Tesla 'Nojo Boycott' Spreading in Northern Europe... Will Vehicle Transport Be Halted?

"Sweden Support" Norway Joins After Denmark in Participation

American electric vehicle company Tesla has faced collective backlash in the Nordic region after rejecting a collective wage agreement with workers in Sweden. Following the Swedish union's request, unions in Denmark and Norway have joined in support, putting vehicle transportation in the region at risk of being halted.

According to major foreign media on the 6th (local time), Norway's largest private union, Fellesforbundet, announced that if Tesla continues to refuse the wage agreement, it plans to take necessary measures to block vehicle transportation heading to the Swedish market via Norway starting from the 20th of this month.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Joern Egum, chairman of the Fellesforbundet union, said, "The right to demand a collective agreement is a clear part of our working life," adding that it is difficult to tolerate Tesla's refusal.

This declaration by the Norwegian union follows the Swedish union's request for solidarity actions from unions in other Nordic countries. Earlier, in Sweden, about 130 mechanics working at 10 Tesla service centers began a strike on October 27th in response to the company's refusal to conclude a wage agreement.

The Swedish Metalworkers' Union (IF Metall), to which they belong, initiated the strike, and nine industrial unions, including the service and telecommunications union representing PostNord AB postal workers, have expressed solidarity, engaging in activities such as refusing to deliver mail including new car license plates and blocking vehicle transportation.

The day before, Denmark's largest union, 3F, expressed support for the boycott ahead of Norway and announced that 3F transport sector members would join a solidarity strike starting on the 18th. The 3F union stated that they would neither unload Tesla vehicles at ports nor transport them to Sweden by truck.

If the Nordic unions completely refuse transportation, Tesla will have to bring vehicles directly by land from its German factory, making mass transportation virtually impossible.

Following the direction of Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, who has pursued an anti-union management approach, Tesla has refused collective agreements. However, foreign media report that in the Nordic region, most wage agreements and sectoral negotiations are conducted through unions. It is said that 90% of Swedish workers and 80% of Danish workers have their wages and working conditions guaranteed under these agreements.

Industry experts believe that the current conflict between Tesla and the Nordic unions will also affect Tesla's labor relations in other regions. In particular, the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the United States is currently pushing to organize a union at Tesla, drawing attention to how the boycott progress in the Nordic region might influence this effort.

However, CEO Musk expressed his opposition to union formation during a public discussion at the New York Times (NYT) 'DealBook Summit' on the 29th of last month, stating, "They are creating a negative atmosphere in the company and trying to establish a kind of landlord and tenant situation."