The United Auto Workers Union said on August 13 that it has filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board against Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk over attempts to threaten and intimidate workers. It is unclear whether the NLRB would take action against Trump for his comments during a two-hour conversation with Musk that was broadcast on social media platform X.
Key poll issue
The UAW seized upon Trump’s remarks as the union rallies behind Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris and encourages its nearly 400,000 workers to vote for her over Trump. The issue is especially pertinent in battleground states like Michigan which could determine who wins the White House in November. The UAW endorsed Harris at the end of July.
“You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump said to Musk during Monday’s conversation, complimenting the CEO’s ability to cut costs by saying he would not tolerate workers going 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.'”
Musk chuckled but did not respond to Trump’s comments, making it harder for the NLRB to find him liable for making illegal threats to workers at his companies, said Wilma Liebman, chair of the NLRB under former President Barack Obama. Under federal law, workers cannot be fired for going on strike, and threatening to do so is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act, the UAW said in a statement.
After the union’s action, Musk criticised UAW President Shawn Fain in a social media post, alluding to two past union presidents who went to prison for bribery and corruption. “Based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!” Musk said.
