UAW hits Musk, Trump with federal labor charges over union busting comments

• The United Auto Workers filed federal labor charges against Donald Trump and Elon Musk for their comments applauding the practice of firing employees who threaten to strike.
• Under federal law, it is illegal to fire workers who threaten to strike.
• Trump has been vying for the labor vote in the presidential race against Vice President Kamala Harris, though the UAW has already endorsed the vice president.

The United Auto Workers on Tuesday filed federal labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board against former President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk for publicly applauding the practice of firing employees who threaten to strike.

"I look at what you do," Trump said to Musk during a two-hour interview on X Monday night.

"You walk in, you say, 'You want to quit?' They go on strike," Trump said of Musk, who is CEO of the EV car maker Tesla and SpaceX. Musk also owns X, formerly Twitter.

"I won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, 'That's okay, you're all gone. You're all gone. So, every one of you is gone,'" Trump said.

Trump was referring to the 2022 gutting of Twitter staff after Musk took over the social media business and renamed it X.

It is illegal to fire workers who threaten to strike, because the right to strike is protected under federal labor law.

"When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a Tuesday statement on the new charges. "When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean."

Neither the Trump campaign nor Musk replied to a request for comment on the UAW action from CNBC.

Trump's praise of union busting is notable because the Republican presidential nominee is currently