Giada Amendolara '25
The labor dispute involving Tesla is beginning to spread to Denmark, who announced on Tuesday that its transport workers would be joining the Swedish workers in opposing the Texas-based automaker. The 3F union in Denmark declared their support for the Swedish union IF Metall members, who are trying to get Tesla to sign a collective bargaining agreement by refusing to allow the shipment of cars bound for Sweden. Tesla, a company with no global unionization, is refusing to sign a contract.
For the past 6 weeks, members of the Swedish trade union IF Metall have been at odds with Tesla. They have managed to win the support of other workers in various industries in Sweden, such as electricians, painters, dockworkers, and postal workers, by going on a secondary strike.
According to CNBC, The chair of Denmark's 3F Transport union, Jan Villadsen, stated that his union fully supports IF Metall and Swedish workers as they are "fighting an incredibly important battle."
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, denounced the postal workers' "insane" blocking of license plate deliveries and filed lawsuits against the Swedish Transport Agency and the postal service late last month.
"Even if you are one of the richest people in the world, you can't just make your own rules," Villadsen continued, obviously aimed at Elon Musk. (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/06/you-cant-just-make-your-own-rules-tesla-faces-scandi-revolt-as-danes-join-swedish-strike.html)
Tesla is currently dealing with more than just difficulties from Sweden and Denmark; the electric vehicle manufacturers are also getting ready for another round of union pressure in the United States. Business Insider reports that The United Auto Workers (UAW) started an extensive unionization drive aimed at 150,000 workers at non-unionized auto companies, such as Tesla, following their successful acquisition of bumper contracts from legacy automakers. (https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-called-tesla-sweden-strike-insane-now-its-spreading-to-denmark-2023-12)
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