Sweden To Elon: Get Unionized Or Get Out!
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."
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.
As Common Dreamsreported earlier this month, Musk—the world's richest person—has 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.
France 24reported 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.
"I cannot get enough of this story," said Sarah Anderson of the U.S. economic justice think tank Institute for Policy Studies last week.