Tesla Unionization

[MikeChicago]

And if VW is bailed out by the gov., will that be because of various Collective agreements in Germany and Sweden, or because of decisions affecting the core business that has been made by Corporate Management?

The way things are going in Germany... the government will need bailing out before the automaker does. They are really hurting over there due to Russia's actions. Wasn't VW paying billions to settle the dieselgate lawsuits just a few years back? And why aren't we letting "market forces" put a nail in their coffin? Any stimulus to people is seen as "market manipulation." How are auto bailouts not the same thing? I digress.

 

[heltok]

A bit fewer workers on "strike" now:

IF Metall: Flera strejkbrytare utesluts

Har aldrig skett tidigare – ”inget man gör med speciellt stor glädje”.

da.se

IF Metall: Several strike breakers are excluded​

December 20, 2023 - 4:31 p.m
Written by Adam Daver
Several Tesla workers are excluded from IF Metall. The union decided on Wednesday.
- Forcing an exclusion case in this way has never happened before. It's not something you do with great joy, says Martin Gunnarsson, union secretary at IF Metall.
Members of IF Metall who, despite the strike against Tesla's Swedish subsidiary TM Sweden, have continued to work at the electric car company's workshops will be excluded. That was decided by IF Metall's union board on Wednesday.
- We have taken the decision to exclude a number of members who have broken the strike, members who are employed by Tesla and who, during the period that the conflict has been going on, actively broke the strike. It has simply been working as usual despite the ongoing conflict, says Martin Gunnarsson, IF Metall's union secretary.
The announcement is the result of a process that lasted more than a month. In mid-November, the union began to survey which members have continued to work despite the ongoing strike.
- The primary purpose is of course to get these people to see the situation and want to participate in the fight to get a collective agreement, Tomas With, vice chairman of IF Metall, told Dagens Arbete at the time.
That work has now, with the decision of the federal board, reached the end of the road.
But Martin Gunnarsson does not want to say how many are excluded from the association. Nor how many jobs are involved.
- We cannot go along with that. We don't do that based on the premise that it's about the integrity of both those who strike and those who don't, says Martin Gunnarsson.
In the association's statutes, there is a special letter that enables exclusion for strike-breaking.
- Since the trade unions were formed once upon a time, this has been a super important issue. You must be loyal to your organization, says Martin Gunnarsson.
What do the affected members say?
- It is very different. It must not be underestimated that they have been faced with a demand from day one from the employer. To either choose Tesla or to choose IF Metall. If you have wanted to strike, then you have behaved in word and deed in a way that means you are not welcome back at Tesla, says Martin Gunnarsson, who adds:
- Many people think collective agreements are good, and something you want. But you are simply too afraid to strike yourself.
What do you think about the fact that you have members who choose to work despite the strike?
- It is no national secret that we think it is very strange and unfortunate that some people act in this way. Strike-breaking has occurred in various forms during the existence of trade unions. On the other hand, in Sweden, there has been no similar strike-breaking, where the employer has urged the employees to continue working. Forcing an exclusion case in this way has never happened before. It's not something you do with great joy, says Martin Gunnarsson.

 

[2daMoon]

So, we are fairly confident that there are about 13 Tesla Sweden employees who belong to the union, from the poll taken by the local Tesla club. This is about ten percent of Tesla Sweden employees who are eligible to join the union. 90% chose not to join.

Another anecdotal report from Tesla employees has inferred how a total of half the union member employees have either a) never joined the strike, or, b) have come back to work after striking.

So, IF Metall is going to all this trouble over the remaining 6 or 7 Tesla employees who are striking union members, and, IF Metall are stymied over how to deal with their union brothers (and sisters?) who have chosen to continue working at Tesla rather than join their union's strike.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the crew from Monty Python is actually orchestrating IF Metall's every move, so as to demonstrate their masterful form of comedic irony?

 

[bpjod]

A bit fewer workers on "strike" now:

IF Metall: Several strike breakers are excluded​

If I'm interpreting that rough translation correctly, IF Metall is making members at other businesses sympathy strike against Tesla while they can't even get their own union members that actually work for Tesla to go on strike?! That's got to be somewhat embarrasing. You've got to think they've been pressuring their members at Tesla hard to go on strike. If true, I think this is going to end badly for IF Metall.

 

[2daMoon]

If I'm interpreting that rough translation correctly, IF Metall is making members at other businesses sympathy strike against Tesla while they can't even get their own union members that actually work for Tesla to go on strike?! That's got to be somewhat embarrasing. You've got to think they've been pressuring their members at Tesla hard to go on strike. If true, I think this is going to end badly for IF Metall.

At one point IF Metall was offering Tesla's union members something like 1.5x of their pay were they to join the strike, seemingly to no avail.

 

[KBF]

I guess those "excluded" workers now have a higher take-home pay? Or do they still have to pay union dues? (I'm not sure what excluded specifically means...)

 

[rlsd]

I guess those "excluded" workers now have a higher take-home pay? Or do they still have to pay union dues? (I'm not sure what excluded specifically means...)

The union still owe them money plus interest they paid to the union before the exclusion.

 

[johnnycnote]

So, we are fairly confident that there are about 13 Tesla Sweden employees who belong to the union, from the poll taken by the local Tesla club. This is about ten percent of Tesla Sweden employees who are eligible to join the union. 90% chose not to join.

Another anecdotal report from Tesla employees has inferred how a total of half the union member employees have either a) never joined the strike, or, b) have come back to work after striking.

So, IF Metall is going to all this trouble over the remaining 6 or 7 Tesla employees who are striking union members, and, IF Metall are stymied over how to deal with their union brothers (and sisters?) who have chosen to continue working at Tesla rather than join their union's strike.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the crew from Monty Python is actually orchestrating IF Metall's every move, so as to demonstrate their masterful form of comedic irony?

 

[2daMoon]

Go away, or I will taunt you again!

 

[Rarity]

What do you think about the fact that you have members who choose to work despite the strike?
- It is no national secret that we think it is very strange and unfortunate that some people act in this way. Strike-breaking has occurred in various forms during the existence of trade unions. On the other hand, in Sweden, there has been no similar strike-breaking, where the employer has urged the employees to continue working. Forcing an exclusion case in this way has never happened before. It's not something you do with great joy, says Martin Gunnarsson.

That's an amazing admission that this is not quite going the way the union hoped or expected. The whole goal is to get more Tesla employees to join the union, not to have fewer!

The current strike package is I believe 1.3x salary. So there must be a strong draw to continuing to show up for work at Tesla.

 

[Krugerrand]

So, we are fairly confident that there are about 13 Tesla Sweden employees who belong to the union, from the poll taken by the local Tesla club. This is about ten percent of Tesla Sweden employees who are eligible to join the union. 90% chose not to join.

Another anecdotal report from Tesla employees has inferred how a total of half the union member employees have either a) never joined the strike, or, b) have come back to work after striking.

So, IF Metall is going to all this trouble over the remaining 6 or 7 Tesla employees who are striking union members, and, IF Metall are stymied over how to deal with their union brothers (and sisters?) who have chosen to continue working at Tesla rather than join their union's strike.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the crew from Monty Python is actually orchestrating IF Metall's every move, so as to demonstrate their masterful form of comedic irony?

I’m not sure that any of the original 13 went back to work. I interpreted that there were more union members than the original 13 and they decided to remain working and not strike. It’s those additional union members who are non excommunicato. (Yes, love me some JW)

Regardless, I would like to know if those now ex-union members will be getting their union dues back. Or are there no refunds for services not rendered?

Of course, IF Metall says it’s because Tesla is threatening the employees. I call bs, but let’s go with it for a second and say it’s true - that simply means Tesla carries a bigger stick than IF Metall. I find that interesting and entertaining on so many levels.

Let the saga continue -

 

[MP3Mike]

I’m not sure that any of the original 13 went back to work. I interpreted that there were more union members than the original 13 and they decided to remain working and not strike. It’s those additional union members who are non excommunicato. (Yes, love me some JW)

There were reports of at least a couple workers that went out on strike at first, but changed their mind and came back and started working after a period of time. (I seem to recall that at least one of them apologized to their co-workers when they came back.)

 

[Krugerrand]

At one point IF Metall was offering Tesla's union members something like 1.5x of their pay were they to join the strike, seemingly to no avail.

130%

Heck, make more money not working and take the time to line up a back up job.

 

[Cobos]

The exact numbers are pretty shaky here. But my impression has been about 130 mechanics work at Tesla Sweden. Of those more than half were Union members before the strike. Say 60% and that is 78 people. Out of these 9-15 are actually on strike (I've heard different numbers). Say 15 and that means 63 people were part of the union and some/all of these 63 people have showed up for work and worked their regular shifts and hence been strike-brakers. Some or maybe all of those 63 people are now being excluded from the union.
So IF metal might end up with only 10% of the mechanics of Tesla Sweden actually unionised which is pretty low.
I might add that as far as I know, Norwegian law is not very lenient on sympathy strikes and/or we have no culture for that. The strike is spreading to Norway now, but that is only for unloading Tesla cars that are bound for Tesla Sweden. They will continue unload cars for Tesla Norway.
So yeah this does not seem like it's going very well for IF Metall.

 

[Rarity]

130%

Heck, make more money not working and take the time to line up a back up job.

My guess is that the equity portion of compensation has a big impact in each worker's calculations. Vesting clauses would need to be closely examined. I also understand that employees get very favorable stock purchase terms. All of that goes away if you don't show up for work.

I think there's a good reason why all of those American tech companies are non-unionized in Sweden!

 

[2daMoon]

What happens if the last handful of Tesla workers who are union members on strike decide to go back to work, and are then excluded from the union?

 

[heltok]

The Union are commenting on Tesla having a 70page agreement with their workers. People in the comments are like 90%+ very negative towards the union:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1737410871314293206

The exact numbers are pretty shaky here. But my impression has been about 130 mechanics work at Tesla Sweden. Of those more than half were Union members before the strike. Say 60% and that is 78 people. Out of these 9-15 are actually on strike (I've heard different numbers). Say 15 and that means 63 people were part of the union and some/all of these 63 people have showed up for work and worked their regular shifts and hence been strike-brakers. Some or maybe all of those 63 people are now being excluded from the union.
So IF metal might end up with only 10% of the mechanics of Tesla Sweden actually unionised which is pretty low.
I might add that as far as I know, Norwegian law is not very lenient on sympathy strikes and/or we have no culture for that. The strike is spreading to Norway now, but that is only for unloading Tesla cars that are bound for Tesla Sweden. They will continue unload cars for Tesla Norway.
So yeah this does not seem like it's going very well for IF Metall.

And more, this is what the union said previously:

DA is very pro union newspaper:

Efter Ferrita: policy läggs fast

Stridsåtgärder måste vara väl förankrade hos medlemmarna i företaget innan facket varslar.Vill inte de anställda ha ett kollektivavtal kan facket, i vissa lägen, avstå från att driva frågan.

da.se

After Ferrita: policy is set​

June 16, 1999
Industrial action must be well established among the members of the company before the union notifies. If the employees do not want a collective agreement, the union can, in certain situations, refrain from pursuing the issue. That's what Metall writes in a handbook that will help the ombudsmen avoid new conflicts like the battle at Ferrita a few years ago.
The book, which is also a policy document, states two conditions that must apply for a metal department to pursue the issue of collective agreements at a company. Firstly, the company's operations must be within one of Metall's contractual areas. Secondly, one of the employees must be a member of Metall.
The union writes that the task of signing collective agreements must be given a very high priority in the operations in the departments. But there are situations when the department can refrain from making demands on agreements. It could be, for example, a member who is a probationary employee and who believes that he/she will not become a permanent employee if the union requires a collective agreement. On such occasions, the department can wait and come back later when the permanent employment is ready.
It may be a workplace where the members do not want an agreement for other reasons. They may feel that they are better off without a collective agreement, like the employees at Ferrita. If the union fails to convince them of the benefits of an agreement, the union can refrain from pursuing the issue.
Metall writes in the book that it is inappropriate to threaten conflict, when the industrial action is not anchored among the members. In the worst case, it can lead to the members leaving the union, which also happened at Ferrita.
The conflict at Ferrita began in the fall of 1997. The employees at the metal company in Köping did not want to fight for a collective agreement, despite this, Metall announced a blockade against the company. It all ended with Metall's members at the company (five of the 19 employees were members) leaving the union. And Metall had to withdraw its notice without having received a collective agreement.

 

[Krugerrand]

What happens if the last handful of Tesla workers who are union members on strike decide to go back to work, and are then excluded from the union?

IF Metall executives be

 

[MP3Mike]

What happens if the last handful of Tesla workers who are union members on strike decide to go back to work, and are then excluded from the union?

Somehow I doubt that will happen, I suspect that at least one of the striking workers is a plant.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

And if VW is bailed out by the gov., will that be because of various Collective agreements in Germany and Sweden, or because of decisions affecting the core business that has been made by Corporate Management?

The way things are going in Germany... [1] the government will need bailing out before the automaker does. They are really hurting over there due to Russia's actions. [2] Wasn't VW paying billions to settle the dieselgate lawsuits just a few years back? And why aren't we letting "market forces" put a nail in their coffin? Any stimulus to people is seen as "market manipulation." How are auto bailouts not the same thing? I digress. [My u.]

1. Really?... Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Germany's debt as a percentage of GDP about half of what the US has?... I see that you joined the forum just a couple of months ago... Are you possibly getting money from the Russian Dictator by any chance?...

List of countries by government debt - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

2. Ah yes... What ~15 years does to the memory of some human beings(?)... What did the US do with regards to it's Auto Industry in ~2008?...

But hey... Nice try.

Effects of the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis on the United States - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org