The United Auto Workers filed federal labour charges against former president Donald Trump and businessman Elon Musk after a high-profile conversation Monday evening on Musk’s social media platform X, the union said Tuesday.
The charges of unfair labour practices that the autoworkers union filed with the National Labor Relations Board allege that, during their conversation, Trump and Musk illegally threatened and intimidated workers who engage in protected labour activity, such as strikes.
“I mean, I look at what you do,” Trump told Musk during the rambling interview. “You walk in, you 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. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone.’ ”
The charges were filed against Musk as a representative of Tesla, the electric vehicle company where he is the chief executive and largest shareholder. The union has been trying to organize workers there. The UAW recently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, and its members met with her last week in Michigan.
More than 1 million X users tuned in to Trump and Musk’s conversation.
“When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “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.”
Musk posted on X in response to the UAW’s charges Tuesday, “The last two UAW presidents went to prison for bribery & corruption and, based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!”
The two UAW presidents who preceded Fain did not go to prison, but two earlier UAW chiefs who led the union in the late 2010s served time in prison after corruption convictions.
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment via Tesla or X.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, it is illegal to fire workers for legally going on strike or to threaten them for doing so. The National Labor Relations Board will now investigate whether a labour law violation occurred. If the board determines that violations occurred, it could issue penalties against Musk or Trump.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Washington Post