Elon Musk has started a war with
Tesla workers that he's unlikely to win
Elon Musk's Tesla is facing strike action in Sweden.
The Swedish strike has inspired several sympathy strikes in nearby countries including Finland.
The coordinated industrial action is causing headaches for Tesla's operations in the country.
Elon Musk is at war with a group of Swedish workers.
The billionaire's EV company, Tesla, faces a wave of strikes across the nation.
The industrial action began in late October when the trade union IF Metall announced a walkout in Sweden. Since then, several other unions, including labor groups in nearby countries like Denmark, Norway, and Finland have joined in solidarity.
The Swedish workers want to force a collective agreement on Tesla, which is commonplace in the country.
"Coverage of collective agreement is extremely high in Sweden," Lars Calmfors, a professor of international economics at Stockholm University, said. "If you look at the whole economy, somewhere around 85% of all employees are covered by collective agreement."
There is no legal minimum wage in Sweden, instead, the nation relies on collective agreements to keep compensation fair.
Relationships between unions and companies in the country are also relatively harmonious.
"There is a strong tradition of cooperation between unions and employers in all the Nordic countries. But this culture of
cooperation is especially strong in Sweden with a very low level of
industrial conflict," Calmfors said
US companies have to play by Swedish rules
The situation Tesla has found itself in is not unprecedented.
"International corporations often have their own compensation and pension systems that conflict with the systems that we have in Sweden," Calmfors said.
US company Toys R Us faced similar industrial action when it refused to give workers a collective agreement in the 1990s. After a three-month strike, the toy company reached an agreement with the Swedish retail store employees' union and essentially gave in.
The coordinated sympathy strikes are already causing a headache for Tesla's operations in the country.
The Swedish postal service successfully halted deliveries of new license plates for the EVs, while Danish dockworkers refused to unload the Tesla vehicles.
Musk even publically lashed out at the workers, calling the strikes "insane."
Tesla has a lot to lose
The Swedish Tesla strike is a relatively small one. The EV company doesn't have a factory in the country and only employs around 120 people at its service facilities in Sweden.
The market is not especially important to Tesla, but giving in to the Swedish strikes may cost the company more in terms of reputational damage.
"Tesla doesn't have a collective agreement anywhere — at least not a voluntary one," Calmfors said. "If they would enter a collective agreement in Sweden, it would show workers in other countries that this red line is not absolute.
"It's not the consequences in Sweden of collective agreement that they fear, it's that it might provide an incentive for unions in other countries."
But Tesla is facing a formidable opponent in the Nordic nation, Calmfors said.
"Unions are afraid of what this might start in the longer run," he said. "If it becomes accepted that big firms in Sweden could be without the collective agreement, I think they fear that this strong social norm will be weakened over time."
The striking workers are partially funded by unions, which provides an extra incentive to strike, he said.
"It's a big thing for both Tesla and for Swedish unions," he said. "But I think the most probable outcome is that Tesla will lose."
BI approached Tesla for comment on the strikes but did not immediately hear back.
Tesla battling increased support in country’s strike against automaker: ‘You can’t just make your own rules’
Stephen Proctor
Fri, December 15, 2023
Despite a recent win in court, Tesla’s troubles in Sweden continue to grow as more and more workers join the strike against the EV giant.
IF Metall, a trade union in Sweden, gave Tesla a strike notice in October that hundreds of mechanics from the company’s seven workshops in the country would strike if Tesla didn’t sign a collective agreement.
Tesla first opened up shop in Sweden in 2013, but the company has declined to sign any sort of collective agreement in the highly unionized country because the company doesn’t have a manufacturing plant there.
But unions are a major part of the Swedish labor model. Roughly 90% of the workforce is covered by collective agreements that protect worker conditions and standardize pay, insurance, and pensions. Because of this, other workers have joined the strike, including postal workers who refused to deliver Tesla plates for new cars.
Tesla quickly won a lawsuit against the Swedish transport authority and state-run PostNord, in which a court ruled that the transport authority had to figure out how to get the plates to Tesla. But that was just a minor victory among a growing problem as more workers are joining the IF Metall strike against Tesla.
Around 50 workers at Hydro Extrusions in Vetlanda, Sweden, have joined in a sympathy strike, though the company is not directly involved in the strike. Hydro Extrusions is responsible for delivering components for the Model Y to a factory in Berlin, Germany.
The troubles for Tesla have even poured over into neighboring Denmark, where the country’s largest trade union has joined the strike. This will prevent dock workers and drivers in Denmark from receiving and transporting Tesla vehicles going to Sweden.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called secondary action against the company like the PostNord strike “insane,” but those representing the workers don’t appear to be backing down.
“If you look at this from a long-term perspective, it could be a threat to the Swedish model,” head of the IF Metall union Marie Nilsson said. “It’s really important for us.”
Jan Villadsen, chair of 3F Transport, the Danish union that joined the strike in solidarity with IF Metall, said, “Even if you are one of the richest in the world, you can’t just make your own rules. We have some labor market agreements in the Nordic region, and you have to comply with them if you want to run a business here.”
Victor Tangermann
Thu, December 14, 2023
The pressure against Tesla is really starting to mount in northern Europe.
After unions stopped unloading Tesla vehicles from ships in Sweden last month over a labor disagreement with the Elon Musk-led company, the Swedish Transport Workers' union announced today that it will stop collecting waste at Tesla workshops on Christmas Eve to turn up the pressure — unless, of course, the EV maker signs a collective agreement in Sweden.
And it's not just Sweden — many neighboring countries are now also looking to take action in solidarity.
"This kind of sympathy action is very unusual," Tommy Wreeth, head of the transport union, told the Financial Times. "We are doing it now to protect the integrity of Swedish collective agreements and the Swedish labor market model."
"Tesla cannot buck the norm in the Swedish labor market," he added.
In late October, workers under the IF Metall union went on strike, arguing that Tesla wasn't willing to bargain with the union over wages, pensions, and insurance.
Unsurprisingly, given Musk's previous pursuit of union-busting tactics, Tesla has refused to come to the table ever since.
Instead of beating around the bush, Musk has been overt about his hatred for collective bargaining and workers' rights.
"I disagree with the idea of unions," he said during the New York Times's Dealbook Summit last week, the same event at which he told advertisers to go "fuck" themselves.
Unsurprisingly, the company's inaction on the matter has led to an outpouring of solidarity, with unions across Sweden banding together against the carmaker, blocking imports at ports and refusing to repair damaged Tesla chargers, among other actions.
Postal workers have stopped delivering mail to the company, including license plates. A local court of appeal also overturned Tesla's attempts to have license plates directly delivered from the Swedish Transport Agency.
Meanwhile, Musk has called the strike "insane," effectively throwing fuel onto the growing fire.
Fast forward just over a week, and unions in Norway, Denmark, and Finland have now said they're also ready to stop unloading cars from ships, according to the Financial Times.
And it's not just workers. Denmark's largest pension fund announced last week that it's selling its Tesla stock holdings over Musk's refusal to bargain.
Now, the Swedish Transport Workers' union is leaving the carmaker with a literal trash pile by refusing to pick up garbage from the company.
Musk isn't just picking a fight with Swedish workers — he's drawing out a lengthy legal battle with much of northern Europe.
And there's plenty on the line for the carmaker, as Teslas are hugely popular in Sweden and Norway.
"Even if you are one of the richest people in the world, you can’t just make your own rules," said Jan Villadsen, the chairman of the 3F union’s transport division, in a statement. "We have some agreements on the labor market in the Nordics, and you have to comply with them if you want to do business here."
More on Tesla: Tesla Unveils New Humanoid Robot
A Swedish union says it'll stop collecting trash from Tesla's workshops to show solidarity for striking workers
Tom Carter
Thu, December 14, 2023
A Swedish union says it will stop collecting trash from Tesla's workshops amid ongoing strikes.
It's the latest escalation in the company's battle with Swedish unions.
The strike has disrupted deliveries of Tesla license plates in Sweden, a move Musk called "insane."
Elon Musk's Scandinavian union headache keeps getting worse.
Tesla is now facing the unpleasant prospect of overflowing trash cans after Sweden's Transport Workers Union said it would stop collecting trash from the company's workshops in solidarity with striking workers, according to a report from Reuters.
The move marks a further escalation of the US automaker's ongoing battle with Swedish unions.
At the end of October, mechanics in the Swedish union IF Metall walked out to secure a collective labor agreement. This is a common arrangement in Scandinavian countries that would allow unions to negotiate with Tesla over wages and working conditions.
Other industries have joined the strike in support, with dockworkers refusing to unload the company's electric cars and electricians stopping maintenance work on Tesla charging stations.
The Transport Workers Union is just the latest to throw its weight behind the strike, with union officials saying workers will stop collecting the company's waste on December 24 unless Tesla signs a collective bargaining agreement.
"This type of sympathy action is very rare. We are using it now to protect the Swedish collective agreements and the safety of the Swedish labor market model," Tommy Wreeth, head of the transport union, told Reuters.
Tesla faces growing strike action across Scandinavia, with unions in Denmark, Norway, and Finland backing the strike and pledging not to unload or transport Teslas bound for the Swedish market.
The strike has also seen postal workers in Sweden refuse to deliver Tesla license plates, a move Elon Musk called "insane" in a post on X.
Tesla sued the Swedish Transport Agency to try and restart deliveries, but a Swedish court rejected the company's suit in a decision last week.
The escalating wave of union action is a serious headache for Musk, who has been a longtime critic of organized labor.
The billionaire told The New York Times' Dealbook conference that he disagreed with the idea of unions, saying they create a "lords and peasants" atmosphere that pits workers against their companies.
Tesla has firmly opposed any attempts by its US workers to unionize, with the National Labour Board ruling in 2021 that the company had repeatedly violated labor laws by preventing employees from organizing.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
Nordic investors urge Tesla to back down in Swedish labour dispute
Reuters
Thu, December 14, 2023
The logo of Tesla is seen at a Tesla Supercharger station in Dietikon
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -A group of Nordic institutional investors said in a letter to Tesla on Thursday they were deeply concerned by the conflict between the company and labour unions in Sweden, and asked it to reconsider its approach to collective bargaining.
Tesla is facing a backlash from unions and some pension funds in the region over its refusal to accept a demand from Swedish mechanics for collective bargaining rights covering wages and other conditions.
A group of Nordic investors, which includes Norway's largest pension fund KLP, Sweden's Folksam and Denmark's PFA and PensionDanmark said the Swedish labour market model enabled the Nordics to thrive. The model means employers and unions agree on working conditions and salaries with very little involvement of the government.
"We as Nordic investors acknowledge the decade old tradition of collective bargaining, and therefore urge Tesla to reconsider your current approach to unions," the investors, which have assets of approximately one trillion dollars under management, said in the letter.
Tesla has managed to avoid collective bargaining agreements with its roughly 127,000 workers, and CEO Elon Musk has been vocal about his opposition to unions.
The labour dispute between Tesla and a Swedish trade union has sparked sympathy strikes across the region and prompted some pension funds to sell their shares in the company.
Tesla, which has revolutionised the electric car market, says its Swedish employees have as good or better terms than those the union is demanding.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Johan Ahlander; editing by Louise Rasmussen and Sharon Singleton)
Tesla’s Nordic Dispute Sparks Angry Letter From Money Managers
Sanne Wass and Jonas Ekblom
Thu, December 14, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc.’s showdown with trade unions across the Nordic region is threatening to spill over to the financial markets after a group of pension funds and asset managers sent a letter to Elon Musk urging him to change course
Nordic institutional investors managing a total of $1 trillion in assets said they are “deeply concerned” about Tesla’s attitude to worker rights in Sweden and demanded the carmaker accept collective bargaining agreements for its staff, according to a letter sent Thursday and seen by Bloomberg News. Signatories to the letter include Denmark’s Velliv Pension & Livsforsikring A/S and AkademikerPension.
The group of at least 15 investors called out Tesla’s sustainability credentials over its challenge to the so-called “Nordic Model” by not letting mechanics at seven of its Swedish repair shops sign up to an agreement that covers basic rights such as minimum pay and gender equality. They also pointed out how the same model has benefited Tesla in building up “a significant market share” in the region, which trumps even Germany when it comes to deliveries of cars.
While the investors didn’t use the letter to threaten to sell the shares they hold in Tesla, cracks are beginning to appear elsewhere. Last week saw Danish fund PensionDanmark A/S become the first major asset manager in the region to publicly dump shares in the electric vehicle maker as a result of the conflict, selling its $69 million stake.
The dispute that began in October has already upended Tesla’s operations in the region as sympathy actions from other trade unions have spread to dockworkers in neighboring Denmark, Finland and Norway. From next week Tesla will have to transport its cars bound for Sweden via trucks from continental Europe.
The escalating blockade has extended beyond deliveries to registration plates and even trash collection at Tesla’s premises. Swedish postal workers have for several weeks refused to handle any mail or packages bound for Tesla locations, halting the delivery of license plates to dealerships.
But there are few signs either side of the conflict is ready to back down soon. On Thursday, Tesla published a job posting in search for a Stockholm-based public policy expert who needs to have “a proven track track record of getting regulatory changes made in the Nordics.” Chief Executive Officer Musk has previously called the situation “insane” and has been fighting back in Sweden with lawsuits to limit the conflict’s impact.
In the investor letter, the group asked for a meeting with Tesla’s board in early 2024 to discuss the matter. “We as Nordic investors acknowledge the decade old tradition of collective bargaining, and therefore urge Tesla to reconsider your current approach to unions,” they wrote.
Read More: How Musk’s Anti-Union Stance Faces Test in Sweden: QuickTake
--With assistance from Craig Trudell.
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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