Tesla is feeling the heat of job action in Sweden. Dockworkers are refusing to unload the American company’s cars at Malmo port, as other industries join in the job action against Tesla, which has so far rejected calls to sign a collective bargaining agreement.
Previous strike action by IF Metall failed to gain traction, but it has now expanded, with the Swedish Transport Workers Union, representing 57,000 workers, vowing to block all Tesla cars at the port. The Union’s condition is for Tesla to sign the collective bargaining agreement with IF Metall.
Cargo ship inspector Goran Larsson said he has been informing the unloading crew when any arriving vessel contains Tesla cars, as NPR reports.
Joining the anti-Tesla action are thousands of other workers in support of Tesla’s mechanics. They include postal workers who have said they would stop carrying mail addressed to Tesla if there is no agreement by November 20.
The job action is being supported by IF Metall. Tesla does not produce cars in Sweden, but about 120 mechanics that service Tesla cars are affiliated with IF Metall.
Tesla is facing efforts to unionize its workforce globally, a move that CEO Elon Musk is famously opposed to. The fighting stage has now moved to Sweden where it is facing its first labor action on its anti-union position.
In Germany, IG Metall continues pushing to unionize Giga Berlin.
