious if already local workers there?

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I don't mind EV's. I don't mind Tesla cars, but would never own one myself as I like buttons in my car, but I don't like Union breakers and it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling that Elon Musk still not quite understands his problems in Sweden when he refused his workers a collective agreement, something that is very common in Scandinavia. It ended with the union of his workers went on strike and many other unions are joining in support, even from Norway.

Tesla doesn't have any factories in Sweden, but they do a lot of repairs there.

Musk has now imported union breakers from other countries to replace the ones on strike, but I don't think that's a longtime solution in Sweden. Unions are very strong there and they will absolutely not yield. Not now, not ever. A collective agreement is a vital part of being in a union.

I have a few news sources in Norwegian, but had to google for English ones. Here's one I could find:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-st ... 42528.html

By Marie Mannes

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's biggest union on Tuesday threw its weight behind a six-month-old strike by mechanics at Tesla, escalating the U.S. carmaker's latest dispute with organised labour.

At the heart of the strike is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement allowing the metal workers' union to negotiate deals for the workforce as a whole.

Last month, Musk said the labour storm had passed in the country where Tesla's Model Y is the top-selling car, but he was contradicted by IF Metall, which said its strike continued.

The union told Reuters that about 44 of its members - roughly a third of Tesla's Swedish mechanics - had downed tools at the company, which does not produce vehicles in Sweden but services them locally.

"The strike is ongoing and we have no signs of reaching an agreement in the near future," IF Metall head Marie Nilsson said. "We have had a few sittings with the Swedish management during April, but ... Tesla has shown little willingness in discussing an end to the conflict."

More than a dozen unions have launched action in support of IF Metall, with Unionen the latest and biggest.

"It is fundamentally important to protect our collective agreement system," Martin Wastfeldt, head of negotiations at Unionen, told Reuters.

Unionen began a blockade on Tuesday affecting all work for Tesla at DEKRA Industrial AB, which conducts equipment inspections.

If Tesla seeks to circumvent the blockade by hiring other providers, Wastfeldt said Unionen was prepared to do more.

This might involve Unionen members at the company that produces licence plates for Tesla in Sweden, or administrative, human resources and finance staff at Tesla itself.

Access to licence plates has been one focal point of tensions, with Tesla suing unions that have sought to halt postal service to the automaker.

On Tuesday, the union for Service and Communication employees, Seko, said it was taking steps to close a loophole in the blockade being used by Tesla.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike. It has previously said its Swedish employees have as good, or better, terms than those the union is demanding.

The conflict is key for the company, whose tough stance globally on unions could be undermined if it buckles in Sweden, or if the strike spreads to bigger markets like Germany.

WAR CHEST

While the numbers on strike in Sweden are small, the stakes are high.

Allowing companies to operate in Sweden without collective agreements would undermine unions and threaten the Swedish social model, potentially dragging in the government.

"For IF Metall, it is very important not to lose. They simply cannot do that," trade union expert Anders Kjellberg said.

Sweden's unions take heart from past successes - Unionen signed up payment services group Klarna to a collective agreement last year - and their firepower, with more than 10 billion crowns ($921 million) in IF Metall's strike fund alone.

But while union action has caused some disruption, Tesla's new vehicle registrations in Sweden have broadly kept pace with the market.

Since February, Tesla has brought in about 25 temporary staff from other European countries, some for multiple short-term stays.

While it is unclear whether this is linked to the strike, it contrasts with the previous year, when no such workers were brought in, a review of labour registrations showed. Tesla did not respond to a request to clarify.

Kjellberg noted some possible ways out of the impasse.

Amazon, for example, has a third-party company manage its Swedish warehouses signed up to collective agreements, allowing the U.S parent company to avoid doing so.

"It could last for months or even years, because IF Metall can't give up," Kjellberg said. "But in time, it is possible both parties will want to find a solution."

($1 = 10.8617 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Marie Mannes; Editing by Niklas Pollard, Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)

How is he getting the union breakers into Sweden? Don't you have to meet visa requirements? Most countries won't let people in to work except where strict conditions are met. Is it because Musk is saying that they have a job waiting for them? Wouldn't that make immigration suspicious if already local workers there?

Very easily if they're EU citizens:

The border-free Schengen Area guarantees free movement to more than 425 million EU citizens, along with non-EU nationals living in the EU or visiting the EU as tourists, exchange students or for business purposes (anyone legally present in the EU). Free movement of persons enables every EU citizen to travel, work and live in an EU country without special formalities. Schengen underpins this freedom by enabling citizens to move around the Schengen Area without being subject to border checks.

[The Infidel]

Like Enterprise said: Since Sweden is a part of the Schengen area, Tesla can get workers from its places in other countries. It is extremely frowned upon, but not technically illegal (I would love to see the work contract on those hired in people. They work for Tesla in other countries.). When Musk is trying to impose "the American model" on Sweden, a social-democracy, there will be a clash. I don't know the Swedish labor laws well, but guess they're about the same as in Norway. I have 5 weeks of paid vacation a year, very good protection from being fired, and a 3 month notice period that goes both ways. This much thanks to union work. We, the Scandinavian countries will simply not give up on this or accept this model being undermined.

Yes, Musk has done a few great things, like making EV's mainstream and making them not look like toy cars, but like Broomstick said, he is an authoritarian by heart and doesn't understand that money can't fix everything.
I really hope this will be a wake up call for him, but wouldn't bet anything on it.

[The Infidel]

I found another source in English from IG Metall (the union):
https://www.ifmetall.se/aktuellt/tesla/ ... -at-tesla/

Background information on IF Metall’s conflict at Tesla
The main reason for IF Metall to take industrial action at Tesla is to ensure that our members have decent and safe working conditions. Over a long period of time, we have attempted to discuss with Tesla the signing of a collective agreement, yet without success. Now we see no solution other than to take industrial action.


The Swedish labour market model
Collective agreements are the basis of the Swedish labour market model. This means that the trade unions and the employers' organizations determine the rules of the game in the labour market, without interference from the state and politicians. In Sweden, approximately nine out of ten workers are covered by collective agreements.

The terms of the collective agreement include wages, form of employment, occupational pension, working hours, vacations, and periods of notice. Thus, the employers benefit from industry-specific, long-term, and stable ground rules.

The collective agreements are negotiated on a sector-by-sector basis, and employees are guaranteed the wages and working conditions that are standard across the sector. This allows for companies to operate on a level playing field, while avoiding the risk of any one employer distorting competition in the sector by imposing poor conditions on their employees.

In the poster The collective agreement is worth its weight in gold there are figures with examples from the Motor industry agreement IF Metall. Feel free to print the poster and show others what the collective agreement provides!


The-collective-agreement-is-worth-its-weight-in-gold_2023.pdf
The-collective-agreement-is-worth-its-weight-in-gold_2023.pdf (1,3 MB)

Very few labour market conflicts in Sweden
Once a collective agreement is signed, both employers and employees have the obligation to keep the peace. This applies throughout the term of the agreement and ensures that no one can strike to obtain better conditions than those set out in the agreement.

As a result, the collective agreement ensures a Swedish labour market with very few industrial actions, conflicts or strikes. It is grounded on a long-standing Swedish tradition of over 100 years of negotiations between the labour market parties. The collective agreement creates a situation of clarity and order for both employees and employers, while avoiding conflicts.

Fact: IF Metall, Industrial metalworkers in Sweden, is the trade union organizing 300 000 members within the manufacturing and chemical industries, in mining, and in the automotive industry.

Become a member
You, who are not a member, obstruct and prolong the struggle for your co-workers when they fight to get a collective agreement. A collective agreement that makes working conditions better for your colleagues – but also for you. We welcome you as a member in our trade union and to fight together for a collective agreement and better working conditions. Together we are strong.

There's also a Q&A section, but I don't know how to copy the answers, so the link will have to do:
https://www.ifmetall.se/aktuellt/tesla/ ... ith-tesla/

[LaCroix]

There is also the EU regulation that you can NOT import workers and let them work under worse conditions than local workforce - so he can't get some contracts put up in, say, Romania and then let them work in Sweden for Romanian wages - he would have to pay them according Swedish minimum work contracts. If you want Romanian wages, you have to move your operation to Romania...