Tesla’s Anti-Union Model Faces a Massive Challenge in Europe

“Elon
Musk’s
business
model
is
to
avoid
respecting
human
rights.
Now
he
is
taken
on
by
one
of
our
strongest
unions.
We
must
defeat
the
Tesla
business
model,
and
Sweden
is
the
best
place
to
start”,
said
IndustriALL
general
secretary
Atle
Høie.

Unlike
many
other
European
countries,
Sweden
has
no
legally
enforced
minimum
wage
and
little
in
the
way
of
statutory
labour
market
regulation.
Instead,
the
system
is
essentially
voluntary
–
a
baseline
for
pay
and
other
conditions,
including
pensions,
is
set
by
collective
agreements.
More
than
90%
of
Sweden’s
workforce
are
covered
by
one
of
these
deals,
which
has
resulted
in
a
remarkably
peaceful
industrial
landscape,
even
by
Nordic
standards.
Sweden
lost
an
average
of
8,100
working
days
a
year
to
industrial
action
between
2010
and
2021,
against
more
than
120,000
in
Norway
and
Finland.

Despite
coordinated
action
between
different
unions
in
Sweden–
something
that
is
technically
illegal
in
many
other
European
countries
and
the
US–
Tesla
quickly
found
ways
around
the
different
strikes,
and
continued
to
roll
out
new
Teslas
to
Swedish
buyers.

It
was
not
until
the
Seko
trade
union
announced
their
solidarity
measures
that
things
really
got
intense
for
the
electric
car
manufacturer.
Seko’s
strike
involved
a
blockade
against
the
delivery
and
collection
of
shipments,
letters,
packages,
and
pallets
made
by
PostNord
and
CityMail
to
all
of
Tesla’s
facilities
in
Sweden.
In
other
words,
new
Tesla’s
can’t
even
get
Swedish
license
plates.

On
Tuesday,
Danish
dockworkers
represented
by
3F,
Denmark’s
largest
union,
refused
to
help
transport
U.S.-made
Tesla
vehicles
to
Sweden. 

“Insane”

Tesla’s
CEO
and
largest
individual
shareholder
Elon
Musk
took
to
social
media
platform
X,
which
he
owns,
to
denounce
the
blockade
against
mail
deliveries
as
“insane”.

The
automaker
filed
two
separate
lawsuits
against
the
Swedish
Transport
Agency
and
PostNord
AB
—
Sweden’s
postal
service
—
as
a
response
to
the
union
of
postal
workers’
refusal
to
deliver
license
plates.
While
one
court
favored
Tesla,
another
rejected
it
for
so-called
interim
security
measures.
No
final
verdict
has
been
presented
as
of
yet,
and
Teslas
are
still
missing
their
license
plates.

A
Sweden
without
Tesla

The
battle
between
Tesla
and
the
unions
has
sparked
a
polarized
debate
in
Sweden.
Independent
economist
Claes
Hemberg
argues
that
the
trade
union
IF
Metall
has
lost
the
plot
in
its
fight
against
Tesla.

“I
don’t
think
it
is
the
union’s
role
to
chase
companies
out
of
Sweden.
I
think
they
have
misunderstood
their
role
and
have
identity
problems”,
he
told
financial
daily
Dagens
Industri.

Günther
Mårder,
former
CEO
of
business
lobby
group
Företagarna,
agrees
with
Hemberg:

“The
mafia-like
measures
that
we
now
see
both
IF
Metall
and
the
sympathizing
unions
carry
out
against
Tesla
make
me
worried.
All
other
agreements
signed
under
duress
and
threats
are
rightfully
declared
void.
Why
is
it
both
valid
and
accepted
when
unions
are
involved?”

The
unions
don’t
look
like
they’re
about
to
back
down,
ready
for
a
Sweden
“without
Tesla”
as
they
ramp
up
coordinated
industrial
action.
If
they
succeed,
this
could
be
a
tremendous
symbolic
victory,
which
would
strengthen
the
hands
of
union
movements
vis-a-vis
Tesla
on
both
sides
of
the
Atlantic.

AMF,
one
of
Sweden’s
biggest
occupational
pensions
companies
with
SEK
755
billion
under
management,
has
sent
a
letter
to
Tesla’s
American
board
demanding
improvement
and
that
they
“adopt
to
the
customs
of
the
country”.
AMF
is
one
of
the
largest
Swedish
institutional
owners
of
Tesla,
with
shares
worth
around
337
million
dollars
at
the
start
of
December
according
to
Morningstar
Direct
data.

Despite
its
union
battle,
Tesla
dominates
sales

Tesla
managed
to
come
second
in
the
list
of
most-sold
cars
in
Sweden
in
November,
with
1,236
new
Tesla
Model
Y
registrations,
showcasing
the
automaker’s
resilience
despite
its
battle
with
unions.
Throughout
2023
the
Model
Y
has
dominated
the
new
car
market,
scoring
3,675
more
registrations
than
the
country’s
second-most
popular
model,
the
Volvo
XC40
compact
SUV.

Swedes
love
Teslas,
but
its
annual
sales
there,
dwarfed
by
those
in
the
U.S.,
China
and
Germany,
aren’t
a
make-or-break
issue
for
the
company. Instead,
the
current
union
standoff
could
prove
a
bellwether
for
its
labour
relations
globally.  

Global
interest

In
Germany,
Tesla’s
largest
European
market
and
home
of
its
Grünheide
factory
where
roughly
10,000
employees
make
EVs
and
batteries,
workers
are
closely
watching
the
union
battle
in
Sweden.

IG
Metall,
Germany’s
largest
and
most
powerful
union,
says
that
members
employed
at
the
Tesla
factory
have
complained
about
poor
working
conditions,
extreme
workloads
and
excessive
production
targets.
Wages
are
estimated
to
be
about
a
fifth
lower
than
they
would
be
under
a
collective
agreement,
according
to
IG
Metall.

“Just
a
couple
of
weeks
ago,
over
1,000
workers
at
the
Tesla
factory
in
Grünheide
declared
their
dissatisfaction
with
the
existing
working
conditions
by
wearing
an
IG
Metall
button
on
their
clothing
during
their
shifts.
By
doing
so,
they
broke
Tesla’s
climate
of
fear
once
and
for
all.
This
action
was
taken
in
the
same
spirit
as
our
Swedish
colleagues
in
IF
Metall’s
strike”,
said
IG
Metall’s
Dirk
Schulze
at
the
end
of
October.
But
German
laws
prevent
any
solidarity
strikes,
despite
requests
from
their
Swedish
counterparts.

Employees
in
the
US
have
also
frequently
complained
about
working
conditions
at
Tesla.
It’s
the
only
major
US
auto
manufacturer
not
represented
by
a
union
in
the
US,
and
the
United
Auto
Workers
(UAW)
have
tried
to
organize
at
Tesla
for
years.

Branislav
Rugani,
the
international
confederal
secretary
of
French
union
Force
Ouviere,
has
also
said
that
what
is
happening
in
Sweden
will
influence
what
happens
around
the
world.

“As
a
French
trade
unionist,
I
completely
agree
with
the
union
strike
in
Sweden,”
Rugani
said.
“Eighty
percent
of
workers
are
covered
by
union
agreements.
We
can’t
let
a
foreign
company
come
to
European
soil
and
disobey
the
rules
we’ve
put
in
place.
If
we
let
them
come
in,
and
they
refuse
to
negotiate—it’s
the
beginning
of
the
end.
Workers’
rights
would
be
lost.”

Investors
beware

In
facing
off
with
its
Swedish
mechanics,
Tesla
may
have
placed
itself
at
a
pivotal
juncture
where
the
future
of
its
business
model
will
be
decided. 

Investors
must
keep
a
close
eye
on
the
events
unfolding
over
the
next
weeks
and
months.
It
will
either
result
in
a
success
for
the
Swedish
unions,
heaping
pressure
on
Tesla
in
all
other
markets
where
they
have
been
fighting
the
same
battle
for
years.
On
the
other
hand,
if
Tesla
remains
steadfast,
the
Swedish
unions
are
likely
to
intensify
efforts
to
drive
Tesla
out
of
the
country. 

Morningstar
analyst
Seth
Goldstein
is
optimistic
it
won’t
come
to
that:
“I’d
imagine
Tesla
is
negotiating
with
its
union
in
Sweden
to
come
to
a
resolution
and
I
would
expect
the
two
sides
will
eventually
reach
an
agreement.
As
a
result,
I
don’t
see
a
huge
impact
to
Tesla.”

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