{"id":30734,"date":"2023-12-21T22:11:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T06:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=30734"},"modified":"2023-12-21T22:11:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T06:11:19","slug":"get-unionized-or-get-out-scandinavian-labor-elevates-fight-with-teslas-elon-musk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/12\/21\/get-unionized-or-get-out-scandinavian-labor-elevates-fight-with-teslas-elon-musk\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Get Unionized or Get Out!’: Scandinavian Labor Elevates Fight With Tesla’s Elon Musk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Emma<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Emma Hansson, chair of IF Metall Stockholms l\u00e4n, stands on October 27, 2023 in front of the electric car company Tesla’s service center in Segeltorp, Sweden, wearing a vest that reads, “picket guard.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo: Jessica Gow\/TT\/TT NEWS AGENCY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The mistake Tesla made was challenging the collective agreements that set sector-specific minimum wages in Sweden, a country where 70% of the population is unionized,” said one political scientist.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JULIA CONLEY<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dec 21, 2023 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tough lesson in labor rights continued in Scandinavia Thursday, as one Danish progressive politician offered some advice to the electric vehicle executive: “Don’t mess with Nordic unions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musk’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement for just 130 mechanics in Sweden has proven to be a significant miscalculation about the power of unions in Nordic countries, as more than a dozen collective bargaining units across Sweden have made Tesla’s operations increasingly difficult in the country in solidarity with the mechanics and their demand for a minimum wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Common Dreams<\/em>reported<\/a> earlier this month, Musk\u2014the world’s richest person\u2014has appeared flat-footed in recent weeks as unionized postal workers, delivery drivers, and electricians have refused to work with Tesla to help pressure the company to sign the mechanics’ contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France 24<\/em>reported<\/a> last week that “garbage is piling up outside Tesla centers as refuse collectors refuse to pick it up” and cleaning staff are also declining to work in Tesla showrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I cannot get enough of this story,” said Sarah Anderson of the U.S. economic justice think tank Institute for Policy Studies last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cannot get enough of this story.

Major Nordic pension funds are also now putting pressure on Musk.

Swedish union stops collecting Tesla's trash in solidarity with striking workers https:\/\/t.co\/S2aYOBuQJC<\/a><\/p>— Sarah Anderson (@SarahDAnderson1) December 15, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>