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(Text/Pan Yuchen, Editor/Gao Xin) According to reports from Reuters, CNN, The Wall Street Journal and other foreign media, on August 13 local time, the United Auto Workers (UAW) said it had filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against former US President and Republican candidate Trump and Tesla CEO (CEO) Elon Musk, alleging that the two attempted to threaten and intimidate striking workers.

The UAW statement said that under the National Labor Relations Act, workers cannot be fired for striking, and it is illegal for companies to threaten workers on this basis.

Regarding the UAW's actions, the NLRB acknowledged that it had received the allegations but did not provide further comment. The Trump campaign angrily denounced the UAW's allegations as a "shameless political stunt" from the "masters of the Democratic Party's special interest groups"; Musk pointed the finger at UAW Chairman Shawn Fain, suggesting that he would go to jail for corruption.

“Scabs” and “Democratic Party Puppets”

On August 12, local time, Musk had a two-hour conversation with Trump on his social media platform X. During the conversation, Trump called Musk "the best cutter" and praised his ability to cut costs, and said he would not tolerate worker strikes.

"I mean, I know what you (Musk) would do (in the face of a strike). You walk in and just say (to the workers): 'Do you want to quit?' There are companies - I won't mention the names of these companies - but their workers will strike (and the companies can't do anything). And then you just say (to the workers): 'That's okay, you all go.'" Trump said.

Musk smiled and replied: "Yes."

In response, the UAW alleged that Trump and Musk "interfered, restricted or coerced" employees who were exercising their right to organize against the company, suggesting that they would fire employees who participated in the strike.

"Trump and Musk both want the working class to sit down and shut up, and they openly laugh at (the strike). This is disgusting and illegal. Of course, it's totally within our expectations that these two clowns would say such things," UAW President Fein said angrily. "They thumb their noses at labor laws. This country must have a reckoning: billionaires, the corporate class, and employers must be held accountable when they break the law."

Fein has always been an opponent of Trump. He even directly called Trump a "scab" (a term originally referring to skin diseases such as scabs or scabies, but later extended to workers who refuse to strike or people who disrupt strikes). In addition, he has been encouraging Tesla workers to form a union, but was resisted by Musk.

Sean O'Brien, president of the Teamsters, another major labor group, also said of Trump's comments that firing workers who organize, strike and exercise their rights as Americans is "economic terrorism." Kara Deniz, a union spokeswoman, said the union also requested to speak at the upcoming Democratic National Convention but has not received a response. It also invited Harris to participate in a roundtable, but has not received a response.

At the same time, Harris' campaign team also forwarded the video of the conversation between Trump and Musk, and commented: "Trump supports billionaire Musk and fires workers who 'strike for more wages and better working conditions.'"

After the UAW launched the accusation, Trump and Musk immediately launched a counterattack.

Brian Hughes, a senior Trump campaign adviser, said in a statement: "This frivolous lawsuit is a shameless political stunt and a political conspiracy by the 'Democratic Special Interest Masters' to undermine President Trump's overwhelming approval rating among American workers. President Trump has revitalized our economy and delivered results on behalf of the forgotten American people. When he is re-elected on November 5th, he will Make America Great Again!"

Musk also criticized Fein on social media: "Based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!" He was alluding to the first two UAW presidents who were jailed for bribery and corruption. Currently, a court-appointed monitor is investigating several UAW executives, including Fein. The accusation is that he retaliated against a board member because he did not provide benefits to Fein's wife and sister.

Trump simply called for Fein to be fired, saying he was responsible for the weakness of the U.S. auto manufacturing industry.

The weight that influences the election

Founded in 1935, the UAW has more than 400,000 active members and 580,000 retired members across the United States. It has established more than 600 local unions and signed 1,150 agreements with approximately 1,600 automotive industry employers.

In September 2023, the UAW organized a strike involving 145,000 people, targeting General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis Group, demanding that the Detroit Big Three raise workers' wages by 40%. Biden and Trump both went to the strike site to support UAW workers.

In recent years, the UAW has been an ally of the Democratic Party. Current President Biden has said that the UAW elected him to the presidency. But in recent weeks, pro-Trump workers have also organized their own rallies.

Unions have always been the target of both parties in the US election, especially in battleground states such as Michigan, which will most likely determine who will win the White House in November.

In the 2020 presidential race, 62% of Michigan households with union members voted for Biden, helping him win the state, according to Edison Research. By comparison, in 2016, Clinton won with 53% of union households in the state and 40% nationwide.

Since the UAW is an important voting base for the Democratic Party, Biden has always been very considerate of the Detroit Big Three, which have close ties with UAW workers, in terms of auto policy, and has ignored Musk, who has previously voted for the Democratic Party, because Tesla is the only major American automaker without a UAW member. Just recently, Tesla has been facing accusations from the board of directors that it illegally prevented the establishment of a union at its factory in Buffalo, New York.

So, after Biden called GM the "leader in electric vehicles" instead of Tesla, which was far ahead in sales, Musk announced that he would vote for Trump in this year's election and said he would set up a "political action committee" to support Trump's campaign. Trump also quickly returned the favor, praising Musk as a "smart man." He had previously threatened to abolish the electric vehicle policy after being elected, but now he has changed his usual stance and expressed support for electric vehicles because "Elon supports me very much."

Sending a political signal

On the other hand, Musk's relationship with the NLRB, which accepted the UAW's accusation, is also quite tense. The NLRB previously accused SpaceX, another company owned by Musk, of firing eight employees who criticized Musk and forcing them to sign severance agreements with illegal terms. Earlier, the NLRB ruled that Musk illegally threatened Tesla employees via Twitter in 2018. In March this year, a U.S. appeals court upheld the ruling, which made Musk very unhappy.

However, it is unclear whether the NLRB will take action on Trump and Musk's remarks. In cases involving illegal threats, the NLRB can order employers to stop such behavior and post notices in the workplace to inform workers of their rights, while unions can use NLRB rulings to attract workers they are trying to organize.

Wilma Liebman, the NLRB chairwoman during the Obama administration, argued that Musk had only "chuckled" but did not directly respond to Trump's comments, making it more difficult for the NLRB to find him liable for illegal threats against company workers. In addition, as an employer, the NLRB has jurisdiction over Trump's campaign but not Trump himself.

In the view of industry insiders, the NLRB's power to punish illegal labor practices is actually limited, and the process usually takes several years. "Everyone knows that the NLRB's remedial measures (in response to Trump and Musk's remarks) have been ineffective from the beginning, but it is more about sending political signals and organizing information than remediation," Lieberman said.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.