Free speech is a right Americans hold dear. It is often said, “I may disagree with what you say, but I’ll defend your right to say it.” Unfortunately, some union leaders dispute that sentiment.
In an election year rife with more than a few unpredictable events, the United Auto Workers (UAW) added to the mix in early August by filing unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against former President Donald Trump and the owner of Tesla and the social media platform X, Elon Musk, with whom Trump sat for an interview on August 12. The UAW accused both men of violating the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because of comments Trump made about strikes.
More specifically, Trump said to Musk, “You’re the greatest cutter. I look at what you do. You walk in and you just say, ‘You want to quit?’ 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.'” Musk replied with a laughing answer, “Yeah.”
How this conversation amounts to an unfair labor practice—as opposed to free speech—is anyone’s guess, but that did not stop the UAW’s Shawn Fain and other labor leaders from melting down about Trump’s purportedly “illegal attempts to threaten and intimidate workers.” In a statement released on August 14, International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O'Brien said, “Firing workers for organizing, striking, and exercising their rights as Americans is economic terrorism.”
Hyperbole aside, it is indeed illegal to fire workers for exercising their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Of course, that is not what occurred here. Nor were any particular workers threatened. Indeed the conversation was banter during a political interview, which is certainly not illegal.
Unfortunately, Fain’s move underscores the ongoing effort between labor unions and their allies at the NLRB to squelch free speech. In response to the complaint, the NLRB reportedly said that it will investigate—as if it doesn’t have other priorities.
Of course, anyone is free to file ULP charges—even if they are frivolous—but it is a little rich coming from a union official who tried to hit a U.S. manufacturer with billions in penalties via an obscure German supply chain law, which would have prevented that employer from hiring thousands more American workers in their facilities. Is that really pro-worker? As the French philosopher François de La Rochefoucauld famously said, “Hypocrisy is a tribute vice pays to virtue.”
About the authors
Sean P. Redmond
Sean P. Redmond is Vice President, Labor Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
