The American Auto Workers Union sued Mr. Trump and billionaire Elon Musk after the interview on X

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union filed a lawsuit against Mr. Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk for making statements 'threatening workers to strike'.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk were accused of making threatening statements to workers in an interview on X on August 12 - Photo: AFP

The incident began with an interview on the evening of August 12 (US time) on social network X (Twitter), in which Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk discussed the possibility that the Tesla CEO could join the administration if Mr. Trump was re-elected. During the conversation, Mr. Trump called Mr. Musk a "cutter" and praised Mr. Musk's anti-union stance. "I look at what you do, you come in and say, 'Want to quit?'. They're on strike... and you say, 'Okay, you're all fired,'" Mr. Trump said of Mr. Musk. Mr. Musk laughed and replied: "That's right." Shortly afterward, the UAW, which supports Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race, filed a lawsuit against the two billionaires with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The UAW said that the two had "interfered, obstructed, or coerced employees" in exercising their union rights, by suggesting that they would fire striking workers. UAW President Shawn Fain, who has been a vocal critic of the former president in the past, called Trump a "saboteur." Fain also praised President Joe Biden for joining workers in a strike last year when the UAW went on strike at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. Fain has repeatedly targeted Tesla, the largest non-union automaker in the United States. "When we call Donald Trump a saboteur, that's what we mean," Fain said. "Both Trump and Musk want the working class to be silenced and they laugh about it publicly. It's disgusting, illegal and completely predictable from both of them." The UAW president continued to criticize Trump and Musk in an interview with Kaitlan Collins on CNN on August 13. Fain stressed that billionaires and business owners must be held accountable when they violate labor laws. The Trump campaign has pushed back, calling the UAW's allegations a political ploy orchestrated by Democrats. "This lawsuit is a political ploy to undermine President Trump's strong support among working-class Americans," said Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign. The NLRB has received the complaint but has not commented further. Tesla did not respond to CNN's request for comment. However, the likelihood of the two billionaires facing serious penalties if found to have violated labor laws is very low, and the process could be lengthy. As for the process, the NLRB will investigate the UAW's allegations and, if it finds Trump and Musk at fault, it could help mediate the case or even sue the two billionaires on behalf of the UAW. But even if a judge determines Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk violated the law, they would typically only order the two to stop the behavior and compensate wrongfully fired employees.

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