The first ever strikes and a solidarity blockade against the US carmaker could force it to rethink its entire anti-union model, says journalist Martin Gelin
Tesla may have picked an unwinnable fight with Sweden’s powerful unions — The first ever strikes and a solidarity blockade against the US carmaker could force it to rethink its entire anti-union model::The first ever strikes and a solidarity blockade against the US carmaker could force it to rethink its entire anti-union model, says journalist Martin Gelin
I’m honestly surprised, that there are not more Americans loudly calling the Scandinavian countries communist. Being some of the most socialist countries in the world.
that would be great of course but you know who’s very ready to double down and lose billions instead of saying ‘uhmm you know what I think I was wrong and I need to correct course’?
Scandinavia is pretty hooked on EVs. If Norway and Denmark pick up on this, it will not only harm Tesla but give the competition a really strong advantage to establish a competition that already is threatening Tesla’s market shares
A US business rethink an anti-union model? Even businesses with unions would be happy to get rid of them here. They’re not going to rethink anything, they’ll expend every possible effort to avoid bending a knee to a union, especially a foreign one.
They literally can’t sell cars any more in Sweden, on account of the postal service having a sympathy strike and no longer delivering registration plates to them. Using the postal service is the only legal means of obtaining registration plates, and without them it’s not permitted to sell a car.
So either they rethink or they leave the Swedish market entirely.
Billionaires like to talk a lot about different kinds of ideologies, but at the end of the day, they all have the same ideology - Money. Put them in a situation where they clearly are going to make less without signing, and the signature will all of a sudden not be an impossibility any more.
the postal service having a sympathy strike and no longer delivering registration plates to them. Using the postal service is the only legal means of obtaining registration plates, and without them it’s not permitted to sell a car.
They literally can’t sell cars any more in Sweden, on account of the postal service having a sympathy strike and no longer delivering registration plates to them. Using the postal service is the only legal means of obtaining registration plates, and without them it’s not permitted to sell a car.
How does that work? Do the postal workers see the return address of (the local equivalent of) the DMV and refuse to deliver if they see a Tesla in the driveway? If not, how do they not block other brands?
While I can only speculate on this, if I had to guess I would say that the company selling the cars must sell them with the plates already attached. As such, you can refuse to deliver mail to Tesla addresses.
This is actually the one part of this whole strike I disagree with.
The government signed an agreement that prevents license plates from being delivered other than via this postal union. You can’t pick them up or get them any other way (that I’m aware of today)
It is a de-facto ban on car sales if you don’t sign a collective agreement, and there’s no way this was intended by the government.
IMO this is going to be challenged. The government should not have been able to make an agreement like this. It’s just some unintended consequence that has never surfaced before.
What if something else happened that prevented the mail from this one union from being delivered indefinitely? ALL auto manufacture sales would halt if that happens.
I think there’s a fair chance of this successfully being challenged, OR, the agreement being altered prior to being challenged to provide another way to get plates directly from the government, or to allow the citizens themselves to pick up the plates.
Edit: And in case it wasn’t clear, I don’t see a problem with this as long as citizens can get a plate, even if that makes Tesla and their lives more difficult.
To be clear, this is the government-owned postal service that does the deliveries of these license plates. They have other privileges on account of being the official postal service.
There are other legal consequences to not bargaining and signing a union contract in Sweden, this is quite simply the way the Swedish labour market works.
Other companies have been de-facto banned from the Swedish market before by refusing to bargain in the past (Toys’R’Us for example), I don’t see why Tesla’s case would be any different. Were I to be a judge to receive this case, I would question why Tesla would refuse to do something so mundane and universally expected as to bargain with the unions. Upon not receiving a good reason as to not do it, I would then promptly throw that case into the trash where it belongs.
Even if Tesla capitulates here, they won’t change their domestic policies. This will only benefit those who are actually willing to stand up for themselves.
If memory serves, I don’t think there were any actual damages in this case. They left a truck with a bunch of wet concrete and told someone, and the company had to haul ass so the concrete wouldn’t solidify and break the truck. They did just that. It’s ridiculous to ask for damages for that.
If they had left a fire or volatile process unattended, that would be different. Or if they created a gigantic mess for their coworkers to handle. But this isn’t either of those.
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I’m honestly surprised, that there are not more Americans loudly calling the Scandinavian countries communist. Being some of the most socialist countries in the world.
that would be great of course but you know who’s very ready to double down and lose billions instead of saying ‘uhmm you know what I think I was wrong and I need to correct course’?
yeah that guy
Scandinavia is pretty hooked on EVs. If Norway and Denmark pick up on this, it will not only harm Tesla but give the competition a really strong advantage to establish a competition that already is threatening Tesla’s market shares
deleted by creator
Fight on Swedish Unions! Let that Son-of-a-Musk get a black eye for trying his BS over here!
A US business rethink an anti-union model? Even businesses with unions would be happy to get rid of them here. They’re not going to rethink anything, they’ll expend every possible effort to avoid bending a knee to a union, especially a foreign one.
They literally can’t sell cars any more in Sweden, on account of the postal service having a sympathy strike and no longer delivering registration plates to them. Using the postal service is the only legal means of obtaining registration plates, and without them it’s not permitted to sell a car.
So either they rethink or they leave the Swedish market entirely.
Billionaires like to talk a lot about different kinds of ideologies, but at the end of the day, they all have the same ideology - Money. Put them in a situation where they clearly are going to make less without signing, and the signature will all of a sudden not be an impossibility any more.
Best.
Makes you tear up a little with pride, doesn’t it.
How does that work? Do the postal workers see the return address of (the local equivalent of) the DMV and refuse to deliver if they see a Tesla in the driveway? If not, how do they not block other brands?
While I can only speculate on this, if I had to guess I would say that the company selling the cars must sell them with the plates already attached. As such, you can refuse to deliver mail to Tesla addresses.
This is actually the one part of this whole strike I disagree with.
The government signed an agreement that prevents license plates from being delivered other than via this postal union. You can’t pick them up or get them any other way (that I’m aware of today)
It is a de-facto ban on car sales if you don’t sign a collective agreement, and there’s no way this was intended by the government.
IMO this is going to be challenged. The government should not have been able to make an agreement like this. It’s just some unintended consequence that has never surfaced before.
What if something else happened that prevented the mail from this one union from being delivered indefinitely? ALL auto manufacture sales would halt if that happens.
I think there’s a fair chance of this successfully being challenged, OR, the agreement being altered prior to being challenged to provide another way to get plates directly from the government, or to allow the citizens themselves to pick up the plates.
Edit: And in case it wasn’t clear, I don’t see a problem with this as long as citizens can get a plate, even if that makes Tesla and their lives more difficult.
To be clear, this is the government-owned postal service that does the deliveries of these license plates. They have other privileges on account of being the official postal service.
There are other legal consequences to not bargaining and signing a union contract in Sweden, this is quite simply the way the Swedish labour market works.
Other companies have been de-facto banned from the Swedish market before by refusing to bargain in the past (Toys’R’Us for example), I don’t see why Tesla’s case would be any different. Were I to be a judge to receive this case, I would question why Tesla would refuse to do something so mundane and universally expected as to bargain with the unions. Upon not receiving a good reason as to not do it, I would then promptly throw that case into the trash where it belongs.
Toys R Us wasn’t legally prevented from selling anything. It was just wasn’t worth the trouble it was causing.
Tesla cannot sell anymore due to a government signed contract that prevents delivery in any other way.
That’s why this is different.
As expected, Tesla has sued, and won an injunction pending the lawsuit to be allowed to pick up the mail.
This is why this is different.
This is the guy who shit-posted so hard he had to buy Twitter. I don’t think smart business is at the front of his mind.
Euuuuurope!!
It could, but it won’t.
If their values are incompatible and they are inflexible they made a mistake and should relocate.
American workers: scribbles notes furiously
Then throws the notes away and calls everyone commies, guaranteeing their own low wages, long hours, and unsafe work conditions.
Thank you Europe for help fix our companies.
Even if Tesla capitulates here, they won’t change their domestic policies. This will only benefit those who are actually willing to stand up for themselves.
This is how strikes work. Not 1000 Amazon employees on black Friday.
Have to build up enough momentum and regulation to overcome the very determined, active, anti-union attacks of Amazon (or Sbux, etc)
Meanwhile in the USA I believe the supreme Court recently ruled that unions are responsible for repaying companies for striking…
If memory serves, I don’t think there were any actual damages in this case. They left a truck with a bunch of wet concrete and told someone, and the company had to haul ass so the concrete wouldn’t solidify and break the truck. They did just that. It’s ridiculous to ask for damages for that.
If they had left a fire or volatile process unattended, that would be different. Or if they created a gigantic mess for their coworkers to handle. But this isn’t either of those.
get fucked capitalist scum
May the might of the Swedish unions always be in their favour.