Employees from Sweden’s Transport Workers Union announced Wednesday that it won’t collect garbage from Tesla’s facilities in the country if no collective deal is solidified. It would mark another expansion of sympathy strikes in the region.
The Swedish garbage collectors join postal workers, dockworkers, cleaners and even a pension fund in refusing to service Tesla.
“This type of sympathy action is very rare. We are using it now to protect the Swedish collective agreements and safety of the Swedish labor market model,” TWU President Tommy Wreeth said.
The union set a Dec. 24 deadline for Tesla to reach a collective agreement with its striking mechanics or else it will have to collect its own garbage.
Since the mechanics went on strike in late October, Tesla has seen the strikes expand throughout the region. Workers in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden have all launched various sympathy strikes against the electric vehicle giant.
In Sweden, the transport union has blocked the import of any Tesla products, and unionized postal workers have stopped delivering mail to the company. While Tesla won a small legal victory last month against the postal workers, that was overturned on appeal.
The strikes aren’t limited to trade unions. Last week, Sweden’s sovereign wealth fund, one of Tesla’s biggest investors, announced it will pressure the car firm to settle with its workers.
Tesla has repeatedly rejected unionization at any of its facilities, saying workers get more rights and privileges without a union. Scandinavian workers don’t agree and want the company to align with the region’s standards.
Nearly 70% of Swedish workers are represented by a trade union.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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