Teamsters President — Who Spoke at RNC — Slams Trump’s Position on Firing Striking Workers: ‘Economic Terrorism’

(AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Former President Donald Trump told Elon Musk during their Twitter/X conversation on Monday that he supported firing workers who went on strike — and one labor union leader who had Trump’s back is now calling the threat “economic terrorism.”

On Monday, Trump told Musk: “I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in and you just say, ‘You wanna 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. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone.”

The comments resulted in the Auto Workers Union filing labor charges against both Musk and Trump “for their illegal attempts to threaten and intimidate workers who stand up for themselves by engaging in protected concerted activity, such as strikes.”

Sean O’Brien , the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, made waves when he spoke at the Republican National Convention in July despite the party’s history of not supporting labor unions. It was seen as a play to appeal to blue-collar workers, especially in the Rust Belt. After O’Brien’s appearance, however, he faced a backlash from the Teamsters he led.

In a comment to Politico Playbook in response to Trump’s comments, O’Brien said: “Firing workers for organizing, striking, and exercising their rights as Americans is economic terrorism.”

Politico Playbook wrote that O’Brien did not offer an endorsement to Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris . Harris does, however, have the endorsement of the Teamsters’ National Black Caucus. O’Brien also told Matt Prichard , an NBC reporter in Boston, that he had not yet been invited to the Democratic National Convention.