Posted on 12/20/2023 7:54:42 AM PST by Salman
Tesla has found itself locked in an increasingly bitter dispute with union workers in Sweden and neighboring countries. The showdown pits the electric car maker’s CEO Elon Musk, who’s staunchly anti-union, against the strongly held labor ideals of Scandinavian countries.
None of Tesla’s workers anywhere in the world are unionized, raising questions about whether strikes could spread to other parts of Europe where employees commonly have collective bargaining rights — notably in Germany, Tesla’s most important European market.
...
Since the mechanics with the powerful Swedish metalworkers’ union IF Metall went on strike, other workers around the country have joined in sympathy, withholding their services to pressure the company.
Members of the country’s transport union say they’ll stop collecting waste from Tesla service centers starting Sunday. Employees with supplier Hydro Extrusions, which makes aluminum profiles, are refusing to make a component for Tesla cars.
Other unions say their members won’t paint Tesla cars, clean the company’s offices or service electrical systems at its workshops or any of its 70 charging stations in Sweden.
Postal workers have stopped delivering license plates for new Tesla vehicles, prompting Tesla to sue the Swedish Transport Agency, demanding that it be allowed to retrieve the plates, and PostNord, the company that delivers the registration numbers. Tesla lost an early battle in the case, which is still working through the courts.
...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
The postal workers action is particularly corrupt. They won't deliver if they disapprove of you.
“None of Tesla’s workers anywhere in the world are unionized”
That’s because they get stock options. The return on their options is vastly more then any dime an hour wage negotiation that some dimbulb HS graduate union negotiator could ever get for them.
Soon governments will manufacture the EVs deliver them to your home and take the payments from your bank account even if your bank account is already empty ,LOL
Sounds like it just isn’t worth selling or servicing vehicles in Sweden. Why don’t they just pull out of that market and leave all those customers stranded?
Well, you cannot run a car factory without mechanics.
On the other hand, just about every other worker on the assembly line can be replaced by a machine or expert software.
I would like to see what Elon could do with the most automated factory in the auto world.
I saw an interesting fact a couple days ago. Tesla already has the lowest production cost per car in the EV business.
Musk will shut Tesla down...before he unionizes.
Only 13 of the 135 workers at the Tesla plant went on strike.
Three have returned. The union offers 130% pay to those who strike but the majority refuse to strike. Tesla workers get Tesla stock options which are worth a lot, I believe.
All these unions are striking for 13 people? Clearly politics, power and money are involved.
Tesla doesn’t have a factory in Sweden.
Similar to what happens when stupid rules make it difficult to buy groceries in a town; the townspeople can simply go elsewhere to buy or get service. Bit of that going on here, bad rules in SF are causing stores to shutter and leave, and SF residents are going out of town down the SF peninsula to shop in suburbs there.
Another comparison is tipping. You like service from one person, but stupid rules in place force that one person to share any tips to be divided among all staff. Result is fewer tips, and bad service because no one works hard because they get tips for free without trying hard.
Sweden is stuck on stupid with unions.
As others mentioned, no factories in Sweden. All sympathy strikes against Tesla because Musk is anti-union. Illegally denying buyers their license plates, etc.
As for Elon, he is building and testing humanoid robots in his factories. He found that he couldn't fully automate his factories, as humans were necessary for some construction. But humanoid robots can take the place of some human workers, and reduce the need for safety equipment and cages, thereby reducing the floorspace by over a third and making for more efficient production. With humanoid robots, no concern if they accidentally get whacked by other robots in dangerous areas.
All this reduces production costs per car. Other car makers like GM and Ford lose money on every EV they make, while Tesla has the largest profit margins of most cars of any type.
AGREED
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.