Topline
The United Auto Workers union on Tuesday filed federal labor charges against billionaire Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump for allegedly “attempting to intimidate and threaten workers” over comments Trump made in an interview with Musk on his social media platform X.
The United Auto Workers Union slammed former President Donald Trump and billionaire X, Tesla and … [+]
Key Facts
The UAW, a major automotive union representing employees at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, claimed the pair of “disgraced billionaires” have threatened and intimidated workers “who stand up for themselves by engaging in protected concerted activity, such as strikes.”
The union specifically referenced Musk’s interview with Trump in their post, calling it a “rambling, disorganized conversation,” and arguing the pair “advocated for the illegal firing of striking workers” (unionized employees on strike are protected under the National Labor Relations Board from certain retaliatory measures, including being fired for striking).
In that interview—a delayed livestream focused on Trump’s campaign talking points—the former president said: “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 charges—filed against Trump’s 2024 campaign and Musk’s electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla—allege Trump suggested he would “fire employees engaged in protected concerted activity, including striking,” and claim Musk “adopted” those statements.
Forbes has reached out to Musk and Trump’s campaign for comment.
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Tangent
Trump has repeatedly come under fire from the UAW and its president Shawn Fain over his 2024 presidential campaign, even after Trump attempted to court union workers during UAW’s strike at Ford, GM and Stellantis last fall. During that weeks-long strike, Trump made himself into a GOP rarity by appealing for the union’s endorsement, though he did not express support for the strike itself, something President Joe Biden had emphatically. Trump also gave a speech at a non-unionized auto parts facility outside Detroit last September in what analysts believed to be a direct response to Biden’s participation on the UAW picket line. At the time, Fain blasted Trump, saying “every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers.”
Crucial Quote
“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,” Fain said in a statement on Tuesday (Musk later said he was not donating that amount following reports he would make one of his largest ever campaign contributions to a pro-Trump PAC).
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Musk is worth $226 billion, making him the richest person in the world, ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($187 billion) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($183.4 billion). Trump, meanwhile, is worth an estimated $4.6 billion, making him number 705 in the world.
Further Reading
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