Tesla’s labor headache is about to worsen.
Norway’s largest non-public sector union, Fellesforbundet, introduced this week it’ll block the transportation of any Tesla merchandise from that nation into Sweden. The union mentioned it’s launching the sympathy strike with Swedish Tesla mechanics as a result of the corporate threatened the long-established labor situations of Scandinavia.
“The right to demand a collective agreement is an obvious part of our working life, and we can’t accept that Tesla places itself on the outside,” Fellesforbundet chief Joern Eggum mentioned this week.
The union elaborated that its sympathy strike will start Dec. 20 if Tesla fails to succeed in an settlement with IF Metall, the union representing the electrical automobile big’s placing mechanics.
With Norway becoming a member of the fray in opposition to Tesla, it appears the labor floodgates have opened in Scandinavia. The Norwegian growth comes a couple of days after Danish unions launched their sympathy strike in opposition to Tesla.
Earlier this week, Danish transport union 3F mentioned it could additionally block the transport of Tesla merchandise from its nation to Sweden.
Tesla’s labor struggles started in late October when over 120 of Tesla’s mechanics in Sweden voted to unionize with IF Metall. After negotiations failed to succeed in a collective bargaining settlement, the union launched a strike.
Adjacent Swedish unions quickly launched sympathy strikes. Dockworkers there have now blocked the importation of Tesla automobiles, and the Swedish postal staff union has refused to ship mail to Tesla facilitates.
Despite a court docket victory in opposition to the mail union, with a choose ruling that the union should ship license plates to Tesla, the corporate is in a difficult spot.
As the Scandinavian strikes intensify, the employees are pressuring Tesla to settle and signal an settlement. But if the corporate indicators an settlement with its mechanics, it may sign to the remainder of Tesla’s workforce {that a} deal may be received.
Tesla staff from Germany to California have made strikes to unionize previously, however all have failed. Yet the United Auto Workers have made Tesla a fundamental unionization goal.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is standing up in opposition to that push. Recently he mentioned he doesn’t desire a union at Tesla as a result of it could institute a “lords and peasants” mannequin on the firm.
