By james art 
In today’s news and commentary, Swedish unions take on Tesla, Starbucks and the NLRB file lawsuits over benefits, and Waffle House workers organize for better pay and conditions.
52 Tesla mechanics have been on strike in Sweden for over a year, the first and only strike against Tesla anywhere in the world. Industrial union IF Metall is demanding better wages, benefits and conditions for mechanics at Tesla workshops across the country. Elon Musk and Tesla, on the other hand, refused to recognize the collective bargaining model of the Swedish labor market and brought in strikebreakers from various other European countries. This is legal under Swedish law, but anathema to the unwritten rules and norms that are part of the Scandinavian models of worker protection. In Sweden, 90% of the workforce is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, a model to which Tesla seems reluctant to adapt. The current battle in Sweden is representative of similar struggles between unions and Tesla in Germany, the US and elsewhere.
This week, Starbucks continued to challenge the National Labor Relations Board’s full remedies in a case involving the firing of an employee who helped launch union campaigns at various Michigan locations. The company argued to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that the NLRB should not be able to order monetary damages for “all direct or foreseeable property damages” that result from an employer’s unfair labor practices, heading into 2022. Thryv Inc. governing. The panel of justices appeared divided, with one suggesting that such remedies have a long history and another appearing to see it as a new interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act.
Workers at Waffle House, the iconic Southern diner whose base pay can be as low as three dollars an hour, are organizing for better wages with the Southern Service Workers Union. In addition to a $25 minimum wage, the workers demanded a more expanded meal deduction menu and for the company to provide 24-hour security at its restaurant. Late on weekends, visitors often come in an inebriated state, which can lead to riots or violence. As one employee put it, “Waffle House is not for the weak at all. They will eat you up and spit you out if you let them. … People and alcohol don’t mix. They come belligerent, they come angry, they come just disrespectful and feel like they’re owed it. We have to just take it, and that is unacceptable. In May, Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers III announced “the single largest additional investment in our workforce” by raising the base wage to three dollars an hour, a direct result of organizing with the USSW, although workers hope to earn more.