Tesla Faces its First Ever Strike after Refusing to Negotiate with Swedish Union ✦ OnLabor
German Bender on the first ever labor strike against Tesla.
An interesting precedent that offers a hint of what Tesla could be up against occurred in 1995 when Toys’R’Us entered the Swedish market and initially refused to sign a collective agreement with the retail union, Handelsanställdas Förbund. The company eventually conceded after three months of labor strife, including a number of solidarity strikes when other unions blocked all deliveries, garbage collection, postal service, bank payments, and other vital parts the firm’s operations. The conflict was even supported by unions in many other countries, who encouraged their members to boycott Toys’R’Us products.
Go Sweden's unions!
Iirc, the company faltered and floundered very badly afterwards. The (now unionized) workers had to say, "it's OK now, we got a contact!", but that message was hard to get out, since it's a lot less sexy than the strife.
They basically wrecked the company, trying to fight the union
They basically wrecked the company, trying to fight the union
Which is exactly how things should go
Oh yeah we're gung-ho about our unions here in Sweden. Go IF Metall, fuck their shit up!
Edit: holy shit, it's for not having a kollektivavtal? Why is anyone even working there? Tesla isn't some mum and dad store, it's owned by the richest cunt in the world. There are specific instances where you can forego having a kollektivavtal, but Tesla definitely isn't one of those companies.
Edit2: So a kollektivavtal, a collective agreement, is generally a collection of agreements that worker unions, employers, and employer unions (like Svenskt Näringsliv) have agreed upon, which covers working conditions for your particular line of work. Things like salary negotiations, savings for retirement, remuneration for travel/extra work/graveyard shifts/on-call duty. Insurances in case you get hurt or sick because of your job. Personal/career development. Extra compensation during parental leave. Wellness allowances. The list goes on.
It's a lot, and it looks different depending on what you work with, and where you work. It ensures that the employee has certain guaranteed rights that should the employer withhold, you have legal recourse (usually the union will assist with this) should you need it. Naturally there's also laws backing workers up, so should there not be a kollektivavtal at your workplace, your employer still can't just break the law.
There's no law codified stating that an employer has to ever raise the employee's salary though, for example, so if you work at a place that doesn't have a kollektivavtal, expect to never see a pay bump.
There are of course situations where a kollektivavtal doesn't make any sense. For example, should you start a company and employ yourself a kollektivavtal is a bit overkill.
My first job lacked a kollektivavtal. It was a nice first step into my career, but it had a decent amount of turnover. Generally unless you have a very specific reason to not have one, not having a kollektivavtal is seen kind of as a red flag. Either you're the world's most trustworthy employer (yeah right) or you're up to some real fucking shady shit.
Haha, my Union!
Makes me proud to pay my dues!
How much are your dues?
I’m part of Unionen, and my dues are 235 a month. I’m also on their a-kassa for an extra 140. Thankfully I’ve not had to do much with either party, but I’m glad they’re there.
For Americans; I’m paying ~250$ a year for union and ~$150 a year for income insurance, should I end up losing my job.
Never actually worked at a place with a collective agreement... But then again AFAIK they aren't that common within software or gamedev...
(Edit: still part of a union though)
What is kollektivavtal?
Collective agreement.
Technically it's not even necessary to have one in Sweden, but they'll still have to oblige to what the other companies in the sector agrees on, which is why it's also a good reason for a company to participate and get one in the first place.
Basically, companies that don't have collective agreements are sitting at the children's table at the party. Someone as big as Tesla ought to be mature enough to sit with the grown ups. They have no idea of what they're doing in this context and it will end badly for them if they attempt to ignore it.
Elon could decide to act like a toddler, but it'll also mean that Tesla has to fuck off out of the country.
The US equivalent would be a Collective Bargaining Agreement - the contract between a union and the employer.
Beyond the explanations given, kollektivavtal is the foundation of what is called the Swedish model that is the custom by which companies and unions function in Sweden.
All bigger companies have kollektivavtal, so what Tesla is doing is extremely strange and foreign to Swedish culture.
I think it means a collective agreement
Welcome to Europe
Yeah, pretending the union doesn't exist is going to help...
It's worked for them so far... I'm excited to see where this leads though!
Tesla is the first company in Swedish history attempting to bring in scabs during a strike.
What's the over/under of Elon blocking Twitter in Sweden?
Most fragile billionaire ever.
He really channeled that little dick energy.
Edit - I love that even though I have so little in life compared to him I do have something that amounts to far more than he ever could hope for. Confidence and people who genuinely love me.
I'm not with the majority of those online. I don't hate the dude. I pity him.
That's a lot of compassion for someone whose hurt and confusion makes him wield the disproportionate amounts of power he has in a disastrous way.
I don't think I “hate” anyone really, but in the case of fragile billionaires, I care more about the people hurt by their actions than them. First priority is to remove them from power, a distant second is to get them some help.
[...] I do have something that amounts to far more than he ever could hope for. Confidence and people who genuinely love me.
I'm relieved and somewhat disappointed that this didn't end as I thought it would
Hell yes. Solidarity forever!
