Donald Trump and Elon Musk face federal labor charges by United Auto Workers for threatening employees

WASHINGTON, DC: The United Auto Workers (UAW) has filed federal labor charges against former president Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, accusing them of attempting to intimidate and threaten workers.

The charges come in response to a two-hour conversation between Trump and Musk on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where they discussed workers going on strike.

Donald Trump lauds 'greatest cutter' Elon Musk for firing workers on strike

The UAW, representing employees at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, claimed that the two “disgraced billionaires,” Donald Trump and Elon Musk, have targeted workers engaged in legally protected activities such as strikes.

In their complaint, the UAW highlighted the discussion between Trump and Musk, describing it as a “rambling, disorganized conversation” where they allegedly advocated for the illegal firing of striking workers.

During the conversation, Trump said to Musk, "You're the greatest cutter. I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you just 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.'"

The UAW argues that federal law protects workers who go on strike from being fired and that it is illegal to threaten to do so.

The union has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the presidency, reinforcing their stance against Trump.

“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,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. 

UAW President Shawn Fain says Donald Trump will always side against workers

The UAW held a six-week strike last autumn against Detroit's Big Three automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—during which workers won record contracts.

These included a 25% general wage increase and cost-of-living adjustments, which added substantial labor expenses for the carmakers according to Reuters. 

“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.

Fain also criticized the apparent camaraderie between Trump and Musk, stating, "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," he said according to The Hill.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump's history of labor controversies

Elon Musk, who has endorsed Donald Trump for president, has faced numerous allegations from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

His company SpaceX is currently challenging the NLRB’s structure in lawsuits stemming from complaints that SpaceX fired engineers who were critical of Musk and forced employees to sign severance agreements with unlawful terms.

Additionally, a US appeals court upheld an NLRB decision in March, finding that Musk illegally threatened Tesla employees in 2018 by tweeting, "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union ... But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?"

Trump has also faced criticism from the UAW throughout his 2024 presidential campaign.

Despite attempting to court union workers during the UAW’s strike last fall, Trump was met with resistance from the union as per Forbes.

“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," Fain previously stated.

Internet claims UAW has gone 'full Marxist' over charges against Donald Trump and Elon Musk 

Online reactions to the UAW’s charges on Elon Musk and Donald Trump were mixed, with some users on X expressing skepticism.

"That’s what happens when you put two very stupid people together to have a recorded conversation!" wrote one user on X

Another commented, "The same UAW that endorses a candidate that promises to ban the cars their workers build?" while a different user wrote, "The @UAW has gone full Marxist."

"Lol what? This reeks of desperation," wrote another. "Shameful, Trump is for keeping jobs in America, you should as well," penned one more.

"Musk and Trump were guffawing and laughing over firing workers who went on strike. Yet somehow Trump wants the Unions to support him," wrote one. 

The article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.