SWEDEN. End to dispute between IF Metall and Tesla. “Tesla has bought out all our striking members”

After nearly three years of fighting and strikes, members of Sweden’s IF Metall trade union announce their surrender. According to the declaration, Tesla “bought out all the strikers.” Each of the roughly hundred people involved in the protests either resigned or received working conditions under which continuing resistance was no longer worthwhile. It was seen as unfair on the part of the manufacturer, who used money to undermine their “heroic” stance.

Did Sweden’s trade unions lose or win?

IF Metall aimed for one goal: convincing Tesla’s Swedish employees that they should actively join the union and demand a collective bargaining agreement from the company. Then, unions could dictate salary levels, negotiate layoff terms, and even influence the company’s policies. In return, IF Metall representatives would gain a few better-paying managerial positions instead of more physically demanding jobs. Press releases indicated that “a significant portion” of Tesla employees supported the resistance, while media reports spoke of dozens to just over a hundred people — depending on the period.

Tesla offered passive and active resistance. Passive resistance involved offering workers better employment terms than those at competitors where unions were negotiating. More active resistance took the form of organizing meetings to explain why their contracts were already exceptionally good, as well as using salary budgets in ways that aimed to break further strikes supporting demands. IF Metall claims Tesla has used “methods banned in Sweden” for nearly a hundred years, although it reportedly hinted at a settlement with the company behind the scenes.

Tesla workers protesting against the protest. All photos in this article are archival.

From the outside, it is clear that the organization’s activities have gone off track: IF Metall urged its members to boycott the installation of new Superchargers (many of which remained shut down), sabotaged the delivery of license plates by mail, and other shipments addressed to the manufacturer. People were paid to sit outside the workshops with “Strike” signs, and a certain number of hours was required to be “earned” this way. According to comments posted online, some members of the organization eventually stopped working at Tesla — and they are now very dissatisfied about it.

In recent days, the group of “strikers” has shrunk to four people, two in Stockholm and two in Uppsala (source), so an official end to the strike action is scheduled for Wednesday, August 19.

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