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Swedish painters trade union to stop all work with Tesla brand cars
- Waterluvian 3y agoiOS Safari: “Swedish is not currently supported for translation.” Seriously?
- baz00 3y agoEven us two people using Edge on Android get that!
- dijit 3y agoiOS/Apple translate doesn't support Swedish. As a Brit living in Sweden, it is indeed annoying, luckily Swedes tend to speak English better than some Brits. -- but I often find myself opening google translate on my iPhone. For countries like Germany, where there are people who genuinely do not speak English (and I accidentally have interacted with while being there); it is evidently a greater need to be supported via Apple Translate there.
- ekianjo 3y ago> iOS/Apple translate doesn't support Swedish. The translators unions probabaly
- anon23432343 3y agoApple Translate does not support swedish. Apple One in sweden als does not have fitness+ for example. Don't ask me why... So I'm using google translate on my iphone...
- beardyw 3y agoOther people have a tough life too.
- jvdvegt 3y agoEnglish version: https://www-malarna-nu.translate.goog/om-oss/nyheter/20232/pressmeddelande-malarna-stoppar-lackering-av-tesla-bilar/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://www-malarna-nu.translate.goog/om-oss/nyheter/20232/p... Thanks for the more informative link below!
- speedgoose 3y agoNo, Tesla is against unions so unions fight back. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/07/world/europe/sweden-tesla-strike.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/07/world/europe/sweden-tesla...
- shagie 3y agoUnlocked gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/07/world/europe/sweden-tesla-strike.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9Uw.j1nn.ui-EexULvRQe&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/07/world/europe/sweden-tesla...
- ethbr1 3y agoSpecifically, Swedish unions are fighting back, which I have come to understand have a Musketeeresque 'all for one, and one for all' model. (I.e. failure to successfully bargain with one union leads to all unions striking against you) IMHO, good for them! The rest of the world gripes about the current ascendancy of corporate combinations over labor... and the Swedish response is to observe that (all labor) is still bigger than (large corporation). Fair bargains come from negotiations between entities with similar levels of power.
- vmarchaud 3y agoIf someone else doesn't understand why painters would have a problem with Tesla (like me), you might be interested in this: https://www.ifmetall.se/aktuellt/tesla/background-information-on-if-metalls-conflict-at-tesla/ https://www.ifmetall.se/aktuellt/tesla/background-informatio...
- throw__away7391 3y agoThis is not very informative at all, the first sentence is a vague statement about “decent and safe working conditions” without any detail or elaboration and the rest is basically an ad for the union complete with a “join today” call to action.
- Kbelicius 3y agoIt directly answers the question why this trade union is taking industrial action against tesla. Because tesla refuses to negotiate a collective agreement with its employees. Seems quite informative.
- yunohn 3y agoI support unionization, but I still wouldn’t call a single sentence saying “we need a collective agreement” as “informative”. I would expect some details around what exactly is causing the safety issues they claim.
- beepbooptheory 3y agoWhy do you expect that here?
- emmet 3y agowhat, you don't expect unions to release pamphlets to appease random weirdos on the internet?
- Kbelicius 3y ago
- thecopy 3y agoThis also includes the following sympathy strikes: * Ports will refuse to load Tesla cars * Post and package delivery denied * No office/factory cleaning * Electricians won’t do work on office/factory/superchargers
- mcv 3y agoIt's what you get if you try to break a strike by hiring scabs. The unions will try to break you right back. Elon is going to have to hire a lot of scabs if he still wants to do business in Sweden. And if I'm not mistaken, business for Tesla has been pretty big in Scandinavia. I've heard they've got a significant chunk of the market in Norway. No idea if Sweden is the same, but I think Elon's confrontational approach could really hurt Tesla.
- pseg134 3y ago[flagged]
- mcv 3y agoDid you mean to write "failed state" there? That's a rather odd remark when you're talking about one of the most developed and well-organised countries in the world. But that standard, there aren't a lot of successful states out there. Tesla is (or was) huge in Sweden too. I just checked, and EVs are apparently 64% of the market, with the Model Y by far the best-selling model. I guess that's about to change if Elon keeps this up.
- sneak 3y agoThere are more people in Ohio right now than there are Swedes. The successful administration and/or failed-state-ness of Sweden simply isn’t a very big concern in terms of addressable market. This is to say nothing about whether or not Tesla has to care about Sweden; just that Sweden is a tiny country with 10.5M people and it probably isn’t make/break for any global enterprise attempting to operate at planet scale (as it seems Tesla is trying to do).
- sergiotapia 3y ago> For Målarna, it is a matter of course to stand side by side with our sisters and brothers in IF Metall, and we also see the danger in such a large and established employer challenging the Swedish collective agreement model, which is why we are placing these unprecedented massive notices in the area of agreements. I'll always support unions, they are the only thing we have against corpos and their infinite abuse.
- natch 3y agoBut they are somehow ok with Volvo being owned by China, where labor practices are at the rock bottom.
- mcv 3y agoThe unions aren't striking about labour practices in the US, but in Sweden. That's what this is about. Chinese workers will have to form their own unions, I'm afraid.
- natch 3y agoI get what you’re saying; thanks for the clarification. I’m sure Sweden would have liked to have held on to Volvo, but I guess their system didn’t work out so well on that front.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- hising 3y agoVolvo Cars are still designed and built in Sweden, with swedish workers and engineers, with union agreements.
- Kbelicius 3y ago> I’m sure Sweden would have liked to have held on to Volvo Volvo was not owned by Sweden nor did they close their operations in Sweden... so they did hold on to it?
- mrweasel 3y agoKinda weird that a Chinese company can strike a deal with the unions but a US company can not. Volvos are still being build in Sweden (among other locations).
- lillecarl 3y agoIf anyone has watched "Billions", it seems like Elon Musk is having a typical Billions moment. He's always gotten what he wants with his incredible wealth and thinks anything can be bought out. But since all this the Union(s) are doing across Sweden and Norway they just have 4 options: 1. Pull out of Sweden 2. Sign the agreement 3. Use non-unionised workers from another country (which could join the union at any time) 4. Hire their workers through a unionised subcontractor. Musk might be above the US, but he isn't above Sweden, especially not something so core to our values. Im Swedish, and part of a union. However I've never worked for a Unionised company as it's quite uncommon within the tech sector. And since its a labourers market we're very well taken care of either way. I'm also born and raised in a ICE manufacturing city and know that unions are doing gods work for "replaceable people". A lot of "standard skillsets" within manufacturing are easily replaceable, but that doesn't mean salary should be a race to the bottom. They still provide value by doing their job, and that is what the unions protect.
- ruairidhc 3y ago>"He's always gotten what he wants" [citation needed]
- hef19898 3y agoHe even had to go to court to get Twitter!
- lotsofpulp 3y agoDon’t you remember when Musk very publicly won his court case to not overpay by tens of billions for Twitter in 2022?
- lopis 3y agoHe paid exactly the amount he proposed.
- anon23432343 3y agoThe tech sector will also start to have unions. Just look at Klarna. I'm dev and the company I work for has union contracts. This has the nice bonus of me getting 5 days extra an year because we work 40h but we should not so we get AFK time.
- hnthrowaway0328 3y agoThat's why you offload work to "business-friendly" countries such as China /s
- lillecarl 3y agoYep, but it's pretty inefficient to ship cars to China for service. It's equally hard to service superchargers from China.
- hef19898 3y agoSmithers, we will move the plant to the only place people are more desperate: Springfield! Mr. Burns to Smithers after Homer accidently brought labor unions to India.
- vasdae 3y agoWithout the /s, yes, that's what will happen.
- oblio 3y agoCar servicing? Right after we invent teleportation, I imagine :-)
- anon23432343 3y agoWorking for the that industry thats now what you want. Shipping an assembled car around the world is not that cheap and fast. Thats why the biggest car factory in the world is still in Germany.
- ecmascript 3y agoAs a swede I have commented it in the other thread (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38190600 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38190600) but this is basically a legalized mafia from the unions. The workers don't want the union, they have better terms right now. They are not on strike. You may then say, well it's because they are afraid but in Sweden most employees are in a union agreed employment contract and it is very illegal to prevent employees from engaging with an union or go on strike like this. The issue here is that the union wants in because that is how they make money and now they are becoming less relevant because they care more about themselves and their political power which is extensive in Sweden. They don't really care about the workers here in my experience. They exclude members based on political affiliations and make bad deals. I hope Tesla do not give up this fight and just continues on because this is shit behavior from shit organisations. I like the idea of unions but in Sweden they have completely forgotten what their purpose is. Everyone who downvotes, please explain who they are fighting for in this case? The Tesla workers are not on strike, they say openly to journalists that they have never had better terms. The people who actually need to be unionized (young people working in service jobs like restaurants) seldom are and is getting exploited on a daily basis in Sweden since there is no minimum wage. Here is an article if you don't believe me: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vast/trots-strejken-teslas-verkstad-jobbar-pa-som-vanligt--lbiya4 https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vast/trots-strejken-teslas...
- anon23432343 3y agoThis comment is written by someone who is butthurt by the unions because he likes sweden democrates(neo nazi party). So yeah take this comment with a big grain of salt.
- ecmascript 3y agoSo I guess what you're saying is that 1/5 swedes sympathises with neo nazis then, since it's the second largest party? Also it's the largest political party if you count only the people in the unions.
- 3y ago
- anon23432343 3y agoWelcome to Sweden :) Unions are strong here which in general is a good thing! You can't also fire people just for willing to join or create a union! This is not the U S of A. Were you can get fired for stuff which you have the right to do. I hope the unions will win soon! I my self joined the https://www.sverigesingenjorer.se/in-english/ https://www.sverigesingenjorer.se/in-english/
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- rob74 3y agoGood for Sweden! But OTOH, it's sad to see the international race to the bottom: Tesla will of course not build a factory in Sweden, where the union representation rate is 88%, but in Germany, which theoretically has a very similar collective bargaining model, but where the rate has fallen to 54% (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_agreement_coverage#By_country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_agreement_coverage#...).
- troupe 3y agoWell it makes sense to NOT build a factory where the workers are prohibited from painting your cars. If the unions see this as a good thing then it is a win for everyone. Tesla build factories where people will work on their cars and Swedish unions don't have to turn down work that is available in their country.
- krisoft 3y ago> where the workers are prohibited from painting your cars It is not like this is a fact of life which is outside of tesla's control. All they need to do is agree on a collective agreement and their troubles go away. Their refusal to even negotiate is the source of their problem. "When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do" When in Sweden....
- scarab92 3y ago
- acyou 3y agoDon't understand how any of this can be possible under the European economic framework. How can their free trade agreement allow this sort of race to the bottom and differential in labor rules and trade union practice? The rules must be written in a heavily anti-union manner. Power is good until it is actually used. At that point, it loses its power. From that point of view, this may be the beginning of the end for these Swedish unions.
- jacquesm 3y agoOn the contrary, I think it works as a fantastic recruitment drive for these Swedish unions, the only people that are against are the ones that have a better deal already. But they seem to forget that if those unions wouldn't set a baseline they too would be in a race to the bottom.
- piva00 3y agoMuch the opposite, just this week Klarna had to sign a collective bargaining agreement after unions threatened to strike, quite a first for a big tech company here. The labour market in Sweden cannot exist without unions, the government does not meddle much in the market, it does not set even a minimum wage, it's all part of negotiations between employers and employees (represented by unions). Unions are essential for the self-regulation of the labour market between its participants over here.
- Hikikomori 3y agoYou seem to be under the impression that Tesla is the first company where this happened in the Nordics.
- jrh3 3y agoOnce the "Elon is bad emotions" subside and the reality that strong-arm politics does not work in the free world hits this will not have all the shiny new excitement. Did not realize HN commenters were this strong on the bandwagon of emotion.
- tomohawk 3y agoThis seems strange that it would be legal for workers in other industries to specifically target a brand. How can they justify painting some products, but not others as a "work action"? A work action would involve something to do with their terms or state of employment, or actually going on strike and refusing to paint any products. This looks like a targeted coercion effort against a single brand.
- merricksb 3y agoDiscussed previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38190600 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38190600
- occz 3y agoYet another thread about unions popping up at the top of the front page, then promptly being hidden. Why are you doing this, admins? What are you afraid of?
- jansan 3y agoI am not pro-union, but oticed this, too. The story went from #3 to nirvana in milliseconds.
- sheepscreek 3y agoThe power balance between an employer and employees, especially those in lower-paying jobs, is crucial. Often, workers in these jobs earn less than they should because that's the going rate in the market. They accept lower wages to make ends meet, since some income is better than none. If they ask for more pay, they risk being replaced. Here's how it happens: If worker A requests a raise, they are readily replaced by worker B willing to work for the original salary. This pattern repeats with worker C and the cycle continues, mostly benefiting the employer. The only way to break this cycle and potentially secure higher wages, is if workers A, B, and C work together to collectively negotiate with their employers. If one of them is willing to work for less, the leverage is lost. It's nowhere near perfect, and unfortunately misused as well. But concentrating power solely with the employer can be far worse, leaving behind a society fuelled by greed, at the expense of a broken social fabric with crippling destitution. Update: Edited for clarity
- jansan 3y agoWhen talking about Tesla in Sweden, what does that even mean? Do they have a factory in Sweden or just some dealerships and repair shops? And how about the rest of the world blocking mail, services, etc. for Volvo and Polestar?
- mongol 3y agoYes dealerships and repair shops