Tesla Club Sweden took it upon itself to calculate how many workers have actually joined the IF Metall strike. However, the Swedish union has denied Tesla Club Sweden’s count and has yet to provide figures.
“Saw that assignment. It was a very greatly underestimated figure,” responded Jesper Patterson, IF Metall’s press officer.
Tesla Club Sweden calculated that 13 IF Metall union members have joined the strike against the Texas-based automaker. According to the owners club, there are ten Tesla workshops in Sweden. Members of the owners’ club visited the repair shops across Sweden and asked service technicians how many of their colleagues joined IF Metall’s strike against Tesla.
Tesla Club Sweden accounted for 9 technicians in Umeá, 3 workers in Uppsala, and 1 in Gothenburg Hisings Backa out of the 10 service shops who joined IF Metall’s strike. Tesla Sweden reportedly has 130 service technicians. Given the owners club’s numbers and Tesla Sweden’s total technician count, 10% of workers at the automaker’s workshops have joined IF Metall’s strike.
Så många strejkar på Tesla https://t.co/tWEXhPXC3k pic.twitter.com/b2EzC486eY
— Tesla Club Sweden (@TeslaClubSweden) December 13, 2023
The Swedish union has not provided an accurate figure of Tesla workers who have joined the strike. However, IF Metall has shared that the strike only involves workers wishing its “contractual area,” meaning not all workers working for Tesla. White-collar workers, for example, don’t seem to be part of IF Metall’s numbers.
So far, IF Metall’s strike has gained more support from other unions and companies than Tesla Sweden employees. Other Swedish organizations and trade unions, like Seko, have conducted sympathy strikes with IF Metall. The IG Metall union in Germany shared its two cents on IF Metall’s strike against Tesla, stating that the initiative to unionize should come from employees.
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