The United Auto Workers union has announced that it will file federal labor charges against former President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk for their “illegal attempts to threaten and intimidate workers” who go on strike.
The news of the union’s intent to file labor charges against Trump and Musk was shared on Tuesday in a press release from the UAW.
The charges stem from comments made during the interview Musk had with Trump on X on Monday evening.
At one point during the sit-down, Trump praised Musk for firing workers who went on strike at one of his companies.
“I mean, I look at what you do,” Trump told 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.’”
The remarks from Trump drew criticism from the UAW, which noted that under federal law, “workers cannot be fired for going on strike, and threatening to do so is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act.”
UAW President Shawn Fain, who has never been an avid supporter of Trump, shared in the release that the former president was not an ally of workers or their rights.
“When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean. When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean,” Fain said. “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.”
Trump and Musk have not yet responded to the filing from the UAW.