*

UAW President Shawn Fain condemns Trump and Musk's actions

as

illegal and predictable

*

NLRB can order employers to cease illegal conduct and

inform

workers of their rights

*

Musk's companies face multiple NLRB complaints, including

illegal threats and discouraging unionizing

By Nora Eckert, Daniel Wiessner

DETROIT, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers

Union said on Tuesday it has filed charges with the National

Labor Relations Board against Donald Trump and Tesla

CEO Elon Musk over attempts to threaten and intimidate workers.

The action came after Musk and Trump held a two-hour

conversation on social media platform X on Monday night, during

which the two discussed workers walking off the job to go on

strike.

"You're the greatest cutter," Trump said during the

conversation. "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.'"

Under federal law, workers cannot be fired for going on

strike, and threatening to do so is illegal under the National

Labor Relations Act, the UAW said in a statement.

The UAW has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid

for U.S. president. She met with union officials and workers

last week near Detroit.

"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," UAW

President Shawn Fain said in a statement on Tuesday.

The NLRB has limited power to punish unlawful labor

practices. In cases involving illegal threats, the board can

order employers to cease and desist from such conduct and to

post notices in the workplace informing workers of their rights.

Unions can also use favorable rulings from the NLRB to engage

workers they are trying to organize.

Fain filed separate complaints against Musk and Trump with

the NLRB, claiming both men had made statements suggesting they

"would fire employees engaged in protected concerted activity,

including striking." The complaints did not provide further

detail.

The Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond

to requests for comment. Musk also did not respond to a request

for comment.

The UAW led a six-week strike against Detroit's Big Three

automakers last autumn, in which workers at Ford Motor ( F ),

General Motors ( GM ) and Jeep maker Stellantis ( STLA ) walked

picket lines across the country.

The union won record contracts, which included a 25% general

wage increase over the life of the agreement, along with

cost-of-living adjustments. The wins equated to substantial

labor expenses for the Detroit carmakers, auto executives said,

an added challenge as they race to slim costs to stay

competitive with Tesla.

Musk, who has endorsed Trump for president, has had numerous

run-ins with the labor board. His rocket company SpaceX is

currently challenging the entire structure of the agency in a

pair of pending lawsuits. Those cases stemmed from NLRB

complaints accusing SpaceX of firing engineers who were critical

of Musk and forcing employees to sign severance agreements with

unlawful terms.

In March, a U.S. appeals court upheld an NLRB decision that

said Musk illegally threatened Tesla employees by tweeting in

2018: "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting

union ... But why pay union dues & give up stock options for

nothing?"

The electric vehicle maker is separately facing allegations

from the board that it illegally discouraged unionizing at a

Buffalo, New York, assembly plant. Last year, an appeals court

threw out a labor board decision that said Tesla broke the law

by barring factory workers from wearing UAW T-shirts.