By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union has filed unfair labor practice charges against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk after the two men argued on social media about Musk’s alleged firing by striking workers.
In documents filed Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board, the union alleges that the two men obstructed workers’ right to join a union. The NLRB said it will review the allegations, which constitute a request for an investigation by the agency.
UAW President Shawn Fain, whose union endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris, said in a statement that Trump was anti-union.
“Both Trump and Musk want working-class people to sit down and shut up, and they openly laugh about it,” Fain said.
Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, called the allegations “frivolous” and a “blatant political stunt” designed to erode Trump’s strong support among American workers.
The NLRB said it would investigate the complaints, one filed against the Trump campaign and the other naming Tesla Inc., the Austin, Texas-based maker of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels led by Musk.
The accusations stem from statements Trump made Monday night during a conversation between the two men on X, the social network that Elon Musk now owns. The former president devoted much of the discussion, which lasted more than two hours, to his recent assassination attempt, illegal immigration and his plans to cut government regulations.
But during a discussion about government spending, Trump praised Musk for firing workers who went on strike. The UAW says that could intimidate workers from the Trump campaign or Tesla who might want to join a union.
“You’re the best cutter,” Trump told Musk. “I watch what you do. You come in and say, ‘You want to quit?’ I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, ‘That’s okay. You’re all gone.’”
Musk replied, “Yeah,” and laughed as Trump spoke.
It is unclear which employees Trump was referring to.
In June, eight former employees of Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX sued the company and Musk, alleging he ordered their firings after they spoke out about what they called rampant sexual harassment and a hostile, “Animal House”-style work environment at the company.
Additionally, the NLRB determined that a 2018 Twitter post by Elon Musk illegally threatened Tesla employees with the loss of stock options if they decided to be represented by a union.
Three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans upheld that decision, as well as a related NLRB order requiring Tesla to rehire a fired employee, with back pay. But the full 5th Circuit later reversed that decision and voted to reconsider the case.
Sanjukta Paul, a law professor at the University of Michigan, said the UAW’s accusations have merit because Trump and Musk’s comments could “chill” workers’ efforts to take collective action, including union organizing, or simply come together to improve working conditions.
“You describe with approval and wholeheartedly welcome the flagrant violation of our most important federal labor law,” she said. “This would constitute an attack on protected rights.”
Marick Masters, a professor emeritus of business at Wayne State University who follows labor issues, said the UAW’s decision “puts the spotlight on Trump and tries to put him on the defensive in terms of his attitudes and behavior toward unions.” He added that the union is monitoring Musk’s comments because he has targeted Tesla’s U.S. factories for organizing drives.
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