Swedish Unions Expand Strike Against Tesla Over Collective Bargaining Issue; Blockades and Work Stoppage Set to Impact Tesla Shipment, Servicing, Cleaning, and Charging Stations

Sympathy Strikes Expand to Dockworkers, Electricians, and Maintenance Workers; Tesla Believed to be Hiring Outside Workers Amid Ongoing Negotiations in Sweden

• Swedish car service workers for Tesla are on strike, with sympathy strikes expanding to shipping, cleaning, and electrical workers. The strike began following Tesla's lack of response to demands for a collective bargaining agreement covering their working conditions.
• Despite being a relatively small strike with about 130 workers, it is significant as it is led by IF Metall, a major union covering hundreds of thousands of industrial workers across Sweden. A history of successful, small-scale strikes in Sweden suggests that the dispute could escalate.
• Tesla has begun hiring strikebreakers, or 'scabs', prompting IF Metall to accuse it of crossing a line. Earlier discussions between the union and Tesla yielded no mutual agreement about the collective bargaining issue.
• Other unions have expanded their support and participation, including dockworkers refusing to unload Tesla vehicles, electricians halting servicing at Tesla charging stations, and maintenance workers ceasing to clean Tesla facilities.
• The strike is seen as crucial in protecting Sweden's model of labor organization, in which employers and employees work together to agree on wages, benefits, and working hours. Unions supporting IF Metall argue that failing to address Tesla's actions could destabilise Sweden's labor market.

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