An all-out war has now developed between the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, and one of the country’s most visible and increasingly militant unions, the UAW.
By Alex N. Press, Jacobin
When Elon Musk hosted a conversation with Donald Trump on Monday night using X/Twitter’s “spaces” tool, which allows users to broadcast a discussion, the Republican presidential candidate strayed into legally tenuous territory while praising his fellow billionaire.
Calling the tech figure a “great cutter” of jobs — Musk laid off more than half of X/Twitter’s staff after purchasing the social-media platform in 2022 — Trump then expanded on the subject.
“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.’” Musk laughed before quickly redirecting the conversation.
Those comments are now the basis of an unfair labor practice (ULP) allegation by the United Auto Workers (UAW), which filed the complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) shortly after the conversation. Strikes are legally protected concerted activity, and workers cannot be replaced for engaging in such action. That’s the basis for the union’s filing, which alleges that the comments constitute “illegal attempts to threaten and intimidate workers who stand up for themselves,” per a UAW press release that refers to the duo as “disgraced billionaires.” The union argues that the exchange suggests to workers at his companies that he would fire them should they engage in protected concerted activity, including striking — constituting illegal coercion.
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