Sweden's metalworkers union has announced an expansion of its strike against Tesla. Friday's announcement came a week after the mechanics walked out over the electric carmaker's refusal to enter into a collective wage agreement.
Strike Against Tesla in Sweden
At the outset, AFP reported that the strike affected around 130 mechanics spread across 10 Tesla workshops in seven Swedish cities. Now, the strike has expanded in scope.
An additional 470 workers stationed at 17 facilities, which service various car brands, have joined the labor action, effectively halting the repair of Tesla vehicles.
Emma Hansson, chairman of IF Metall Stockholms län stands in front of the electric car company Tesla's Service Center in Segeltorp, south of Stockholm, as workers strike for the signing of a collective agreement on October 27, 2023.
While these employees will continue their regular duties on vehicles of other carmakers, they will abstain from servicing Tesla cars for the duration of the dispute, according to industrial labor union IF Metall spokesman Jesper Pettersson.
Throughout the past week, discussions have been held between the union and Tesla, with another meeting slated for Monday. However, specific details regarding the progress of these negotiations were not disclosed, according to AFP.
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Tesla Employees in Sweden Part of Union
In Sweden, the labor market model is built on collective agreements, which are negotiated on a sector-by-sector basis. These agreements encompass nearly 90 percent of the country's workforce, providing a framework for standardized wages and working conditions.
The IF Metall, with around 300,000 members, previously said that "many" of Tesla's Swedish employees are part of the union, though specific figures were not disclosed.
Despite their union membership, these workers are currently not covered by industry-wide collective bargaining agreements. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has consistently opposed calls for unionization among the company's global workforce of 127,000 employees.
In a show of support for IF Metall's strike, the Swedish Transport Workers' union has announced "sympathy measures." They have warned that unless an agreement is reached, they will disrupt the "loading and unloading of Tesla cars" at four Swedish ports beginning November 7.
In a parallel development, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union seemed to have made headway by reaching a tentative agreement with General Motors (GM) following an extended six-week period of labor strikes that affected the three largest US automakers.
This GM deal follows similar agreements with Stellantis and Ford, signaling a potential conclusion to the strike affecting the "Big Three" automakers.
The labor action, initiated by the UAW on September 15, marked the first simultaneous work stoppage across all three companies. The primary demands of the workers included higher wages and improvements, particularly concerning the shift towards electric vehicle production.
The UAW expressed satisfaction with the GM agreement, stating that it has translated record profits into a record contract. This deal called for substantial base wage increases, surpassing those received by GM workers in the past 22 years.
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