Tesla is not breaking the law when they don't sign a collective agreement with IF Metall. Tesla would not break any laws if they brought in workers from other countries, as long as those workers are able to get work visas or are from countries within the EU. They WOULD be breaking the law if they tried to fire employees for going on strike, so they would end up paying double salary.
However, Tesla's real problem is not the law. It is the solidarity between unions in Sweden. Once the IF Metall strike gets going, other unions will join in. Tesla's business would grind to a halt in days and people who own a Tesla would not be able to get their cars serviced anywhere. All this is a given, since there is absolutely no chance that the Swedish unions will back down.
A number of years ago, Toys'r'us tried the same thing. They were brought to their knees in about a week, if memory serves. They ended up signing the agreement, despite the fact that they had also said that "they never signed agreements with the unions". They had apparently not done their homework when it comes to "the Swedish model". Their stance was simply impossible, as is Tesla's.
There are two things I don't understand: 1. What does Tesla think will happen? Do they really think that they can do business in Sweden without getting along with the unions?
2. Why are they so negative towards unions? The Swedish model is built on a century of cooperation between employers and unions and it is working very well. I have myself been on the employer side many times when speaking to unions, and by far the most common situation is that we have good and productive discussions, where both parties are focused on helping the company to succeed. There are of cours exceptions, but they are not very common.
Observations:
The things that stand out to me are that Tesla owners would potentially not be able to have their car serviced, and the overall unity of seemingly unrelated unions in organizing.
Also coming from an American perspective I muse about how America would be if we had a similarly strong human-centered organized labor. It sounds nice to me. Q hassle for corporations but making money can be arbitrarily complicated!
Thank you for posting this.
Because of the metric system.
Actually, in Spain you can even get gluten-free beer if you so desire! (https://mcdonalds.es/productos/bebidas/cerveza-sin-gluten)
In DACH countries you have to make do with Red Bull instead.
In several countries McD actually has its own McBeer (might be the sole offering, or be alongside the country’s usual) although I have no idea what goes into it or how good it is.
LoL, yeah good luck with that.
From my experiences working for American companies, this is typical behaviour where an American company doesn't (yet) realise the things that got them ahead in the U.S.A. won't necessarily work — or even be legal or accepted — in Europe.
They'll learn ;)
I don't doubt that everyone else's trains "really under perform" in comparison.
How's that work?
If Elon tries to forcefully break up a strike, he will just amass the wrath of other unions and the entire Swedish population turning an issue of collective agreement into a political problem. I honestly don't see this ending well for Tesla.
[0]: Specifically the law addresses "loan workers" but Germany has fairly strict laws surrounding so-called "independent contractors" in these roles: https://www.buzer.de/s1.htm?g=A%C3%9CG&a=11
Looks like there is an expectation that Tesla behaves in a certain way in Sweden because "that's way we've always done it" but that's not in law. Tesla is sticking to the law, as far as I understand.
I'm a bit uncomfortable about companies being criticised for sticking to the law.
Of course, if workes and unions disagree they can also use their legal rights to try to force Tesla to reconsider. But if they wanted to make all companies behave in a certain way they they should have put that in law.
Are you serious? Should you only be allowed to criticise companies (and people?) when they break the law? That would be the end of free speech.
Obeying the law is not synonymous with doing good. The law is the very bottom line, but there's tons of shitty behaviour that's perfectly legal. That doesn't mean it's okay. There are tons of ways in which you can be an asshole without doing anything illegal. You won't go to prison, but people will criticise and avoid you.
Don't make the law your only basis for morality. Laws can be wrong, and they're certainly not enough. Because if you do that, you're basically demanding that every aspect of society be completely legislated, and that's a really bad idea.
That said, we already have determined that generally just "sticking to the law" isn't a great defense in all situations anyway.
They can disagree with unions and the people within the law, just as they can fail as a business from making enemies of the whole country within the law. Civil customs and agreements are not meant to be law.
Following the law is a very low bar because of that, since employers and unions are supposed to be able to sort things out between themselves. If companies begin to just "stick to the law" the system will break down obviously and a new system will have to replace it.
It’s fine to say “I think Tesla should pay more and not hire scabs”
The difference between law and opinion determines how this is enforced.
If actions are illegal, the government forces compliance.
If it is a matter of opinion, then it is up to the involved parties to sort it out themselves. This could be based on their negotiating leverage. Strikes, scabs, boycotts, and sympathy strikes are all fair game
[Cynical] Might be beneficial to outsource the this type of dirty work to subsidiaries or subcontractors, the way Apple offloads to Foxcon?
Source in Swedish: https://www.dn.se/ekonomi/transport-hotar-att-stoppa-tesla-i...
> The company is refusing to sign one, IF Metall has reported, saying that company claims that it doesn't sign collective bargaining agreements anywhere in the world.
Welcome to Europe, Elon.
According to the union's statement, a third of all workers is on sick leave at any given time due to workplace injuries. They're also paid below union rate despite claims to the contrary by Tesla management. Tesla also tried to preempt a union recruiting event by giving the workers free pea soup so they'd stay in throughout the lunch break and not talk to the union reps waiting outside the factory.
To me it sounds like the union just got its foot in the door at Tesla Germany and we're not at the point yet where organized action like a strike is feasible. It's worth mentioning that German employment law prohibits a company from hiring temp workers to take over the job of a striking employee, at the threat of a fine of up to €500k. On the other hand, there are strict laws around strikes for workers too, e.g. solidarity strikes are prohibited.
Firings for reasons not related to individual misbehavior must also be Last-In, First-Out, disallowing replacing employees with those hired after them.
Migrationsverket - who get off on deporting foreign skilled workers at any opportunity.
Seriously they will deport people for minor administrative mistakes made by the employer even if it was years ago and has been remediated.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/freylindsay/2019/02/13/why-swed...
Other unions blackballing Tesla, and getting it fired as a customer. Good luck building cars when you can’t buy parts, or electricity.
That would also have a high chance of escalating the issue from a labor dispute to a legal and political concern.
(And the union could also get in touch with such hires and explaining the situation to them, which is also likely to be somewhat effective in deterring this sort of scabbing.)
I doubt any Swedish political party could stay in power if moves like these are allowed.
Given how core this question is to the Swedish Unions and Sweden in general, I expect it would be very easy to get support for many wide-reaching actions both from other unions and from the public. (For example, there's no minimum salary in Sweden, instead the companies & unions are supposed to handle it)
Here's a reasonable description (google translated) about what might happen: https://www-svensktnaringsliv-se.translate.goog/sakomraden/a...
Also odd (given that it's in the news), I can't get search results telling me what Tesla is currently paying, nor what higher level of pay the union is asking for.
Right-wing anti-immigration / self-protection politics, just like in the US. The weird conundrum between being economically liberal ("bring in cheap foreign workers") while politically conservative ("own people first").
In a post-Trump era it almost makes perfect sense, but the world doesn’t work according to the internal talk inside a MBA’s head ( yet ). In other words, just go to the location and make your theory work, I’ll wait..
Translation - Nobody is going to tell me how to do things. Esp Bloody Socialists.
To cite Ellen Ripley: I don't know which species is worse, but I'm sure they wont let themselves get killed forba percentage". And not everyone, especially outside the US, is willing to do so neither.
Unions are not the problem here, it's the working conditions. Unions form as a reaction to working conditions / terms. If there wasn't a problem, there wouldn't be a union.
