The United Auto Workers Union announced on Tuesday that it has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk for threatening and intimidating workers.
The UAW, one of the country’s largest labor unions, took action after several controversial comments made by the former president during a nearly 2-hour interview with the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX on Monday.
“You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump praised Musk, adding that he would not let employees to go on strike. “I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you just say: ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike – I won’t mention the name of the company – but they go on strike. And you say: ‘That’s okay, you’re all gone.'”
The UAW capitalized on Trump’s comments to support Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris – whom it formally backed at the end of July – and urge its almost 400,000 members to vote for her against Trump.
“Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves, and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk, who is contributing $45 million a month to a Super PAC to get him elected. Both Trump and Musk want working class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly. It’s disgusting, illegal, and totally predictable from these two clowns,” stated UAW President Shawn Fain.
Employers are not allowed by federal law to fire workers who have gone on strike, and the National Labor Relations Act prohibits employers from threatening to fire employees for the same reason.
Musk attacked UAW President Shawn Fain in a social media post following the union’s move on Tuesday, making references to two previous union presidents who were imprisoned for bribery and corruption. “Based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!” Musk said.
“This frivolous lawsuit is a shameless political stunt intended to erode President Trump’s overwhelming support among America’s workers,” senior advisor to the Trump campaign Brian Hughes said in a statement.
According to Edison Research, 62% of Michigan homes with a union member supported President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential contest, which helped him win the crucial swing state. In contrast, union households supported Hillary Clinton 53% to 40% in 2016, the year that she lost both the state and the national election by a slim margin.
