Workers in Sweden Will Expand Strike Against Tesla
Workers in Sweden Will Expand Strike Against Tesla
Swedish unions are joining in blockades and targeted strikes against the U.S. automaker over its refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement with its mechanics.
There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Unions across Sweden said on Tuesday that they would support an effort to pressure Tesla to sign a collective bargaining agreement with its 120 mechanics, joining a campaign to defend a model of organized labor that many Swedes say is essential to the country’s economic success and stability.
The company told Sweden’s TT News Agency that it followed Swedish labor market rules but had chosen not to sign a collective agreement.
That appeared to be the case on Tuesday at a Tesla facility in a suburb of Stockholm, where customers were dropping off and picking up their cars and mechanics were seen coming and going.
But IF Metall and its supporters argue that Tesla’s employees lack the annual wage increases, insurance and pension coverage, and other benefits they would receive if they were under an industrywide collective agreement.
“Tesla must accept the rules of the Swedish labor market, and in Sweden we use collective agreements,” said Mikael Pettersson, head of negotiations at Elektrikerna, the electricians’ union.
Cleaning staff at Tesla’s facilities in the Stockholm area and one in Umea in northern Sweden will also start staying home from their jobs on that date, the Swedish Building Maintenance Workers’ Union said.
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Us Americans really need to learn from the Swedes.