Tesla Unionization

[heltok]

The Union has commented on the 12 number of strikers:

Nya uppgifter: Så få strejkar hos Tesla i Sverige | Carup.se

Hur många strejkar egentligen på Tesla i Sverige? Nu kommer nya uppgifter från Tesla Club Sweden att endast 13 servicetekniker av 130 gått ut i strejk. – Det är en mycket kraftigt underskattad siffra, säger Jesper Pettersson, pressansvarig hos IF Metall. Teslastrejken har snart pågått i sju...

carup.se

How many people are actually on strike at Tesla in Sweden? Now comes new information from Tesla Club Sweden that only 13 service technicians out of 130 have gone on strike.
- It is a very greatly underestimated figure, says Jesper Pettersson, press officer at IF Metall.

The Tesla strike has almost been going on for seven weeks, but there are still no fully confirmed figures on how many people are actually on strike at Tesla. Now comes new information from Tesla Club Sweden that it would be a total of 13 service technicians out of a total of 130 employees at Tesla who have gone on strike. The information has been produced by members who have visited the facilities and asked the employees.


- We at Tesla Club Sweden have just over six thousand members who own a Tesla. Unfortunately, sometimes some of them happen to have something break down on their cars and they have to visit a repair shop. We have asked our members to ask the service technicians they meet then how many of their colleagues are on strike at that particular facility. Data collection at the grassroots level, according to Tesla Club Sweden .

A total of 13 service technicians are going on strike around Sweden, according to Tesla Club Sweden. IF Metall says that the figure is underestimated, but does not want to state a figure of its own.
Most of the information is said to be confirmed in various newspaper articles about the various facilities. However, IF Metall has a completely different picture, even if they do not want to give an exact figure. In late November, the union stated that more than half of Tesla's 130 service technicians in seven different locations are members of the union. However, a smaller number of them have not gone on strike.

- This is how it is. Those who we have brought into conflict are those who work within IF Metall's contractual area. It's not all of Tesla, we don't take out white-collar workers, for example. From that perspective, that figure from Tesla is not correct, said IF Metall's contract secretary Veli-Pekka Säikkälä to Dagens Arbete.

Carup has asked IF Metall to comment on the new data on the number of strikers.
- Saw that assignment. It is a very greatly underestimated figure, says Jesper Pettersson , press officer at IF Metall.

So many are on strike according to Tesla Club Sweden​

Umeå : 9
Uppsala : 3
Stockholm Upplands Väsby : 0
Stockholm Segeltorp : 0
Norrköping : 0
Gothenburg Mölndal : 0
Gothenburg Hisings Backa : 1
Malmö : 0
Örebro : 0
Jönköping : 0

 

[Buckminster]

Paywall:
Tesla seeks Swedish government affairs specialist as union battle escalates

Tesla is seeking to hire a government affairs specialist in Sweden to help resolve escalating strikes against the US carmaker in the Nordic countries. The company is looking for someone with “a proven track record of getting regulatory changes made in the Nordics” to be based in Stockholm or Oslo, according to a posting on its careers site. What began in October as a strike by mechanics against Tesla in Sweden has spread to three neighbouring countries, as dockworkers in Denmark, Finland and Norway have warned they will stop offloading Tesla cars bound for Sweden in the coming days. The job advert states the person is needed “to help ensure that the political, regulatory and fiscal frameworks in the ‘Nordics’ (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland) support Tesla’s mission”. It added that “significant experience with Nordic legislative and regulatory advocacy is needed”.

 

[TSemi]

Paywall:
Tesla seeks Swedish government affairs specialist as union battle escalates

"Tesla is seeking to hire a government affairs specialist in Sweden"

I hope this isn't recent news. Kinda disappointing if it is. Tesla is usually ahead of the game but this suggests they have fallen behind. This should have been done weeks ago.

 

[Krugerrand]

The Union has commented on the 12 number of strikers:

Nya uppgifter: Så få strejkar hos Tesla i Sverige | Carup.se

Hur många strejkar egentligen på Tesla i Sverige? Nu kommer nya uppgifter från Tesla Club Sweden att endast 13 servicetekniker av 130 gått ut i strejk. – Det är en mycket kraftigt underskattad siffra, säger Jesper Pettersson, pressansvarig hos IF Metall. Teslastrejken har snart pågått i sju...

carup.se

How many people are actually on strike at Tesla in Sweden? Now comes new information from Tesla Club Sweden that only 13 service technicians out of 130 have gone on strike.
- It is a very greatly underestimated figure, says Jesper Pettersson, press officer at IF Metall.

The Tesla strike has almost been going on for seven weeks, but there are still no fully confirmed figures on how many people are actually on strike at Tesla. Now comes new information from Tesla Club Sweden that it would be a total of 13 service technicians out of a total of 130 employees at Tesla who have gone on strike. The information has been produced by members who have visited the facilities and asked the employees.


- We at Tesla Club Sweden have just over six thousand members who own a Tesla. Unfortunately, sometimes some of them happen to have something break down on their cars and they have to visit a repair shop. We have asked our members to ask the service technicians they meet then how many of their colleagues are on strike at that particular facility. Data collection at the grassroots level, according to Tesla Club Sweden .

A total of 13 service technicians are going on strike around Sweden, according to Tesla Club Sweden. IF Metall says that the figure is underestimated, but does not want to state a figure of its own.
Most of the information is said to be confirmed in various newspaper articles about the various facilities. However, IF Metall has a completely different picture, even if they do not want to give an exact figure. In late November, the union stated that more than half of Tesla's 130 service technicians in seven different locations are members of the union. However, a smaller number of them have not gone on strike.

- This is how it is. Those who we have brought into conflict are those who work within IF Metall's contractual area. It's not all of Tesla, we don't take out white-collar workers, for example. From that perspective, that figure from Tesla is not correct, said IF Metall's contract secretary Veli-Pekka Säikkälä to Dagens Arbete.

Carup has asked IF Metall to comment on the new data on the number of strikers.
- Saw that assignment. It is a very greatly underestimated figure, says Jesper Pettersson , press officer at IF Metall.

So many are on strike according to Tesla Club Sweden​

Umeå : 9
Uppsala : 3
Stockholm Upplands Väsby : 0
Stockholm Segeltorp : 0
Norrköping : 0
Gothenburg Mölndal : 0
Gothenburg Hisings Backa : 1
Malmö : 0
Örebro : 0
Jönköping : 0

Hilarious. Greatly underestimated but we won’t give any evidence to such an answer either.

Go entertain yourselves. I don’t believe the union for a second.

 

[Krugerrand]

"Tesla is seeking to hire a government affairs specialist in Sweden"

I hope this isn't recent news. Kinda disappointing if it is. Tesla is usually ahead of the game but this suggests they have fallen behind. This should have been done weeks ago.

Huh? Why should they have done it weeks ago? They had no reason to believe they needed to seek one out. They haven’t done anything wrong and are working well within Swedish law. Now that the union is involving other countries and interrupting services like mail delivery and garbage pick up - services that should never be denied - well, now they’re going to.

Note this is a ‘government affairs’ person they want to hire. This says to me, Tesla isn’t anywhere near giving up or giving in. Tesla is now going to exploit every loophole and advantage within the Swedish governmental system to fight the union. We’re going to need more than popcorn. Someone grab the Twizzlers and order pizza .

 

[Tiger]

"Tesla is seeking to hire a government affairs specialist in Sweden"

I hope this isn't recent news. Kinda disappointing if it is. Tesla is usually ahead of the game but this suggests they have fallen behind. This should have been done weeks ago.

Translation: Tesla is hiring a lobbyist.

 

[HVM]

12?! that's that's a rookie number:

Postal, rail and possibly bus services to halt in Finland on Thursday

POLITICAL STRIKES by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and its member unions are expected to cause a range of disruptions in Finland on Thursday, 14 December. Jarmo Ainasoja, the director of risk management and business continuity at Posti, on Monday said in a press release...

www.helsinkitimes.fi

"40,000 of its members will be participating in strikes"

; P

 

[TSemi]

Huh? Why should they have done it weeks ago?

It's called staying one-step ahead.

They had no reason to believe they needed to seek one out.

Yes they did. They should have known weeks ago IF Metall was not going to give up until Tesla signed a collective bargaining agreement.

They haven’t done anything wrong and are working well within Swedish law.

This is about using someone within government that knows all the ins and outs of Swedish law to help Tesla with IF Metall's actions.

Now that the union is involving other countries and interrupting services like mail delivery

The mail delivery interruption started weeks ago.

 

[Krugerrand]

It's called staying one-step ahead.

Tesla’s presence in Sweden is relatively small. Much bigger fish to fry, business was going as usual -

That you’d expect Tesla to know everything about everything is ridiculous.

Yes they did. They should have known weeks ago IF Metall was not going to give up until Tesla signed a collective bargaining agreement.

Meh. Tesla expects people and entities to think and behave logically - eventually - until they prove they won’t or can’t.

This is about using someone within government that knows all the ins and outs of Swedish law to help Tesla with IF Metall's actions.

No. It’s not a lawyer they’re looking for, it’s a person with in depth knowledge of Swedish government. See @Tiger ‘s post above.

The mail delivery interruption started weeks ago.

And Tesla responded with legal action, which is still in process as well as they’re pursuing private citizen loopholes - like double ordering plates, including police services etc…

 

[Zuikkis]

12?! that's that's a rookie number:

Postal, rail and possibly bus services to halt in Finland on Thursday

POLITICAL STRIKES by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and its member unions are expected to cause a range of disruptions in Finland on Thursday, 14 December. Jarmo Ainasoja, the director of risk management and business continuity at Posti, on Monday said in a press release...

www.helsinkitimes.fi

"40,000 of its members will be participating in strikes"

; P

This is what I was saying earlier.. @SwedishAdvocate claimed that Sweden has really low amount of annual strike days, and I actually supported that fact with this statistic:

Which countries go on strike the most in Europe?

Strikes are a significant part of the culture of working life in Europe. Is industrial action more common in some countries than others?

www.euronews.com

So, take 2010-2019 for example. Finland had average 59 annual strike days per 1000 employees, while Sweden only 2.

Finnish strikes are like today. 40000 bus and train drivers didn't go to work. By quick math this is "40 annual strike days per 1000 employees" so almost our whole year quota.

Meanwhile in Sweden, those 13 Tesla employees have gained about 50 strike days, so still under "1 strike day per 1000".. Remember the sympathy actions don't count as striking, people go to work normally but just refuse to touch Tesla work.

The Finnish strike was announced beforehand, and it was only for one day.. They made their point, and everything is back to normal tomorrow. Impact on everyday life was quite minimal as many could plan ahead, work at home or ask neighbour to commute or something.

 

[TSemi]

No. It’s not a lawyer they’re looking for, it’s a person with in depth knowledge of Swedish government.

This is about using someone within government that knows all the ins and outs of Swedish law

Reading comprehension? I think you need to reread my above statement.

Meh. Tesla expects people and entities to think and behave logically - eventually - until they prove they won’t or can’t.

Surely you jest! As a large corporation Tesla can't afford to be so blithely blind to the realities of the business world.

 

[Zuikkis]

Finnish strikes are like today. 40000 bus and train drivers didn't go to work. By quick math this is "40 annual strike days per 1000 employees" so almost our whole year quota.

Meanwhile in Sweden, those 13 Tesla employees have gained about 50 strike days, so still under "1 strike day per 1000".. Remember the sympathy actions don't count as striking, people go to work normally but just refuse to touch Tesla work.

I didn't think this through, my calculations were incorrect, sorry. Can't edit the original post anymore. Finland has about 2M people at working age, so 40000/2000000 = 2%, which means that's about 20 per 1000.

Sweden has more people which makes the Tesla strike even smaller in comparison. So the original point still stands.

 

[heltok]

Very random inspection finding a terrible crime. Someone used a forklift without written permission, surely no company with collective agreement has ever done that.

Tesla bötfälls – brister upptäckta i anläggning

Strejkkaoset mellan Tesla och de svenska fackförbunden fortsätter eskalera. Mitt under strejken har Arbetsmiljöverket genomfört en inspektion på en av biljättens anläggningar – och funnit brister. Nu bötfälls Tesla av myndigheten, rapporterar nyhetsbyrån Siren.

www.expressen.se

Tesla fined - flaws discovered in facility​

TESLA
Published 14 Dec 2023 at 17:56,updated at 18.39

The strike chaos between Tesla and the Swedish unions continues to escalate.
In the middle of the strike, the Swedish Work Environment Authority carried out an inspection at one of the car giant's facilities - and found deficiencies.
Now Tesla is being fined by the authority, reports the news agency Siren.

The strike at Tesla's Swedish operations broke out on October 27. Since then, unions have stepped up the fight against the American car giant and further unions have gone on strike in sympathy.
The strike has also spread to neighboring countries
The conflict is based on the company's opposition to signing a collective agreement for the employees in Sweden. IF Metall believes that the entire Swedish model is at stake.
In the midst of an ongoing strike, the Swedish Work Environment Authority carried out an unannounced inspection at Tesla's facility on Boplatsgatan in Malmö.

Fined​

Then the authority noticed that an employee was using a truck without having the "required written permission" for such use, reports the Siren news agency.
"By allowing your employees to use a forklift on the inspection occasion indicated above without having previously issued the required written permission for such use, you have violated § 19 AFS 2006:5. You must therefore pay a penalty fee", writes the Work Environment Agency in a fee order on 8 December.
Tesla is fined a total of SEK 93,000.
Tesla now has until January 8 to appeal the fine, or accept the fee.

 

[Tiger]

Fined
Then the authority noticed that an employee was using a truck without having the "required written permission" for such use, reports the Siren news agency.
"By allowing your employees to use a forklift on the inspection occasion indicated above without having previously issued the required written permission for such use, you have violated § 19 AFS 2006:5. You must therefore pay a penalty fee", writes the Work Environment Agency in a fee order on 8 December.
Tesla is fined a total of SEK 93,000.
Tesla now has until January 8 to appeal the fine, or accept the fee.

Credit where credit due and move on.

 

[SO16]

This is what I was saying earlier.. @SwedishAdvocate claimed that Sweden has really low amount of annual strike days, and I actually supported that fact with this statistic:

Which countries go on strike the most in Europe?

Strikes are a significant part of the culture of working life in Europe. Is industrial action more common in some countries than others?

www.euronews.com

So, take 2010-2019 for example. Finland had average 59 annual strike days per 1000 employees, while Sweden only 2.

Finnish strikes are like today. 40000 bus and train drivers didn't go to work. By quick math this is "40 annual strike days per 1000 employees" so almost our whole year quota.

Meanwhile in Sweden, those 13 Tesla employees have gained about 50 strike days, so still under "1 strike day per 1000".. Remember the sympathy actions don't count as striking, people go to work normally but just refuse to touch Tesla work.

The Finnish strike was announced beforehand, and it was only for one day.. They made their point, and everything is back to normal tomorrow. Impact on everyday life was quite minimal as many could plan ahead, work at home or ask neighbour to commute or something.

By not counting the sympathy strikers, that’s certainly misleading.

 

[bkp_duke]

Very random inspection finding a terrible crime. Someone used a forklift without written permission, surely no company with collective agreement has ever done that.

Tesla bötfälls – brister upptäckta i anläggning

Strejkkaoset mellan Tesla och de svenska fackförbunden fortsätter eskalera. Mitt under strejken har Arbetsmiljöverket genomfört en inspektion på en av biljättens anläggningar – och funnit brister. Nu bötfälls Tesla av myndigheten, rapporterar nyhetsbyrån Siren.

www.expressen.se

Tesla fined - flaws discovered in facility​

TESLA
Published 14 Dec 2023 at 17:56,updated at 18.39

The strike chaos between Tesla and the Swedish unions continues to escalate.
In the middle of the strike, the Swedish Work Environment Authority carried out an inspection at one of the car giant's facilities - and found deficiencies.
Now Tesla is being fined by the authority, reports the news agency Siren.

The strike at Tesla's Swedish operations broke out on October 27. Since then, unions have stepped up the fight against the American car giant and further unions have gone on strike in sympathy.
The strike has also spread to neighboring countries
The conflict is based on the company's opposition to signing a collective agreement for the employees in Sweden. IF Metall believes that the entire Swedish model is at stake.
In the midst of an ongoing strike, the Swedish Work Environment Authority carried out an unannounced inspection at Tesla's facility on Boplatsgatan in Malmö.

Fined​

Then the authority noticed that an employee was using a truck without having the "required written permission" for such use, reports the Siren news agency.
"By allowing your employees to use a forklift on the inspection occasion indicated above without having previously issued the required written permission for such use, you have violated § 19 AFS 2006:5. You must therefore pay a penalty fee", writes the Work Environment Agency in a fee order on 8 December.
Tesla is fined a total of SEK 93,000.
Tesla now has until January 8 to appeal the fine, or accept the fee.

LoL . . . that's like a (does the exchange math) . . . $900 fine. $850 EUR.

 

[MP3Mike]

LoL . . . that's like a (does the exchange math) . . . $900 fine. $850 EUR.

My calculator says ~$9k:

Unless that comma is a thousands separate and not decimal separator, in which case it would be $9.

 

[CitizenKane]

My calculator says ~$9k:

View attachment 999458

Unless that comma is a thousands separate and not decimal separator, in which case it would be $9.

Correct, one USD is about 10 SEK (Swedish krona). It strikes me as a bit too coincidental that the Arbetsmiljöverket made an inspection right now. Most probably intiated by IF Metal through an anonymous tip. They rarely do inspections and I think they would find something to complain about on almost any Swedish company.

 

[TSemi]

Avfallsblockaden utökas när Kommunal ansluter - Arbetsvärlden

Från julafton hämtas inget avfall som servandet av Teslor genererar. Men när nästa år inleds kommer även hushållsavfall få läggas...

www.arbetsvarlden.se

The waste blockade is extended when Kommunal connects​

Tesla Municipal joins the sympathy measures against Tesla. From January 2, neither household waste nor waste from the business will be collected from Tesla in Örebro and Mölndal.

From Christmas Eve, no waste generated by the servicing of Teslas will be collected. But when next year begins, household waste will also have to be piled up or transported away by those who still work at Tesla's workshops. This since Kommunal on Thursday announced a sympathy blockade with IF metall's conflict over a collective agreement with the electric car giant.

- It is obvious for Kommunal to support IF Metall's demand for a collective agreement. It is time for Tesla to take the custom wherever it comes and sign an agreement – the Swedish model is here to stay. The employees at Tesla have Kommunal's support behind them, says union president Malin Ragnegård in a press release.

The municipal blockade applies to the collection of all household waste at the service workshops in Mölndal and Örebro. The sympathy measures against waste management connect to Transport's measures which begin on Christmas Eve.

Without a collective agreement, the employer gets free leeway to dictate the terms alone - exactly what Tesla is looking for. While other companies compete with knowledge and attractive terms, Tesla wants to slip into its own lane and draw up its own rules. They can forget that. That's not how the Swedish labor market works, says Malin Ragnegård in the press release.

 

[CitizenKane]

Correct, one USD is about 10 SEK (Swedish krona). It strikes me as a bit too coincidental that the Arbetsmiljöverket made an inspection right now. Most probably intiated by IF Metal through an anonymous tip. They rarely do inspections and I think they would find something to complain about on almost any Swedish company.

Here is an e-service where you can leave an anonymous tip about deficiencies in the work environment: Tipsa om risker i arbetsmiljön - Arbetsmiljöverket

At this point and with the risk of being conspiratorial, I would not be surprised if someone from If Metall did this.