Newsdeck: UAW Sues Trump, Musk Claiming They Intimidated Workers in X Interview

In a statement Tuesday, the union said the complaint centered on disparaging comments made by Trump on the platform, formerly known as Twitter, about striking workers. Trump suggested that employers could fire workers for going on strike.The move escalates an ongoing feud between Trump and Musk as the former president tries to win over Midwestern swing-state voters who backed him in 2016 but defected in 2020. It also exposes both men to legal repercussions from the National Labor Relations Board.

“I look at what you do,” Trump said to Musk in the interview. “You walk in and you just say, ‘You wanna 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.’”

Trump’s statement is a clear violation of federal protections for workers, said Sharon Block, a former Democratic member of the NLRB. Employers are banned from making statements that intimidate employees out of exercizing their protected rights, which includes collective action.

“It’s definitely a ULP to fire someone—or, in fact, fire someone—because they go on strike,” Block said.

Unfair labor practice charges are investigated by the agency’s general counsel and a network of regional directors, who can then file charges based on the findings.

The UAW filed complaints against both Trump and Musk, meaning they both could be held liable as employers—Trump of the Trump Organization, and Musk of Telsa, X, or any of his other business ventures.

The Trump campaign and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

—With assistance from Keith Naughton of Bloomberg News

To contact the reporter on this story: Ian Kullgren in Washington at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebekah Mintzer at [email protected]; Genevieve Douglas at [email protected]