It has been more than a month since the IF Metall trade union started the strike against Tesla. There are still no signs that the conflict will be resolved, and neither party seems to want to back down in what is described as a matter of fate for both the electric car giant and the trade union movement in Sweden.
A solution to the conflict feels even further away, after Tesla sued the Swedish state through the Swedish Transport Agency, and Postnord because the registration plates for new Tesla cars could not be delivered to customers. A total of nine unions have initiated sympathy measures, including the Painters’ Union, the ST Union, and the Harbor Workers’ Union. Even more unions are expected to jump on board.
The pressure to accept collective agreements has increased on Tesla also in the US and Germany, two countries far more important to the company than Sweden. International media have taken an interest in the conflict, and the whole world follows the negotiations with great interest when the American electric car giant is pitted against the Swedish model.
But how far is Tesla willing to go to avoid signing a collective agreement? It is the question of fate that hangs in the air. According to the national economist, Lars Calmfors, it is not a given that they will continue their operations in Sweden.
– It is very difficult to predict. But it is not entirely out of the question that Tesla will leave Sweden, says Lars Calmfors.
– Because Tesla has an owner, Elon Musk, who is unpredictable, he continues.
But if you look historically, the unions have usually got their way, he adds.
“Don’t want to open Pandora’s box”
The electric car giant’s fear is in fact not about the agreement with the union itself, but about the risk of spread, says Calmfors.
– It is not the collective agreement in Sweden itself that Tesla is afraid of. But they don’t want to open Pandora’s box. If the company signs an agreement with Sweden, they may be forced to sign agreements in other countries such as Germany, he says.
In Germany, Tesla recently agreed to a demand for wage increases in an attempt to quell campaigning by the German union IG Metall.
– So far they have succeeded in not signing a collective agreement anywhere in the world. In that case, Sweden would be the first country.
The same concern is also shared by the union. In Sweden, it is fundamentally important that large companies sign collective agreements.
– There is an accepted norm that larger companies must have collective agreements. It has given the companies a good reputation. The unions are afraid that this norm can be undermined, says Calmfors.
If a large company like Tesla does not sign an agreement, there is a concern that it will spread to other companies in this industry, and by extension throughout the labor market.
Toys R Us
Lars Calmfors highlights the American toy giant Toys R Us as an example of when a large American company ends up in a clinch with trade unions in Sweden. He describes it as a “culture clash” between the American and the Swedish corporate culture.
The toy giant opened its doors in 1994 in three locations in Sweden, and, like Tesla, refused to sign a collective agreement with the trade union Handels. In May 1995, the strike was a fact. Even then, several other trade unions gave their support to Handels through sympathy measures.
Our current prime minister described the strike as “mafia methods”, in a debate on TV4’s Nyhetsmorgon.
But after more than three months of conflict, Handels finally won the battle against the toy giant, which was forced to sign a collective agreement for the first time.
Possible scenarios
Despite the fact that Tesla is the most sold electric car in Sweden, the importance of the electric car company for the Swedish economy is insignificant, according to Calmfors.
He describes two possible scenarios:
1. The union fails to disrupt Tesla’s business enough that it eventually abandons plans to sign an agreement.
2. Tesla shuts down its own operations in Sweden and instead relies on subcontractors with collective agreements. This means that the effects will be very small – especially as Tesla has no production of its own in Sweden, only sales and service.