The United Auto Workers union filed federal labor charges against Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, accusing them of threatening union workers during their livestreamed conversation on X. During the historic Monday night X Spaces (which has now been seen by over 1 billion people) the former president praised the tech billionaire for his approach to employee strikes—a comment the UAW interprets as an illegal suppression of workers’ rights.
“I mean, I look at what you do,” Trump said during his conversation with Musk. “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 OK, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone.’”
“Yeah,” Musk laughingly replied.
Though neither mentioned a specific company during the exchange, this was likely in reference to Musk’s decision to fire more than 80% of Twitter staffers after taking over the company in 2022. However, according to the UAW, these remarks constituted an “illegal attempt to threaten and intimidate workers who stand up for themselves by engaging in protected concerted activity, such as strikes.”
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Federal law prohibits employers from firing or threatening to fire workers who go on strike.
“Both Trump and Musk want working class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly,” UAW president Shawn Fain said in a statement. “It’s disgusting, illegal, and totally predictable from these two clowns.”
“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,…
— UAW (@UAW) August 13, 2024
CNN reports that the National Labor Relations Board is willing to investigate the matter, possibly suing both men if wrongdoing is found.
In response to the accusations, Trump campaign adviser Brian Hughes called it a “frivolous lawsuit” and “a shameless political stunt intended to erode President Trump’s overwhelming support among America’s workers.”
At the same time, Musk seemed to suggest that Fain may soon end up in prison for “bribery and corruption” based on “recent news,” though he did not provide further evidence for the claim.
The last two UAW presidents went to prison for bribery & corruption and, based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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