Tesla Unionization

[heltok]

More union desperation:

Herren på täppan utanför Teslas verkstad

Utanför Tesla i Umeå fanns plötsligt en två meter hög snöhög precis där IF Metalls strejkvakter brukar stå. Nu har strejkvakterna gjort högen till sin.

da-se.translate.goog

Martin Berglund is convinced that Tesla is behind the snow pile.

Why do you think that?

- We already know that the property owner and Tesla have a well-functioning collaboration. They have tried to limit our activities in several ways in the past. So Tesla is most likely behind this.

In what other ways have they tried to limit you?

- They have tried to talk us out of here. It has been claimed that it is not allowed for us to move in the area. It is just to state that there is a high stress level for those who work there. Sometimes things come out that are not so well thought out.

What about the slip hazard?

- We sand! When we model in the pile, we sort of polish the ice down so it becomes very slippery. Then you can simply sand. We get gravel from a company out here who are very helpful, says Martin Berglund and adds:

- We had an incident a while ago. It was a Tesla employee who does not normally work in Umeå who came out and scolded us for sanding the pile. He must have been stressed and desperate. He said the cars were at risk of damage from the gravel. That they cannot tolerate gravel.

 

[2daMoon]

Should we start a betting pool on when IF Metal's attack on Tesla quietly and completely fades away?

Seeing as how the citizens of Sweden are voting with their wallets regarding their endorsement of Tesla Sweden in their purchase of the products, and, how IF Metal is preventing many of Sweden's private industries from participating in this growth by costing them profits and jobs through IF Metal leveraging their collective agreements, it seems only a matter of time before the tide turns.

How long will companies choose to forfeit ongoing business and worker's jobs in order to support IF Metal's failed campaign to have Tesla participate in a VOLUNTARY agreement through the use of criminal extortion tactics which the unions are legally allowed to employ?

This could be the straw that broke the camel's back if sentiment for the purpose and benefit of unions in Sweden is ever so slightly turned toward disfavor in the eyes of those being negatively affected.

If IF Metal's attack continues, could it result in other companies abandoning their voluntary participation in collective agreements so they might get back to hiring workers and growing their businesses without the detrimental effects of union involvement?

Time will tell.

On the flip-side, IF Metal could change their tack and bring to the table a proposal that clearly offers a benefit to the companies and their union workers without relinquishing power to dictate company direction to power-hungry union representatives serving on their board with little application knowledge or experience in operating a business.

Extortion never results in growth and prosperity. It slows the potential for these things considerably.

 

[Tiger]

Should we start a betting pool on when IF Metal's attack on Tesla quietly and completely fades away?

I bet you the strikers will be gone with the melting snow as IF Metall will probably pivot to performance based compensation instead of paying strikers 150% salary for doing nothing.

 

[samppa]

Finnish transport union (akt) is now on full strike. Does not relate to Teslas swedish strike.. but relates to Tesla and EVs. Its a political strike against current government cuts to employees rights and will probably last 2 weeks.

2 days of strike and gas stations are running out of gas, and bus transport will stop after a couple days more.

EVs and electric buses of course are not affected.

Reminds me of authorities saying how critical functions need to be run with gas, it is more secure if there is a crisis..

 

[heltok]

Dåliga nyheter för facket – oväntat starkt stöd för Tesla

Bland höga chefer i näringslivet finns det en utbredd uppfattning att fackens agerade i Teslakonflikten saknar proportioner. Det finns också en stor förståelse – också bland dem som själva har kollektivavtal – för Teslas krav att få bestämma själv.

www.di.se

The union's actions are disproportionate, according to 58 percent of business leaders who themselves have a collective agreement in the Di/Ipsos survey.

In the group that does not have a collective agreement themselves, an even larger proportion, 66 percent, are critical of the scope of the conflict.

At the same time, 21 percent of company managers who themselves work in a company with a collective agreement support that the union's actions are well balanced.

"The less the strike is noticed, the more difficult it will be for IF Metall to keep it alive and make the employees feel that it is giving something. Otherwise, more people may lose their spark and go back to work," he says further.

48 percent of managers in companies with collective agreements believe that Tesla should also sign an agreement, the business barometer shows. Another 12 percent answer the question with a maybe.

The low figure surprises Christer Thörnqvist.

"For employers, it becomes a more predictable labor market where transaction costs are avoided because you can negotiate directly with a trade union that speaks for many employees at once," he says of the choice to enter into a collective agreement.

The fact that Tesla has such strong support among employers makes it difficult for the union, he predicts.
"It is much easier to get demands through if they are also considered to have legitimacy with the employers. I would think that IF Metall and the other trade unions are not very happy about these statistics," says Christer Thörnqvist.
Christer Thörnqvist agrees with the picture that is sometimes painted that the Swedish model is at stake in the Tesla conflict.

"I'm a little surprised that the employers are so anti-union as it appears in the data, because it also undermines everything that is good about the Swedish model," he says.

 

[2daMoon]

^^^
The above supports my recurring thoughts about how the union has consistently approached what they euphemistically call "negotiation" with Tesla. They come in with a bullhorn in one hand and a whip in the other, while talking out of the other side of their mouth about all the good that would come from a collective agreement.

The union's bias is unwavering, and centered on achieving power over the employer providing the jobs, even at the cost of the growth of the business itself. I'd like to see a comparison of Swedish company's growth/profit curves to see if there is any difference between those with and without collective agreements in the same business sectors.

The union seems to be oblivious toward considering an approach where the focus would be to make things better for both employer and employee by offering an advantage that builds the business in order to reward the workers. Instead, they keep trying to squeeze blood from a turnip by ignoring how their efforts are generally detrimental to the entire organism. "Cutting off their nose to spite their face" seems an apt analogy.

What if, instead, they applied themselves to studying those successful businesses for what makes them different? Then, the union could come knocking with expertise in hand, offering a strategy to improve efficiencies based on fact, first principles, and a genuine desire to help both employer and worker.

What if the result of a business being involved with a union included rapid adoption of Agile techniques and integration of cost-saving measures from the ground up, where every employee is encouraged to effect change in order to benefit themselves AND the company? Imagine what this would do for morale, job satisfaction, and overall prosperity?

Unions bringing such expertise would be welcomed with open arms and would be seen as a boon if they had such a strategy and could demonstrate the benefit in practice.

Instead, they attack the prime candidate from which to learn how to accomplish this unique form of workplace magic which Tesla has perfected and repeatedly demonstrated. Tesla's methods have resulted in defining a working environment where savvy union members clearly see a greater advantage for themselves by siding with Tesla rather than to take sides with their union.

Opportunity is knocking for IF Metall, yet they choose to set the house aflame with themselves inside rather than open the door.

 

[BioSehnsucht]

I'm amused how surprised they are that "only" less than 2/3 of management think Tesla should possibly (yes+maybe) be coerced into a similar agreement to the one other companies already labor under. When from my point of view, I'm surprised that nearly half are definitely for forcing the issue (plus the maybe's on top of that), when they see how the "Swedish model" can be abused so flagrantly.

I would love to see a poll of these yes/maybe managers that honestly answered the question of whether they are in favor of forcing it because they actually feel it is in the best interests of their company, or because they envy Tesla's lack of chains and want to drag them down with them to be on the same playing level (rather than trying to break free of the "Swedish model" and raise up to Tesla's level).

 

[heltok]

Så kringgår Tesla strejkåtgärderna – försäljningen ökar - Nyheter (Ekot)

Teslas försäljning ökar kraftigt i Sverige och många kunder får ut sina nya bilar, trots strejken och flera sympatiåtgärder, visar Ekots kartläggning.Biltillverkaren ...

sverigesradio-se.translate.goog

Since the turn of the year, around 2,800 new Tesla cars have been registered with the Swedish Transport Agency, which is when the cars are put into traffic for the first time. It indicates that those cars are now rolling out on the roads.

Blomhäll says that the deliveries of the cars now take place in slightly different ways.
- We have received reports that some cars are allowed to bring their (registration) plates which you pick up and some cars are taken out with the plates already on, he tells Ekot.
In order to obtain license plates, Tesla has, among other things, ordered so-called replacement plates, which are delivered directly to customers and thus do not get stuck with Postnord.
But Tesla no longer seems to do that to the same extent, a random sample shows.
However, Tesla has instead started registering cars with a different organization number than the regular number. It is something that has changed since the start of the strike – there is a clear difference, according to the Swedish Transport Agency.
Registration plates will then no longer be delivered to Tesla's headquarters in Sweden, but to a small company at another address in Stockholm.
Tibor Blomhäll says that the Tesla owners he talks to do not notice the strike at all.
- Honestly, no. You can pick up your new Tesla as usual. You can have your car repaired if it is broken. You can charge your car as usual. We don't notice any difference, he tells Ekot.

 

[Tiger]

However, Tesla has instead started registering cars with a different organization number than the regular number. It is something that has changed since the start of the strike – there is a clear difference, according to the Swedish Transport Agency. Registration plates will then no longer be delivered to Tesla's headquarters in Sweden, but to a small company at another address in Stockholm.

Sure. The great "Not a Flamethrower" bureaucracy workaround

 

[BioSehnsucht]

Sure. The great "Not a Flamethrower" bureaucracy workaround

If that really happened you can bet they set up more than one and are ready to switch the registration as soon as the union catches on and adds it to the strike

 

[Tiger]

If that really happened you can bet they set up more than one and are ready to switch the registration as soon as the union catches on and adds it to the strike

Marginal cost to have some one-room office rentred

 

[CitizenKane]

Tesla strikes back. Finally - in my view - Tesla makes an effort to explain their position in a long interview in Sweden's daily business paper. (Likely paywall for non subscribers) ”Ingen frågar om kollektivavtal”

The first part of the article, autotranslated in Word:

It's lunchtime at the Tesla Center in Segeltorp in southwest Stockholm and the first barbecue of the year that the staff fixes on their own initiative. There is a large service workshop, showroom and the Swedish head office.
Jens Stark – whose title is market lead for TM Sweden, which can be described as Country Manager Sweden – can't emphasize the team spirit enough.
"We work very closely with our employees. We have just had a digital information meeting where we have asked how everyone is doing and they can also write in questions. No one is asking about collective agreements. However, they want to know how they can help with different solutions in this situation," he says.
The employees at Tesla in Segeltorp gather for lunch. Nine out of ten employees go to work, despite the strike. Photo: Jesper Frisk
The reluctance to collective bargaining has put the American electric car company at the center of the longest labor dispute in Sweden since the 1940s.
IF Metall took up the strike weapon after several years of hopeless attempts to get Tesla's subsidiary in Sweden, TM Sweden, to sign what is described as the linchpin of the Swedish model. Through collective agreements, unions and employers agree on conditions and rights that apply to everyone.
The strike began almost five months ago, on October 27, 2023.
Nine other unions have joined and introduced a series of sympathy actions. Dock workers do not unload Tesla cars at the ports, painters, electricians and construction workers do not carry out work at service centers and charging stations, mail is not delivered – which has stopped the usual process of delivering new license plates – and since Christmas Eve, waste is no longer collected from Tesla, to name a few consequences.
"We put a lot of emphasis on our employees, contrary to the stigma that the union wants to put on us."
After a long silence from the Swedish management, Jens Stark chooses to give his first interview and Di is allowed to enter the service center.
"If we would have responded to all the information from the union, we would not have been able to do anything else. But now we feel that it is time to get our picture clearer and also show how determined we are to continue our mission in Sweden to work for a transition towards sustainable energy, which is why Tesla exists as a company. It would be unfortunate if the strike stopped this development," says Jens Stark.
Around ten Tesla cars are in the workshop and a group of technicians are working on them.
"We have managed to keep the sales, delivery and service organizations running as usual," says Jens Stark.
Tesla has approximately 300 employees in Sweden. IF Metall's strike includes 130 of them, but only about thirty are on strike, according to the company. The union reports a slightly higher figure. Photo: Jesper Frisk
According to Tesla, the company's terms and conditions are comparable to the collective bargaining agreement.
"We know there's a strong correlation between employee satisfaction and company success, which is why we put so much effort into benefits and compensation. But also how you can grow in the company and that everyone gets shares. We put a lot of emphasis on...

 

[KBF]

Tesla Sweden finds another loophole for record deliveries

Tesla Sweden found another loophole to keep deliveries rolling while IF Metall’s mail blockade continues.

www.teslarati.com

Not sure if this is new or if it's been active for awhile, but it looks like Tesla Sweden is indeed sending mail to a separate office in Stockholm, bypassing the mail strike. No need for customers to order backup plates. I still can't believe Sweden allows mail to be blocked to selected entities - that's crazy, and surely creates liability issues around undelivered invoices or something...

The article points out Tesla is making record deliveries in Sweden - it becomes very hard to argue that the strike is doing anything positive for the union at all.

Edit: looks like other sources talked about this last Friday...

 

[Tiger]

surely creates liability issues around undelivered invoices or something...

It is only a service used by the registration office that blocks the delivery of registration plates, not mail universally. They probably don't block invoices either.

 

[MP3Mike]

It is only a service used by the registration office that blocks the delivery of registration plates, not mail universally. They probably don't block invoices either.

Wrong. They are blocking all mail. Packages, invoices, legal notices, plates, etc.

 

[Tiger]

Wrong. They are blocking all mail. Packages, invoices, legal notices, plates, etc.

Good to know, did not know that it applies to all mail and ongoing.

Regarding invoices, I don't think anyone is receivinig non-electronic invoices in Sweden in this day and age, it's probably even forbidden due to carbon emissions. /s

As for other mail being blocked, the liability is probably on the sender, if they "assume Tesla is going to receive the mail while via a service that has said not to deliver to Tesla". The registrations office was probably playing with time and trying to make it inconvenient for Tesla buyers (reprecussions from liability take time), but Tesla qiuckly worked around that by setting up shop as Not-a-Tesla-business.

 

[2daMoon]

The continued success of the strike is clearly being evidenced in this article...

Tesla Model Y is Sweden’s most registered car in March 2024

During March 2024, the Tesla Model Y took its place as Sweden’s most registered car model with 2,011 registrations.

www.teslarati.com

 

[Patrick66]

Teslarati has an article about the electricians union blocking new superchargers, which imperils ~35 new locations due to open in 2024.

 

[2daMoon]

Teslarati has an article about the electricians union blocking new superchargers, which imperils ~35 new locations due to open in 2024.

After reading the article, it seems the Supercharger sites are being completely installed and will only need to be connected to the grid once IF Metall has demonstrated their irrelevance to whatever level they consider acceptable for ending this meaningless strike.

Seemingly striking, so their union members may receive reduced employment perks and benefits, while allowing a union to have multiple votes on Tesla Sweden's business operation.

 

[Zuikkis]

There have been a lot of strikes in Finland this year.. This inspired someone to create this game:

Lakkopeli

It's 100% in Finnish but doesn't matter.

Strike Game
Can you manage to avoid the strike guards?
Press space bar or the screen.
Go to work!

Then at the "game over" screen:
The Finnish economy collapsed!
You were caught by the strike guard.