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Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, is pictured at a diner in Indianapolis earlier this year. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Betraying Pro-Worker Facade, 'Vindictive' Trump Attacks Union Leader
Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers 1999, has been receiving threatening phone calls since Twitter onslaught from the president-elect
Dec 08, 2016
After United Steelworkers Local 1999 president Chuck Jones revealed Wednesday that fewer jobs were remaining in Carrier's Indianapolis plant than President-elect Donald Trump had promised, Trump launched into a Twitter tirade against the union leader.
In his tweets, the president-elect did not address his own apparently false statements about the job numbers but instead appeared to blame the union for the decision on the part of United Technologies, Carrier's parent company, to move over 1,000 jobs to Mexico:
\u201cChuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1481157708
\u201cIf United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1481162200
Jones said Wednesday that "Trump and [Vice President-elect Mike] Pence, they pulled a dog and pony show on the numbers," when they announced the deal in which Trump promised United Technologies an enormous tax cut and regulatory favors in exchanging for preserving some jobs in Indiana.
Only 700 jobs will remain in Indiana, and not the "over 1,000" that Trump had promised. Jones also revealed that his union had not been involved in the job negotiations.
The Washington Post reports that after Trump's tweets, Jones began receiving threatening phone calls from unknown numbers. The newspaper writes that "[h]alf an hour after Trump tweeted about Jones on Wednesday, the union leader's phone began to ring and kept ringing, he said. One voice asked: What kind of car do you drive? Another said: We're coming for you."
The Post continues: "Jones, who said the union wasn't involved in the negotiations, said he's working to lift his members' spirits. He said he didn't have time to worry about Trump. 'He needs to worry about getting his Cabinet filled,' he said [late Wednesday], 'and leave me the hell alone.'"
Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana State AFL-CIO, called Jones after seeing Trump's tweets, reports the Post: "Jones, he said, had just left his office in Indianapolis, where he manages the needs of about 3,000 union members."
"This guy makes pennies for what he does," Voorhies told the Post. "What he has to put up with is just crazy. Now he's just got the president-elect smearing him on Twitter."
In an interview with CNN Money, Jones also said: "I've been doing this job 30 years. I had a lot more serious threats than people are making now. I have a thicker skin than I did many years ago. Everybody has a right to their opinion. I'm not overly upset about it."
Watch the full interview here:
Carrier union boss on Trump feud: I called him out
"With all due respect, Mr. Trump, you are president-elect of the United States. You are looking and acting as though you are mean, and petty, and thin-skinned, and vindictive," said economist Robert Reich to CNN in response to Trump's habitual Twitter tirades. "Stop this."
On Twitter, those in solidarity with Chuck Jones voiced their support under the hashtag #ImWithChuck:
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After United Steelworkers Local 1999 president Chuck Jones revealed Wednesday that fewer jobs were remaining in Carrier's Indianapolis plant than President-elect Donald Trump had promised, Trump launched into a Twitter tirade against the union leader.
In his tweets, the president-elect did not address his own apparently false statements about the job numbers but instead appeared to blame the union for the decision on the part of United Technologies, Carrier's parent company, to move over 1,000 jobs to Mexico:
\u201cChuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1481157708
\u201cIf United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1481162200
Jones said Wednesday that "Trump and [Vice President-elect Mike] Pence, they pulled a dog and pony show on the numbers," when they announced the deal in which Trump promised United Technologies an enormous tax cut and regulatory favors in exchanging for preserving some jobs in Indiana.
Only 700 jobs will remain in Indiana, and not the "over 1,000" that Trump had promised. Jones also revealed that his union had not been involved in the job negotiations.
The Washington Post reports that after Trump's tweets, Jones began receiving threatening phone calls from unknown numbers. The newspaper writes that "[h]alf an hour after Trump tweeted about Jones on Wednesday, the union leader's phone began to ring and kept ringing, he said. One voice asked: What kind of car do you drive? Another said: We're coming for you."
The Post continues: "Jones, who said the union wasn't involved in the negotiations, said he's working to lift his members' spirits. He said he didn't have time to worry about Trump. 'He needs to worry about getting his Cabinet filled,' he said [late Wednesday], 'and leave me the hell alone.'"
Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana State AFL-CIO, called Jones after seeing Trump's tweets, reports the Post: "Jones, he said, had just left his office in Indianapolis, where he manages the needs of about 3,000 union members."
"This guy makes pennies for what he does," Voorhies told the Post. "What he has to put up with is just crazy. Now he's just got the president-elect smearing him on Twitter."
In an interview with CNN Money, Jones also said: "I've been doing this job 30 years. I had a lot more serious threats than people are making now. I have a thicker skin than I did many years ago. Everybody has a right to their opinion. I'm not overly upset about it."
Watch the full interview here:
Carrier union boss on Trump feud: I called him out
"With all due respect, Mr. Trump, you are president-elect of the United States. You are looking and acting as though you are mean, and petty, and thin-skinned, and vindictive," said economist Robert Reich to CNN in response to Trump's habitual Twitter tirades. "Stop this."
On Twitter, those in solidarity with Chuck Jones voiced their support under the hashtag #ImWithChuck:
After United Steelworkers Local 1999 president Chuck Jones revealed Wednesday that fewer jobs were remaining in Carrier's Indianapolis plant than President-elect Donald Trump had promised, Trump launched into a Twitter tirade against the union leader.
In his tweets, the president-elect did not address his own apparently false statements about the job numbers but instead appeared to blame the union for the decision on the part of United Technologies, Carrier's parent company, to move over 1,000 jobs to Mexico:
\u201cChuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1481157708
\u201cIf United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1481162200
Jones said Wednesday that "Trump and [Vice President-elect Mike] Pence, they pulled a dog and pony show on the numbers," when they announced the deal in which Trump promised United Technologies an enormous tax cut and regulatory favors in exchanging for preserving some jobs in Indiana.
Only 700 jobs will remain in Indiana, and not the "over 1,000" that Trump had promised. Jones also revealed that his union had not been involved in the job negotiations.
The Washington Post reports that after Trump's tweets, Jones began receiving threatening phone calls from unknown numbers. The newspaper writes that "[h]alf an hour after Trump tweeted about Jones on Wednesday, the union leader's phone began to ring and kept ringing, he said. One voice asked: What kind of car do you drive? Another said: We're coming for you."
The Post continues: "Jones, who said the union wasn't involved in the negotiations, said he's working to lift his members' spirits. He said he didn't have time to worry about Trump. 'He needs to worry about getting his Cabinet filled,' he said [late Wednesday], 'and leave me the hell alone.'"
Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana State AFL-CIO, called Jones after seeing Trump's tweets, reports the Post: "Jones, he said, had just left his office in Indianapolis, where he manages the needs of about 3,000 union members."
"This guy makes pennies for what he does," Voorhies told the Post. "What he has to put up with is just crazy. Now he's just got the president-elect smearing him on Twitter."
In an interview with CNN Money, Jones also said: "I've been doing this job 30 years. I had a lot more serious threats than people are making now. I have a thicker skin than I did many years ago. Everybody has a right to their opinion. I'm not overly upset about it."
Watch the full interview here:
Carrier union boss on Trump feud: I called him out
"With all due respect, Mr. Trump, you are president-elect of the United States. You are looking and acting as though you are mean, and petty, and thin-skinned, and vindictive," said economist Robert Reich to CNN in response to Trump's habitual Twitter tirades. "Stop this."
On Twitter, those in solidarity with Chuck Jones voiced their support under the hashtag #ImWithChuck:
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