Workers Striking Against Tesla in Sweden Finally Get Response from CEO Elon Musk
After nearly a month of striking, workers in Sweden protesting against Tesla’s anti-union policies have finally received a response from CEO Elon Musk. Musk stated on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, “This is crazy” in response to the news that Swedish postal workers are now refusing to hand out Tesla license plates. The workers joined a wave of actions in solidarity with mechanics who stopped repairing Tesla cars at the end of October.
The strike, which initially involved 130 mechanics, started after Tesla’s announcement that it would not recognize their union. The strike quickly spread to other workers in Sweden, including dockers blocking deliveries of Tesla cars at ports and electricians halting maintenance tasks for the car maker, as reported by CNN’s affiliate Expressen.
The Swedish union IF Metall, which initiated the strike, emphasized the importance of fair wages, pensions, and insurance for its members working at Tesla. They have been negotiating with Tesla for a long time, but the company has refused to sign a collective agreement, violating basic principles of the Swedish labor market.
This strike in Sweden has the potential to embolden Tesla employees in Germany, where the company has a large electric vehicle and battery cell manufacturing plant. German unions have been pressuring Tesla to apply a collective agreement to its 11,000 workers at the factory near Berlin. IG Metall, a powerful German union, alleges that Tesla pays its workers less than other automakers in Germany and terminates employees who get sick too often.
The National Labor Relations Board, a U.S. federal agency, has repeatedly sued Tesla and Musk for suspected illegal anti-union activities. Strikes and protests by workers in Sweden and Germany could have long-lasting effects on Tesla’s operations and labor relations in Europe.