The United Auto Workers union said on Tuesday it has filed charges with the National Labour Relations Board against Donald Trump and Tesla owner Elon Musk over attempts to threaten and intimidate workers.
The action came after Mr Musk and Mr Trump held a conversation on social media platform X on Monday night, during which the Republican presidential hopeful complimented Mr Musk's ability to cut costs by saying he would not tolerate workers going on strike.
“You're the greatest cutter,” Mr 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 OK, you're all gone.'”
Mr Musk did not comment but responded to Mr Trump's comments with a chuckle.
Under federal law, workers cannot be fired for going on strike and threatening to do so is illegal under the National Labour Relations Act, the UAW said.
The UAW endorsed Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris in July and has encouraged its nearly 400,000 members to vote for her over Mr Trump, especially in battleground states like Michigan, where the UAW is based.
It represents thousands of workers throughout battleground states in the upper Midwest. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan are expected to be among the most important swing states that will determine the winner of the November election.
Union president Shawn Fain and Mr Trump have crossed swords in the past.
“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,” Mr Fain said in a statement on Tuesday.
The UAW cut a video of Mr Trump praising Mr Musk and posted the clip on social media sites, writing to its more than 125,000 followers on X: “He’s for the billionaires. Not for you. Donald Trump is a scab.”
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has called for the union leader to be fired, saying he is responsible for US car manufacturing becoming weaker.
Mr Fain filed separate complaints against Mr Musk and Mr Trump with the NLRB, claiming both men had made statements suggesting they “would fire employees engaged in protected concerted activity, including striking”.
The UAW led a six-week strike against Detroit's Big Three car makers last autumn, in which workers at Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis walked picket lines across the country.
The union won record contracts, which included a 25 per cent general wage increase over the life of the agreement.
Mr Musk, who has endorsed Mr Trump for president, has had numerous run-ins with the labour board: his rocket company SpaceX is currently challenging the entire structure of the agency in a pair of pending lawsuits, and in March, a US appeals court upheld an NLRB decision that said Mr Musk had 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?”
Tesla is separately facing allegations from the board that it illegally discouraged unionising at a Buffalo, New York, plant. Last year, an appeals court threw out a labour board decision that said Tesla broke the law by barring factory workers from wearing UAW T-shirts.
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 0
Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90 4')