White-collar workers in Unionen launched a sympathy strike against Tesla on Tuesday in the most significant expansion of the strike in months.
Unionen, which represents around 700,000 workers in Sweden, said the strike affects workers at DEKRA Industrial AB, which conducts mandatory equipment inspections.
The strike could place limitations on Tesla’s productivity and might force the company to look elsewhere for inspections. Unionen said it’s prepared to expand the strike if Tesla looks to other providers.
Unionen represents financial and human resource workers who service Tesla in Sweden.
The introduction of Unionen is the largest expansion of the strike in months. The Nordic labor battle began in late 2023 when unionized mechanics at Tesla demanded that CEO Elon Musk sign a collective bargaining agreement.
After Mr. Musk refused, the workers, with the support of the union IF Metall, walked on the picket line. While only 44 mechanics walked off the job last year, thousands of workers from other industries launched sympathy strikes.
In a few months, dockworkers, mail carriers and garbage workers were on strike. Eventually, unions in all Nordic countries supported the striking mechanics.
Despite the far-reaching support from Nordic unions, the strikes don’t seem to have hurt Tesla’s bottom line. While dockworkers have blockaded Swedish ports since December, new vehicle sales haven’t dipped dramatically.
The battle against unionization in Sweden is an important one for Tesla. If the company bends to the demands of the unionized mechanics, it would be a powerful signal to pro-union workers and organizers in Europe and the U.S.
Tesla has said the nonunion workers at its Swedish facilities get the same or better packages than what IF Metall demands.