After having a brilliant idea to start a company and get it moving forward, eventually people have to be hired to ensure it runs smoothly. Some of the new hires will love what the founders of the company are trying to do, others hope for greater pay in the future and others are essentially there for a paycheck. Each of them has a different idea about their pay and future pay. None of them are necessarily wrong or all correct about their ideas, which is why companies can justify rather large bonuses to some and barely increasing wages for others. Sometimes the values conflict and there is a clear example using Tesla.

In an article by Melissa Eddy of the New York Times News Service, two different models are clashing in Sweden. Tesla has operations around the globe including in Sweden and they have brought their model and expectations to the Swedish workforce. The model includes 6-day work weeks, unavoidable overtime and an unclear evaluation system for promotion. This is opposed to the Swedish model which at is heart is co-operation between employers and employees to ensure both sides benefit from company’s profits.

The workers are on strike, but Tesla’s 10 service stations are still open, however there will be delays. The issue is the same as strikes around the world, business flexibility and agility.

It is noted, Sweden has some of the lowest levels of strikes in Europe, a little more than 2 working days a year lost to strikes and lockouts per 1,000 employees from 2010 to 2019. The comparison is 55 in Norway and the leader is France with 128.

On the face, if the company is still operating when on strike, that is good for the company. In Sweden, there are something called solidarity strikes. Under Swedish law, if a union calls a solidarity strike, its members have to go along with it. This means firms with no direct stake in walkout, such as independent auto-repair shops, have lost business because they have collective agreements with IF Metall that require them to turn away business related to Tesla. Unions in other areas have rallied with IF Metall, such as dockworkers stopped unloading Teslas arriving by ship; workers have quit delivering Tesla’s mail; electricians have pledged not to repair the charging stations.

In Sweden, the Tesla Y is the most popular vehicle with over 14,000 sales in Sweden in 2023, according to official statistics.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all companies making a profit have workforces and they treat them the gamete of management-worker relationships, as an investor you have determine if you like what management does. There are some companies that are anti-union, there are some companies that are pro-union; and there are others who are in the middle. Some years ago, there was a company which regularly shut down operations to ensure people missed x amount of time and not qualify for pension benefits; in companies in the past, management was in the pension plan benefit from time of hire, workers had a 2-year waiting period and the plant not to shut down for longer than 6 months. All of that exists and there have been many examples of great management-labor relations and on the other side. As an investor you get to choose what you like or would prefer.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.